Hi. I’m wondering if anyone has rented points directly from an owner and if it is safe
? We’ve used Davids vacation club rental with great success, but they don’t have availability for the days we’d like in April 2021. Would availability be any different if we rented directly with an owner ? And is it safe? Any horror stories of getting ripped off?
I’m sure it is a mixed bag. I rented points from an owner directly based on a recommendation (more than one, actually) of folks here on these boards. As a result, I felt confident it would be okay. If I didn’t have recommendations from those with experience with this particular person, I’m not sure I would have done it directly like that.
Thanks Ryan1. If davids says there is no availability for April 17-22nd at GF, does that mean another owner would see the same?
Not necessarily. I guess it depends on what question they are answering. They could mean they have no one with points available that cover those dates. Or, it could mean that if you look at availability in general for all owners, there is no availability.
You might ask here if another DVC owner can check your specific dates and which properties you are looking. They can confirm whether there is ANY availability or not.
I rented through a private owner for our upcoming stay in March. The owner is a friend of a friend, but, we still had a contract, and they were willing to provide references with phone numbers who agreed to be contacted.
I also paid with a credit card, so should they renege on the deal, I can file a charge back and get my money back more than likely.
Honestly, going through a private owner saved us way more money than renting through a broker. Brokers charge $19/per point, cutting the middleman out, we paid $15.
There are a lot of international owners especially right now that are desperate to rent out their points bc they have no idea when they might be able to travel. Which was the case for me.
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Are you looking for a studio? This DVC availability tool says none are available for those dates at GF.
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There are no rooms fully available for those dates at GF (DVC owner here).
You could get:
2 bedroom standard view 4/18 - 4/22 (248 points)
Deluxe studio standard view 4/19 - 4/22 (69 points)
3 bedroom grand villa lake view 4/17 - 4/19 (322 points)
1 bedroom villa standard view 4/17 - 4/18 (52 points)
1 bedroom villa lake view 4/18 - 4/19 (54 points)
2 bedroom villa lake view 4/19 - 4/20 (74 points)
Everything else is waitlist only.
Keep in mind that availability changes all the time. If you can find an owner with available points (I don’t have any, sorry) that is willing to waitlist or piece a trip together for you, you may be able to get what you want. But, by the time you find someone, the availability will not look the same as it does now.
Thank you, so does anyone know if covid has impacted the ability to walk back and forth from GF to Polynesian? We are actually staying at GF, and are looking to surprise family with 5 nights to join us. Since there is no availability at GF villa, there appears to be availability at Polynesian villas, but not worth it if we can’t walk back and forth and hang out.
How wonderfull!!
My understanding is that you can walk freely between the 2 resorts.
I’ve only ever rented points from a friend - one that I’ve known for 30+ years. She gives me a very good deal, but it’s still “business” with a contract, down payment, pay-in-full-by date, etc. I don’t think I’d rent direct from an individual with whom I had no personal ties unless I did some research.
Yes, just did that walk about 10 days ago.
We’ve rented DVC a couple times now. The mouseowners board has good resources for helping to research your owner. I was able to look up county records showing purchase of timeshare through links they provided. I also looked up/contacted through Facebook, linked in, etc. It’s amazing (scary!) how much information you can find on someone with 15 min of googling. Also, using owners with a longer history on the boards/multiple posts helps you trust their identity. Our experience has been great! It’s definitely a bit unnerving and you have to have a certain amount of risk tolerance, but if you’re willing to do your due diligence on the front end, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it!
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The MouseOwners scam alert thread might also help you know what to look for.
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I have rented from a liner but they had been on chat for several years
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I think this is key.
I have rented points out to several liners in 2020 / 21. If I was renting points from someone I’d want someone who has been on a forum for several years and is a regular poster. Not just someone who recently joined or only posts a few times a year, or only posts about point rentals.
You can do some googling, check the Orange County deeds etc. But you need to be able to trust the person, which means “knowing” of them through the forums.
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thank you, any chance you saw some of the construction at poly? doesn’t seem like we will have the availability at GF for our family to join us there.
thank you, it seems availability for GF villas is tough to come by. Any owners able to take a look at GF for 4/15-4/23?
Best you can do is 2-3 nights, except a GV for 4 nights.
Whoa…grand villa slightly out of our budget range
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