House swapping: does it really work?
 

I'm at the very beginning of researching house swaps for my sister. She and her husband live in a lovely "leisure" community outside Orlando. It's really a large town, with multiple golf courses/swim clubs. Residents drive everywhere in golf carts year round. There's live music and dancing every night at the "bandstand". New house, 3BR, 2BA, fully furnished. We wondered if it might be an ideal candidate for a swap (Italy, France?).

How does one go about researching such a thing? Are there websites that match people up? Can one look for similar properties here in the US and see if they've generated interest? Thanks for any input.

I live in the Orlando area, and I think the desirability of your sister's house would probably depend on how close it is to any attractions, i.e. theme parks, beaches, etc. Also, the most likely european candidate for a swap would be the British, since we do see a high number of them as tourists, with many actually owning second houses in the area.

Out of curiousity, does your sister live in the Villages? If so, that location is kind of far from a lot of attractions. Also, it is really a retirement community (no matter how they advertise it) so your sister would want to make sure to include that information. For some people it would be fine, they would enjoy the golfing and socializing, but younger people or people with children might feel awkward. Whether your sister lives in the Villages or another similar place, she should make sure to include that in her listing.

Hope this helps! How does she feel about Britain? I do think this is the most likely candidate.

Forgot to add, googling "home swap" brings up a number of different web sites that organize exchanges. You might want to check to see what they offer in the central Florida area as a comparison.

Thanks, kelloo. Yes, she is in the Villages. I think you may be right about UK tourists...golf might be appealing to them. Not to mention the "sunny and warm" part.

I've been doing some googling and am just starting to figure out how it works. It appears that swappers contact one another. There doesn't seem to be a way to track which locations get many "hits".

We live in Berkeley, California and have swapped houses on Craig's List three times and have a month in Paris coming up, and a stay in New York in the Fall. Craig's List is free and everyone I know swears by it. Check it out by going to Craigslist.com and then go to House Swaps and put in your area.
I think it's fabulous.

I know you have to trust people with your house and all its goodies inside but do you have to check with your insurance company to see if you're covered if something gets stolen?

I honestly never thought of anyone stealing anything, but I did check with my insurance company that, if our house burned down when we weren't there, would we be covered? The answer was yes, and we are covered for anything that might happen while we are in the other people's house.

I have been a member of Intervac and HomeLink since 1990 and have done 32 swaps. 14 of the swaps were in Europe. The remainder were in the US. Almost all my swaps came from either Intervac or Homelink. I did get one through AOL one time when I answered a question.

Yes, home swaps work. I have never tried craigslist for one and perhaps I should. Please note that many so called home exchange sites do not have enough members to assure you of getting a reasonable number of inquiries.

Home swapping to the US will work only in countries where people do not need visas. That is why it is not popular, say, between the US and Latin America, Africa or Asia. Most of the international swaps occur with Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, etc., or with Americans who live elsewhere and do not have visa problems.

Your insurance is that they are just as worried about their stuff as you are about yours. I don't hide a thing and have never had anything stolen. What causes all the problems are cars and differences in what qualifies as a "clean" house. I had one real disaster with Germans; they left me a broken car (many major repairs needed; it was undriveable) and a filthy house. They were just liars. The other problems have all been about cars. Your insurance will cover anyone driving your car with your permission. However, there should be an agreement to reimburse the deductible beforehand. I have always been honest about that.

My in-laws use www.homeexchange.com and have been very pleased with their swaps.

Lee Ann

There have been several previous threads on this with plenty of useful advice and links. Try a search for "home exchange".

we have been members of both homelink and homeexchange for several years. After 15 exchanges in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and USA we could not be more pleased.
We have been able to save thousands on hotels.
For 2007 we have already arranged exchanges with Nice, London and Barcelona . Hard to beat!