Renting out points?

[BurghFan111]

Hello everyone, my wife and I have more points than we find we need across 4 contracts. Our trips are not as big as we thought they would be and we want to mix in more vacations that are non-DVC, non-points. We sold 1 of the 4 contracts. We want to keep 2. We've heard about and it has been suggested to us that we may be better off renting out points each year. Can anyone share the pros and cons as well as the liability issues around this. Finally how difficult is it to find a renter. Thanks in advance.

 

[bats]

There is a separate section here for renting points so you could look on there to see how quickly the points are being snapped up by renters.
For us, we advertised our points (not here but on a UK Disney site), checked availability for a few people and when someone found something they wanted, we booked it.

We always ask for 50% of the cost prior to booking if we know them (we are regular chatters on that board and 'know' a lot of the members), or 100% if we don't know them. Normally we ask for PayPal Gift, but we also use bank transfer as it then can't be reversed by the sender. Once we have booked it, we send the confirmation email to them and ask for any outstanding money.
If we are in any doubt of the renter, we don't rent to them .... There is trust involved on both sides and you have to be comfortable.

Your points will rent easier if you have a home resort someone wants at 11 months ... I find WL and BLT are popular, but I guess that VGF will be popular now too. The more picky people are about where and when they stay, the more limited the choice for them becomes which in turn affects you.

 

[McCrae]

I used David's rentals, point were rented within an hour and I received cash in my account within 24 hours.

Quick and very simple.

 

[crisi]

I also used Davids because I didn't want to bother with vetting - by the time you get a reservation request from David he has confirmed availability (of course, it can change, but you aren't dealing with anyone looking for Boardwalk Standard View for Food and Wine in July), and he has a deposit - so people aren't point shopping. For this, he does take a cut - you can make a little more money if you take out the middle man.

The things to know - you are legally liable for your renter in some ways. Disney has put holds on contracts over unpaid room charges. You can get charged for damage to the room your renter does.

Some people don't get the difference between a timeshare and a hotel reservation - they'll want changes or cancellations. Or they want to treat you like a travel agent (which some people here LOVE - they like nothing better than to give advice on where to eat and what kind of tickets to buy). If you work through David, he takes care of saying no for you - if you rent yourself, you'll want a contract that specifies non refundable and no changes. Some people have also had some problems with payment - get at least a first payment up front, and be firm in getting the last part at least 60 days out - that will give you time to cancel if the check bounces. Don't fall for sob stories ("Its our honeymoon, we don't have the cash right now, we will pay you with the money we get from our wedding the moment we get back." Yeah, once the trip is taken, you aren't likely to get paid.)

If you work with David, you'll get half up front and half at the completion of the trip. Your renter will have to pay 100% when the reservation is made.

 

[BurghFan111]

Thanks for the great advice. I think we will give it a try. It's funny, a lot of the other places I found some advice in this area pointed to David as well. We have no desire to vet people. If our ownership expenses are covered, we make a few dollars, and we don't have DVC holding us responsible for someone else's kid breaking something or writing on a wall than we are happy.

Selling the 1st contract was not a pleasant experience. We had to redo the paperwork more than once due to typos or other issues that should have been caught by the company we used and lots of calls to inform of us mistakes and issues on their part. When they made another mistake sending us our check it took over 2 weeks to get fixed and they still have not called us back, not happy.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Thanks for the great advice. I think we will give it a try. It's funny, a lot of the other places I found some advice in this area pointed to David as well. We have no desire to vet people. If our ownership expenses are covered, we make a few dollars, and we don't have DVC holding us responsible for someone else's kid breaking something or writing on a wall than we are happy.

Selling the 1st contract was not a pleasant experience. We had to redo the paperwork more than once due to typos or other issues that should have been caught by the company we used and lots of calls to inform of us mistakes and issues on their part. When they made another mistake sending us our check it took over 2 weeks to get fixed and they still have not called us back, not happy.

You will always be responsible for anything a renter does to the villa when you own the points that were used to make the reservation.

 

[AbbeBelle]

Thanks for the great advice. I think we will give it a try. It's funny, a lot of the other places I found some advice in this area pointed to David as well. We have no desire to vet people. If our ownership expenses are covered, we make a few dollars, and we don't have DVC holding us responsible for someone else's kid breaking something or writing on a wall than we are happy.

Selling the 1st contract was not a pleasant experience. We had to redo the paperwork more than once due to typos or other issues that should have been caught by the company we used and lots of calls to inform of us mistakes and issues on their part. When they made another mistake sending us our check it took over 2 weeks to get fixed and they still have not called us back, not happy.

Just be careful not to fall into the trap of thinking that just because you covered MFs you are making money on your rental. When figuring the true cost of renting long-term, you need to include the cost of purchasing the contract you're renting and whether you are covering those as well. Depending on if you bought direct or resale, financed or paid cash your true cost of ownership could well surpass any income you get from renting.

 

[BurghFan111]

You will always be responsible for anything a renter does to the villa when you own the points that were used to make the reservation.

Is that from weak rental agreement contracts? I wonder how often people get burned by this?????

 

[Deb & Bill]

Is that from weak rental agreement contracts? I wonder how often people get burned by this?????

A rental agreement is only a piece of paper. You'd have to go to small claims court to recover any cost to you.

 

[conandrob240]

Is that from weak rental agreement contracts? I wonder how often people get burned by this?????

I would say this is extremely rare. We have always rented a few points every year very easily and at a better price point than David's offers. We now have a group of 5-6 people who come back to rent from me every 1-2 yrs. they are great people and I always have felt comfortable with them.

I also question people charging full payment up front. Why? There is so little risk to you except on expiring points. If fully bankable points, 1/2 payment at booking and rest at 60 days gives you plenty of time to cancel without penalty if the renter backs out.

 

[crisi]

I would say this is extremely rare. We have always rented a few points every year very easily and at a better price point than David's offers. We now have a group of 5-6 people who come back to rent from me every 1-2 yrs. they are great people and I always have felt comfortable with them.

I also question people charging full payment up front. Why? There is so little risk to you except on expiring points. If fully bankable points, 1/2 payment at booking and rest at 60 days gives you plenty of time to cancel without penalty if the renter backs out.

But, depending on your use year, you may be past the banking window, running out of time to rerent those points, with limited availability to work with.

And yes, the risk is rare, but if someone trashes the room, your contract with DVC DOES make you responsible. They could do $10,000 in damage to the room, and DVC could put a hold on YOUR contract until its paid. I think its rare, whether any individual thinks its rare enough not to factor in at all is up to them - I wouldn't want to be renting a two bedroom to eight frat boys over Spring Break, I've seen the bill that results from having the keg scratch up the tub.

 

[MrShiny]

I have often rented using these boards and have rarely had any issues. The worst I had was one renter who apparently had an issue with a tour at AKL and was able to argue into having the points added back into my accoubt, so I had to book her twice.

I actually usually get payment up front and often have my points rented and funds in Paypal within hours of posting. It is a little bit of work - especially because I've found it hard to always get someone to rent all the points I have, so I end up dealing with 3 or 4 renters.

 

[mb_uh]

Really pretty easy to rent, we have always had plenty of options.