Great thread and I'm glad to see Granny jumping in so quick. He's one of the ones I told you will bookmark this and make it available to future posters.
I'll offer a couple of ideas -- not so much rules or "red flags," but just general thoughts on renting.
Understanding a DVC Rental
We don't often see problematic DVC rentals, and when we do they are usually misunderstandings. Unfortunately, a lot of those misunderstandings come from lack of knowledge about how DVC works and how that differs from a traditional hotel reservation -- or a DVC reservation made through Disney CRO, for that matter.
You would think that the DVC owners all have perfect understanding of their accounts, and it's the people renting reservations who don't get it. You'd be dead wrong. Too often,
neither party really understands the situation well enough to be able to anticipate problem areas.
If you are renting from a DVC owner, you don't need to fully understand all of the nuances of DVC ownership. But what you do need to understand clearly is this:
There are serious limitations, restrictions, and penalties on the owner in certain cancellation scenarios. Those problems vary from owner to owner, from rental to rental, and you have no way of knowing what kind of restrictions the owner is under. If you get in a position where you have to cancel a rented ressie, the owner
may not be able to help you.
You don't need to know all the nuances of DVC, but you need to
CLEARLY understand what your DVC owner's cancellation/rescheduling policy is for
your particular reservation. An owner who tells you, "Don't worry, if there is a problem, I'll work with you." is speaking in code. That's code for "I don't have a clue."
Be sure you fully understand what will happen if your plans change. That is critical, and if you are not comfortable with the answer, a DVC rental is probably not for you.
DVC rentals do not work well for people whose plans are not firmly set.
Also understand that the reservation remains entirely under the control of the owner until your checkin, and you cannot make any changes to it. Any changes, and any additions like the Dining Plan or Magical Express will have to be made through Member Services
by the owner.
Fraud
As luck would have it, my background is in law enforcement (retired now) and my specialty for the last 15 years has been fraud prevention, detection, and investigation. So hopefully I can offer some advice in this area.
The first thing you need to know is that
fraud almost never occurs in DVC rentals. In the entire history of the DIS Rent/Trade board, I am only aware of four fraud situations, three of which unfortunately victimized people renting DVC ressies from an unscrupulous person. The other case was some time ago and involved an owner who got defrauded by someone renting from them.
Rather than bore you with all sorts of do's and don'ts and "red flags," I'll just give you two concepts to remember:
1. "Fraud looks a lot like stupid" That's a quote from a good friend of mine, and it's my favorite tip about fraud. If something doesn't look right, feel right, sound right, taste right, or smell right...that does NOT mean it's fraud, but you'd better perk up. If something seems "stupid," keep asking questions until you are
completely sure you understand it, and you are
completely satisfied that it's okay.
2. "If you are not comfortable, walk away." Nervousness and discomfort are our body's physiological way of telling us something is not right. It's a protection mechanism that all humans have had since the dawn of time. Uneasiness may not be an accurate indication that something is
wrong...but those feelings are
amazingly accurate indicators that something is
not right for you. If you get those feelings about any financial transaction, just walk away. Yes, it is possible you will miss an opportunity, but there will be other opportunities. You will never get
hurt walking away from any transaction you are not comfortable with.
Good luck. Do your homework well, and have a great DVC vacation!