DVC rental

[Carrie Cox]

Hi there, Dis Friends,
My question is, since we are not in an ideal situation to buy into DVC membership, however where is the best place to find out about opportunities/listings to connect with those who are need to rent out their property time? Are there any issues with this I need to be aware of?
Thanks in advance,
Carrie Cox

 

[WebmasterDoc]

While you were looking in the right place for a DVC rental, since the DVC Rent/Trade Board is not a discussion forum, your question has been moved to DVC Member Services.

Be sure to review the threads pinned at the top of the DVC Rent/Trade Board.

Enjoy the rental process.

 

[jerseyduke]

Myself, I would personally use one of the brokers, most likely either the time share store of davids(dvcrequest.com)

There are indeed issues with which you should concern yourself. If you go thru a private renter, you are going to be sending a stranger money. I would speak to them, on the phone. Use the orange county controllers website, make sure they have a contract, and are not a scam.

Personally I would use a broker (or someone i knew personally) to not have to deal with the risk

 

[Deb & Bill]

Even the Orange County Comptroller's Office isn't a sure thing. Scammers are getting info about owners from the website and faking reservations. Best rule is if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't true.

 

[jerseyduke]

Even the Orange County Comptroller's Office isn't a sure thing. Scammers are getting info about owners from the website and faking reservations. Best rule is if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't true.

True, but if you make the check out to the owner, doesn't that help some? (and yes...CHECK...I would not use paypal, venmo or anything along those lines) FFS dont do a paypal friends and family transfer or anything like that.

I'd also communicate multiple ways. Phone for sure. Maybe FB? Then check them out again on linked in.

 

[Deb & Bill]

True, but if you make the check out to the owner, doesn't that help some? (and yes...CHECK...I would not use paypal, venmo or anything along those lines) FFS dont do a paypal friends and family transfer or anything like that.

I'd also communicate multiple ways. Phone for sure. Maybe FB? Then check them out again on linked in.

A good scammer could wash that check and make it out to someone with an ID. Or endorse it over to themselves and deposit it. Some of the scams I have heard about lately are very devious. They take a DVC reservation form, change the recipient, change the address, change the date, anything they want to change. Then they send the reservation to the unsuspecting purchaser who thinks they have a great deal.

I think using a broker could be a bit safer since they will attempt to get the renter a new reservation if something happens to the one they were involved with (like the owner of the points failed to pay their dues and they were foreclosed on since they were counting on the rental money to make the payment for the dues). If they can't make a new reservation (maybe not the same resort as the first) at least they will refund the money the renter paid them. At least that is what they had done in the past.

 

[jerseyduke]

A good scammer could wash that check and make it out to someone with an ID. Or endorse it over to themselves and deposit it. Some of the scams I have heard about lately are very devious. They take a DVC reservation form, change the recipient, change the address, change the date, anything they want to change. Then they send the reservation to the unsuspecting purchaser who thinks they have a great deal.

I think using a broker could be a bit safer since they will attempt to get the renter a new reservation if something happens to the one they were involved with (like the owner of the points failed to pay their dues and they were foreclosed on since they were counting on the rental money to make the payment for the dues). If they can't make a new reservation (maybe not the same resort as the first) at least they will refund the money the renter paid them. At least that is what they had done in the past.

Agreed, I would use a broker myself. I would see the premium as insurance.

Check just adds a little to the paper trail, but then again it probably would not even get deposited, but cashed at a check cashing place. But at least if it gets deposited there is something. And since it takes congress 3 decades to write laws, the laws against check fraud seem more protective than its modern equivalents.

 

[crisi]

One thing to be aware of up front....there are far more people in your shoes than owners who need to rent out their property from time to time. ESPECIALLY if you are looking for the high demand, low supply properties (i.e. you can find an SSR owner or a VAKL owner to make a reservation - finding a BWV or Poly owner is a different story - they are there, but their points get snapped up quick).

DVC reservations are best made as close to eleven months out as possible.

There are basically two bridges to cross with availability from a rental standpoint - you need to find an owner who has the points you need to book - and if you are looking for a high demand resort, you'll be at a disadvantage. And you need to find that owner in a timeframe where room availability for the room you want is still open - the closer you are to eleven months when you find that owner, the better the chances are that the room you want is still available. The closer you get to seven months - or your trip - your chances shrink until you get to "have you bought a lottery ticket recently."

Don't expect to be able to rent rooms that are a great value. i.e. there are very few VAKL value rooms, they disappear fast. Getting a rental for a BWV standard view room is tough, especially during the last three months of the year. If you are trying to get one of those low point rooms, be clear to the person you are working with if that is all you will accept (in which case, you may get locked out) or if you'll take the more point option if that is all that is available).

An owner at VGF is not going to have access to special rooms another owner at VGF doesn't - if one owner has told you it isn't available, that means it isn't available, not that you should keep shopping (and wasting an owners time) looking for a different answer.

I say this because I think the biggest issue I see from first time renters is frustration that this isn't calling up CRO and booking a room. This is more like getting tickets through a legal scalper to a concert. If you are looking for Taylor Swift, good luck. If you are looking for Nickleback....

 

[Carrie Cox]

One thing to be aware of up front....there are far more people in your shoes than owners who need to rent out their property from time to time. ESPECIALLY if you are looking for the high demand, low supply properties (i.e. you can find an SSR owner or a VAKL owner to make a reservation - finding a BWV or Poly owner is a different story - they are there, but their points get snapped up quick).

DVC reservations are best made as close to eleven months out as possible.

There are basically two bridges to cross with availability from a rental standpoint - you need to find an owner who has the points you need to book - and if you are looking for a high demand resort, you'll be at a disadvantage. And you need to find that owner in a timeframe where room availability for the room you want is still open - the closer you are to eleven months when you find that owner, the better the chances are that the room you want is still available. The closer you get to seven months - or your trip - your chances shrink until you get to "have you bought a lottery ticket recently."

Don't expect to be able to rent rooms that are a great value. i.e. there are very few VAKL value rooms, they disappear fast. Getting a rental for a BWV standard view room is tough, especially during the last three months of the year. If you are trying to get one of those low point rooms, be clear to the person you are working with if that is all you will accept (in which case, you may get locked out) or if you'll take the more point option if that is all that is available).

An owner at VGF is not going to have access to special rooms another owner at VGF doesn't - if one owner has told you it isn't available, that means it isn't available, not that you should keep shopping (and wasting an owners time) looking for a different answer.

I say this because I think the biggest issue I see from first time renters is frustration that this isn't calling up CRO and booking a room. This is more like getting tickets through a legal scalper to a concert. If you are looking for Taylor Swift, good luck. If you are looking for Nickleback....

Thanks for all the replies! So if people can’t use their points in a given year, does the availability return to DVC? Could a potential renter simply contact a DVC rep rather than going out into the open market and having to worry about a scam?

 

[Cyberc1978]

Thanks for all the replies! So if people can’t use their points in a given year, does the availability return to DVC? Could a potential renter simply contact a DVC rep rather than going out into the open market and having to worry about a scam?

If you can’t use your points in a specific year you have the option to bank your points and use them for next year (use year) if you don’t bank the points they will expire and you will loose them.

A potential renter can always contact Disney (not DVC) and book direct. Disney owns 5% of the points and are allowed to rent those out just as every other owner can. That is one of the reasons you can book a DVC resort directly with Disney.

Remember renting from an owner is a matter of trust and not for everyone. If you decide to go down that road you should do your due diligence first.

 

[Cyberc1978]

Regarding payment.

As a non US owner who rent my points when I can’t use them, I don’t accept checks. Banks in my country are very reluctant to cash them and are allowed to say no thanks and if they do I carry the risk for 3 months that they will bounce. Banks stopped issuing checks 4-5 years ago, as no one used them anyway.

Instead I do PayPal which IMO is much easier for everyone.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Thanks for all the replies! So if people can’t use their points in a given year, does the availability return to DVC? Could a potential renter simply contact a DVC rep rather than going out into the open market and having to worry about a scam?

DVC reps want to sell you a contract, not a single vacation. If an owner doesn't or can't use their points and they don't rent them out or bank them, they are lost to that owner forever. There are lots of points that are lost forever. It's up to the owner to manage their own points. DVC doesn't do it for them. DVC may send out an annual reminder that you need to bank your points by a certain date, but every time I got that message, I didn't even have any points to bank. Disney will sell any points availability at 60 days out. At a premium.

You can make a reservation for a DVC resort online or on the phone through Disney Reservation Center, but you are going to pay a premium for that reservation. It won't be close to what you pay renting from an owner or even through a broker. There are times of the year when Disney Reservation Center discounts DVC resorts, like the regular Free Dining or Bounceback reservations, but even at a discounted price, you may pay more booking directly through Disney. But you will get daily full cleaning for no extra cost, very different from what you get on a DVC points reservation.

You need to know that there are two inventories of DVC points. The points owned by members that are used to make reservations by members and the points owned/traded to DVC. Any inventory that is unsold, any inventory that is traded by an owner to book a non-DVC Disney reservation (like DCL or ABD or Disney hotel rooms), any inventory from foreclosure or inventory that represents the approx. 2% that DVC owns of each resort for maintenance and other issues is what you see available on line on the Disney website. That inventory must be booked with cash and not DVC points. At that Disney premium.

 

[crisi]

Thanks for all the replies! So if people can’t use their points in a given year, does the availability return to DVC? Could a potential renter simply contact a DVC rep rather than going out into the open market and having to worry about a scam?

People who can't use their points have a few options...

They can bank them into the next year - that's what most people are going to be doing. Most people have a number of points and each year don't use that exact number of points. If I have 300 points and book a 258 point vacation, I have 42 extra points.....the next year I use those 42 points first when booking my 282 point vacation (different time of year or resort or something) and bank 60 points. And so it goes.....I can also borrow from the next year to get points for this year. The vast majority of owners are either banking or borrowing every year to manage their points and in this way manage to use their points. The risk becomes if in year two I can't travel - those 42 points I banked cannot be rebanked and expire - so I have to figure out a way to use them - rent them out, give them away - or I'll lose them (and DVC will be able to rent that inventory via CRO).

They can give the points away to a friend or family member. Giving point to a friend or family member sometimes really means renting them points. Some members prefer to find a friend or family member to use the points before turning to the rental market.

They can rent them out - these would be the points you are trying to find through a broker or somewhere like the rent trade board here. Its worth noting that a few people own points just to rent, but I don't think that is a significant part of the supply of points available.

They can just let them expire. Points unused get turned over to DVC and they turn them over to CRO (Central Reservations Office) - you book these room the same way you'd book a room over at Caribbean Beach - through the Disney website or reservations line. Some of the money from these rooms returns to DVC and is used to offset out dues.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Instead I do PayPal which IMO is much easier for everyone.

Key to this is that the renter cannot expect the usual PayPal protections for a purchase, as PayPal does not protect vacation rental payments.