Renter Question

[MadToad]

Hi all,
I have a reasonably small number of points (36) that I hope to rent to someone through the Rent/Trade board. I've read their rules/regulations and am comfortable with that part of the process.

The part that I'm still struggling with, is what happens when someone is interested. I've never done this before, and as noted in another thread, you're more likely to have an issue with someone doing this for their first time. I have no references on the DIS to provide to someone should they inquire.

So I'm hoping to get a little advice. I intend to use a contract to protect myself and my potential "customer". But what do I do beyond that to protect myself and my renter? And how will I handle actually transferring the points to the buyer as I know Member Services will not deal directly with them? As it's a small number of points, I'm assuming I'd be an add-on.

I'd be greatful for any help!

Thanks!

 

[Laxmom]

Subscribing! I'd like to know too.

 

[RobDoc]

If your 36 points have been banked or borrowed already , the ONLY transaction you can offer is to rent a reservation made using those points. They cannot be transferred to anyone - member or not. In this case, you would try to make a reservation for the dates, resort and type of villa desired by your renter. You would call MS and make the reservation in their name. Once you receive the printed confirmation you would forward that to the renter in some agreed upon format.

If your 36 points are current points, you could transfer those points to another member - but NOT to a non-member. DVC points are of use only to the member who controls them. If transferred to another member, that member would then be able to use them for a reservation.

As for references, even if you have never rented to someone, surely you would be able to provide personal references. The use of a contract to spell out the resonsbilities of each party is a good idea. It would specify what you, the member, are providing, - a reservation at XXX Resort, for YYYYYY dates, in a ZZZ Villa - what payment is expected and when and how, any policy regarding cancellation/refund, what is expected by the renter during the stay, - to follow all policies of the resort and of DVC - and any other policy you wish to establish. I would also encourage renters to get phone number(s) and home address and try to have a personal conversation with the member you are working with.

Be sure to read the posting rules at the top of the Rent/Trade Board as well as some of the explanatory threads , like the Rental Primer.

Good luck with your rental.

 

[MadToad]

As a follow-up, is it possible to donate our points to a charity? Does the DVC make any allowances to this?

It'd be nice to know that my points were helping someone out at Make-a-Wish or something similar.

 

[RobDoc]

No, there is nothing established at this time to accept "left-over" points for charitable donations.

However, you could certainly make a reservation using your extra points and contact one of the charities yourself to contribute the reservation.

 

[Terri2007]

With respect to renting for the first time/no previous rental reference, I was in this situation late last year:

I tried to make the renter comfortable by talking to them on the phone. I provided them with my home and cell phones as well as my work phone and asked them to call my work/home to verify these numbers and who I was. In general, just by this conversation and by trying to show them who and where I was, I hoped to put them at ease.

The other thing I did was open a paypal account and not deal with the mail/checks because of time delays/lost mail.

I think that the conversation was the most useful part. The additional point in your favor is that you will be renting a small amount of points and in general, the smaller the amount of money that is transacted the less it is likely to be fraudulent.

Good luck to you.

 

[MadToad]

Thank you Terri!


I have one more follow-up for Doc if he's still listening...

If I transfer points to another DVC member, I'm only transfering the points for the one use year right? I'm not permanently transfering 36 points every year?

As I read my own question, the propect seems silly that I could permanently transfer points. But for my own sanity, I'll ask it anyway

 

[RobDoc]

Thank you Terri!


I have one more follow-up for Doc if he's still listening...

If I transfer points to another DVC member, I'm only transfering the points for the one use year right? I'm not permanently transfering 36 points every year?

As I read my own question, the propect seems silly that I could permanently transfer points. But for my own sanity, I'll ask it anyway

Nope! A transfer is a one-time-per-Use-Year, irreversible transaction. You will need to know the other members name and address (but they do NOT need to give you their membership number) and you can then transfer points into their account - giving them full control over how the points will be used. It is far from an automatic transaction and will not happen again unless you direct MS to do so. One transfer is allowed per Use Year - either into or out of an account. The points might not show up immediately in the other account, since my understanding is that they do this manually (you might want to be sure the other member is aware of that). SOme have reported using a 3-way phone call with MS to accomplish the transfer so both parties can hear the details.