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Re: Using Redweek? (by Beck):

jayjay wrote:

peterp151 wrote:

I rent out a lot of units, not as many currently sure to the economy. I only use a rental agreement when the renter asks. Rental agreements protect both parties but if something goes wrong are you really going to spend the time and money to sue? I doubt it. So far been all the websites I've used, nearly two dozen, I've never lost money from a fradulent customer. However, maybe 2% of the renters willing to book with me have acted in a questionable manner and failed to pass my vetting. I also contact other owners to reserve units for customers and three times in five years out of maybe 300 reservations the owners didn't provide the unit or agreed view type.

So yes, at times the owners cancel reservations or misrepresent view or other features. And at times renters attempt to pay with invalid checks and credit cards. Rental contacts are not the best way to ensure safety, they only provide a warm fuzzy. Careful thought about the other party's communication, ability to verify the reservation, and the use of either a credit card or rental escrow will help to assure a valid reservation for your lodging.

I beg to differ .... if for some reason either party abuses the transaction, a signed contract by both owner and renter is a papertrail that can be used in small claims court .... a verbal agreement or a phone agreement has no legal standing in a court of law because no tangible proof exists.

Just because you havent been burned before doesn't mean it won't happen in the future ..... especially with the multitude of scams out there in this economy ..... you've just been lucky so far.

You missed my point. I agreed a rental agreement can protect you, but if the renter is from Florida and the owner is from Oregon, its not practical or financially viable to sue due to the geographical distance vs the small dispute amount. Thus, the contract is no more valuable than agreements made via email, which are also binding.

If you want maximum protection as a renter, offer to pay for rental escrow since it is your best protection. I don't like rental escrow since as an owner I prefer to receive the money immediately, and as a "renter" nearly all my reservations are made less than two months in advance so my credit card payment protects me, or I'm doing repeat business with an owner so our history gives me a comfort level.

As for me being lucky, you couldn't be more wrong. And you're not listening/reading what I've written. I evaluate and vette the people who contact me and I chose not to rent units to people who are questionable. Yes the day might come when something could go wrong, but it's far more likely my criteria and methods will continue to protect me.

And apparently you've forgotten one of our conversations where I believe you called me a shill when I went on record I'm probably the only person who ever got paid selling timeshares to a scam company. The reason I got paid is because I don't commit until I have contracts and refund mechanisms in place to ensure my transactions are viable. There's no luck to this, its all common sense and due diligence. Funny about when you called me a shill, I provided the transaction dates and locations of the transactions which others posted they verified as accurate, but no apology from you, just silence.