Who has the patience to walk me through this?

[TCups4Me]

I'm sure you are all tired of the rental questions but I have done all the homework I can think to do and I still have questions. Please help!

Can you tell me exactly how I should expect this to work? The timing of each step in the transaction is confusing me. I want enough time to check references, check Orange County records, review posts, review contract, etc before I send them a dime. But I also understand that they want to get the reservation made and will continue looking for renters while I’m doing my due diligence.

1. I find a renter who has points that I’m interested in.
2. I ask if they have X resort for X dates.
3. They confirm the availability.
4. Is this the point that I ask for references? Won’t they continue to seek renters during the time it is taking me to check the references? Do I also ask for a contract to review at this time?
5. The reservation is made.
6. I noticed some posters are requesting a deposit once the reservation is made but all the advice I read says not to send the deposit (usually 50%) until I receive the confirmation document.

Please tell me how I should reasonably expect this to work! I really appreciate your help!

 

[Granny]

When I have rented my points, I take care of the contract info and pricing with the first contact. I ask the renter if they can live with the rental agreement & price. I've never provided references but did have a renter provide theirs to me once.

Think of it as buying a used car from an individual. Do you get references from them? Probably not since it is a one-time transaction (as most point rental deals are).

The "references" I would use would be to look at their posts on the DIS Boards. Do they participate and seem to be part of this community? If so, that's good enough for me. Of course, it does no harm to ask for references, but as you say, the owner will make their points available to the first person who locks in with a commitment. They will not "take their points off the market" pending your due diligence. So there is some risk in that regard that someone could come in and grab the available points.

As an owner, I would not call just to ask about availability. That's a waste of time since availability can and does change constantly. I would make the call when I had an agreement with the renter and I would then make the reservation on my first call.

I agree that I never requested money until I was able to provide a copy of the confirmation. Keep in mind, this still doesn't really protect the renter fully as I could make a reservation, send you the confirmation, collect your money and then cancel the reservation.

Renting points takes a fair amount of trust on both sides. Problems are fairly rare but have been known to happen.

 

[castleri]

I have rented out my points a few times and have never used a contract just spelled everything out in an email and usually discussed it all over the phone also. If someone wants references I give them the names of others who have rented from me and some have just checked my previous posts and said that was good enough. The terms have been different for each rental depending on circumstances at the time. In general once I have made the reservation I want payment as soon as possible but some people are willing to wait until 60 0r 90 days before the trip. It will really be up to you and whoever you choose to contact to come up with a plan that suits you both. I agree that I wouldn't want to be making calls about availability unless I had a firm commitment since it takes up MS time as well as mine. I truly think that problems are rare especially here on the DIS boards but trying to get a good idea about the person is going to give you a little more peace of mind. I hope you have a good experience and end up with a wonderful trip.

 

[JimMIA]

I would establish trust and clarify the terms of the deal before asking the owner to check availability. Checking availability is a minor hassle for the owner and really a useless exercise unless you're ready to book right then, because the availability you see may be gone in minutes.

As far as deposits, contracts, cancellation policies, etc, all of that is between the owner and the person renting their points. There's no set standard.

The most important things to me are to be sure both parties know what they're doing and feel comfortable with each other. Renting requires trust, and most difficulties are caused by one or both parties not fully understanding what they're doing.

 

[supersuperwendy]

When I post my points for rent...I email back the first person to respond...I find out where they want to stay, dates etc, I also at get their names, address, phone number etc...everything member services will ask for. I let them know if I call and everything they want is available I'm going to make the reservation and send them a paypal request for payment in full, which is non-refundable should they cancel. Later in the day when DVC emails me the confirmation I forward it to my renter. If interested renter number one wants to take lots of time to check references etc I would move onto interested renter number 2. I usually rent out extra points for spending money for our upcoming trips. I don't have time to wait for someone to get references about me. There are so many people wanting to rent so I don't mind jumping to person number 2 or 3 or 4 to get the deal done quickly.

But that's just me! Every member is different in how they handle things.