Would you rent from this Member . . . 2nd Update post 41, p 3

[Yeahmetoo]

OP here again. We had a similar issue with the reservation. It's all been straightened out - our reservation is in there, correct, with correct names - they had misspelled our last name in a way even I have never thought to do! So I made payment - through paypal and my credit card so I have two options if there is an issue; and I'm off to BLT - my dream - for thanksgiving weekend! Yeah!

 

[dianeschlicht]

Glad it all worked out!

 

[UConnJack]

If you're not comfortable, don't go looking for fixes -- just walk away. You'll never get hurt walking away.

Excellent advice for many situations in life!!

Wow. No offense, but I think this is just bad advice in itself. I understand your point and context, that if you are unable to trust a renter, then you shouldn't be renting. And true, sometimes walking away from something is justified, warranted, and the best thing to do. But I think its terrible advice to just walk away from something just because you are uncomfortable and there may be some effort involved to make something work. Some of the best moments in life come from unknown and uncomfortable situations where you had to take a risk or leap of faith. Always playing it safe and running away anytime something isn't working out would lead to a pretty boring life.

In this case, I think the OP did a lot of great research and work, enough to be pretty comfortable with the transaction. The reservation not showing up on the website understandably raised an eyebrow, but if they had just walked away, they would have missed out on a great opportunity since it turned out that it was just a error on the name. Other than a posting history, this renter (and rentee) has done everything right.

When I rent, I too am quite anal about being comfortable with the renter, doing all the things, and a few more, that the OP did. IMHO, if you can confirm that a person is an owner, can verify the personal information they give you, can agree on terms and a contract, get a copy of the confirmation, and finally (and probably most importantly) get a good vibe from the person, its probably enough. If a potential renter if forthcoming with all this information, and you can confirm it all, it is very unlikely they are trying to con you. Checking post history is great and can often seal the deal, but low post counts don't mean that they are just lurking swindlers. A lot of people just use DIS to rent out their points in a pinch, and aren't frequent renters or Disney fanatics like the rest of us (and that's OK). Out of the 6 years I've been on DIS (and the 4 previous I had lurked), and the thousands of rentals that must have been facilitated through DIS, I can only remember a small handful of rentals gone awry.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Wow. No offense, but I think this is just bad advice in itself. I understand your point and context, that if you are unable to trust a renter, then you shouldn't be renting. And true, sometimes walking away from something is justified, warranted, and the best thing to do. But I think its terrible advice to just walk away from something just because you are uncomfortable and there may be some effort involved to make something work. Some of the best moments in life come from unknown and uncomfortable situations where you had to take a risk or leap of faith. Always playing it safe and running away anytime something isn't working out would lead to a pretty boring life.

In this case, I think the OP did a lot of great research and work, enough to be pretty comfortable with the transaction. The reservation not showing up on the website understandably raised an eyebrow, but if they had just walked away, they would have missed out on a great opportunity since it turned out that it was just a error on the name. Other than a posting history, this renter (and rentee) has done everything right.

When I rent, I too am quite anal about being comfortable with the renter, doing all the things, and a few more, that the OP did. IMHO, if you can confirm that a person is an owner, can verify the personal information they give you, can agree on terms and a contract, get a copy of the confirmation, and finally (and probably most importantly) get a good vibe from the person, its probably enough. If a potential renter if forthcoming with all this information, and you can confirm it all, it is very unlikely they are trying to con you. Checking post history is great and can often seal the deal, but low post counts don't mean that they are just lurking swindlers. A lot of people just use DIS to rent out their points in a pinch, and aren't frequent renters or Disney fanatics like the rest of us (and that's OK). Out of the 6 years I've been on DIS (and the 4 previous I had lurked), and the thousands of rentals that must have been facilitated through DIS, I can only remember a small handful of rentals gone awry.

But if the member gets the feeling that the non-member is terribly needy (as in this case and IMO), the member ought to just walk away from it, too. Anyone who isn't comfortable with the process ought to just forget about renting a reservation from a member. Hand holding only goes so far and then it becomes a PITA.

 

[UConnJack]

But if the member gets the feeling that the non-member is terribly needy (as in this case and IMO), the member ought to just walk away from it, too. Anyone who isn't comfortable with the process ought to just forget about renting a reservation from a member. Hand holding only goes so far and then it becomes a PITA.

I generally agree with you about renters that are really overly needy, but I don't think this one particularly was. Asking for some personal information, a contract, and the reservations details (especially after it didn't intiially show up of the Disney reservation Site) was more than fair. I do think the OP was stressing a little too much, but it doesn't sound like they were harassing the member or anything.

I also think its fair for the member to ask for the amount of information. I think having the renter and member willing to provide and share info, even if it requires a little hand holding, is really important in developing trust. If a member (or renter) were to balk because too many questions were being asked (within reason), that would be a major red flag to me about whether the other party was trustworthy. Each side really has to put themselves in the others shoes and understand the risk they each are taking.

 

[disneynutz]

But if the member gets the feeling that the non-member is terribly needy (as in this case and IMO), the member ought to just walk away from it, too. Anyone who isn't comfortable with the process ought to just forget about renting a reservation from a member. Hand holding only goes so far and then it becomes a PITA.

We have dealt with a few renters and it's a mixed bag. We have worked with wonderful families who we maybe talk to or email 3 or 4 times. We have had others who's lives are full of problems.

The record so far is 64 emails for a Studio rental.

The ones who really make me smile are the ones who cancel because they find a cheaper deal from someone else, then contact us again a few months later because the deal fell through. Of course by then, nothing is available for their dates.

Bill

 

[UConnJack]

The ones who really make me smile are the ones who cancel because they find a cheaper deal from someone else, then contact us again a few months later because the deal fell through. Of course by then, nothing is available for their dates.

Bill

Do they tell you that's why they cancel? If that was their reason, I would not accept that a a reason to return the deposit.

 

[UConnJack]

The record so far is 64 emails for a Studio rental.

Out of curiousity, what were the emails about? Were they just general questions, or were they constantly trying to change their reservation or other requests?

I would probably have more patience with the former, as I actually enjoy sharing what Disney/DVC knowledge I have and helping them to make it the best vacation they can. On the latter, other than a couple reasonable changes or requests, that would get very frustrating.

 

[disneynutz]

Out of curiousity, what were the emails about? Were they just general questions, or were they constantly trying to change their reservation or other requests?

I would probably have more patience with the former, as I actually enjoy sharing what Disney/DVC knowledge I have and helping them to make it the best vacation they can. On the latter, other than a couple reasonable changes or requests, that would get very frustrating.

It ranged from discussing their money problems to "I read on the internet that I should get free dining", to changing dates, adding and removing names from the reservation.

Bill

 

[disneynutz]

Do they tell you that's why they cancel? If that was their reason, I would not accept that a a reason to return the deposit.

I have a 30 day clause for cancellations and previously it hasn't been an issue. With the flood of owners deciding to rent, the demographics of people wanting to rent has changed. I may have to make some changes.

Bill

 

[Yeahmetoo]

OP again. I apologize if I came across too needy to some; however, when you are paying a large sum of money, you want certainty. And I truly only had two issues - one, the low post count - which in the FAQ's seemed to be a big deal; and two, my reservation not coming up. I feel I had a right to resolve those issues, which I did. And it's a good thing I did because my name was misspelled HORRIBLY (but still was enough for me to recognize my name) which obviously would have been an issue upon checkin.

And honestly, the reason I came here for advice was because I didn't want to bug the renter too much if I was making a mountain out of a molehill.

But great news. I got the DVC confirmation and all is right in the world. So this renter has been fully paid and I will not bother the renter again unless I arrive on the doorstep of BLT in november and there is an issue.