So You Want To Do a Home Exchange
 

OK, I have tried twice to post a message on this topic and it didn't post. I think the problem is that the piece I was posting was too long. I apologize to everyone. I am not trying to take over the board with this topic, but I did see it mentioned on the "Is Everyone Wealthy?" thread, so I thought I would post it. <BR> <BR>I have home exchanged many times and will be going to Spandau, near Berlin, Germany, next August. If anyone is interested in this topic, just email me directly and I will send you the piece I tried to post. <BR> <BR>Has anyone else home exchanged? <BR> <BR>In Europe I have exchanged in Scotland, England, France and Germany. There is no cheaper way to travel. You do have to be cotent with basing yourself in one area. <BR> <BR>Most of the swapping is arranged through one of two services: Intervac and HomeLink. There are a lot of home exchange services out there, but only the two I mentioned have a large enough data base to be, in my opinion, worth bothering with. <BR> <BR>I have also exchanged twice in Canada and in the US.

I have long been interested in home exchange and love to read any information concerning this. I think we will be ready to do it in about one year. I am concerned that not many will be interested in coming to Kanata, Ontario. Please email me your piece on this. <BR>Thanks

We are current Homelink and past Intervac members, and live in Hawaii. We have had great success home exchanging and find home exchanging to be a meaningful, fun and affordable way to travel. Plus we have made wonderful friendships along the way. Many US locations appeal to European home exchangers. You can check the Homelink web site free of charge as a visitor, and get an idea of who's listed & where, at homelink.org <BR> <BR>Happy travels, and aloha. <BR>k

We have been swapping (homes that is!) for three to four years! Always a thrill, wonderful swaps to Paris, Nice, Rome, Siena, and Australia! We have never had so much as a single little problem! <BR>I am right now planning a swap to Spain for this fall! <BR>We belong to Vacation-Homes.com. We are such avid swappers, that CNN did a piece on us! (Our 2 minutes of fame!) <BR>Feel free to ask away! <BR>Rosalie

Have yet to home exchange but have always wanted to. Any info you care to pass on re your experiences would be appreciated. Have not heard of the services you mention do they have web sites? <BR>Two things have stopped my wife and I from exchanging homes 1. Concern that unless we really knew the people we could come home to a great deal of theft, how do you get past this concern? 2. We have a nice home in the country but are on a well and septic. As any of you who have experienced wells and septics know, there are things you must be aware of ie: What to flush and not flush, not to run the well dry, etc, has anyone had experiences with a home exchange involving a well and septic?

Hi Howell: <BR> <BR>Through correspondence and exchanging photos you have a pretty good idea of what you are getting into. The best exchanges happen after you have had several communications back and forth, and have had your questions answered. It's best to put up matters of concern up front, first. <BR> <BR>We are in a similar situation, as our home in upland Oahu is on a water catchment system. We leave specific instructions about when the pump can be run, and how to read the level of water in the tanks. Since it's beautiful and secluded here and a short hop to the city, no one seems to mind. Besides, learning how people live in different parts of the world is one of the fun aspects of traveling :-) <BR> <BR>Regarding worries about theft: With Homelink, both parties execute an agreement, which is faxed to each country's homelink coordinator. If there is any problem, it gets reported and future listings can be barred. But it is basically an honor system. We haven't had any problems either. <BR> <BR>However, we have found it safe to exchange with families with similar demographics: i.e., ages, kids, jobs. Our experience has been that home exchanging actually puts people at their very best behavior. They are in your home, but remember, you are in theirs, too.

I agree with the previous poster to look for someone in your stage of life. If you have young kids, exchange with families with young kids. Your kids will enjoy the "new" toys. Similarly, retired people should probably look for other retired people. <BR> <BR>I wouldn't worry about anything getting stolen. Remember your exchangers are just as worried about their stuff as you are about yours. If you have valuable jewelry and it causes you concern, put it in the bank. <BR> <BR>Most exchangers won't touch the fine china, silver, etc. The last thing I want when I exchange is to damage anything valuable. I just use the every day dishes. <BR> <BR>I will be off soon on a weekend exchange in Williamsburg, VA. In August, I have a 2 week exchange in Berlin coming up. <BR> <BR>Once you get into it you will wonder why you ever vacationed any other way. <BR> <BR>I live in the Washington, DC, area, by the way, if anyone is interested in a swap. I have gotten a couple of US exchanges from AOL but my European exchanges have always come from Intervac or HomeLink. <BR> <BR>Remember, exchangers plan their vacations months in advance.

Hi Howell, we too have exchanged homes a couple of times and never have had any problems. Most people on the listings seem to be responsible professionals who would no sooner ruin or steal something of yours than you would theirs! We were lucky enough to actually have both couple for dinner before we left for their homes, which was great and very comforting for both parties. Have fun, it's a wonderful way to travel and really experience different cultures by settling in neighbourhoods and meeting people. <BR>Good Luck!

As a result of a recent thread on this topic, I have received some email about home exchange. I did a search for old threads to move appropropriate ones to the top where some may find them interesting.

I have done 25 home exchanges including 10 in Europe.

Lauren, can you post your long message in sections on this thread? Just break it up into pieces and post away. It would be a valuable addition to our archives for Fodorites who are interested in exchanging.

I did post my home exchange info but I did it on another thread. I tried to create a title that would make it easy to find.

Wherever you exchange have fun!

By the way, I live in the Washington, DC, area (very nice house in a nice neighborhood in VA). If anyone reading this is interested for the summer of August 2005, email me.

Is that advertising?

I've exchanged several times for short breaks to Paris (the same person - we've never met but exchanged so many emails we're old friends), once to Amsterdam and last summer I had a long break, doing back-to-back exchanges with people in Vancouver and Toronto.

It's all about preparation, getting to know each other and trying to swop with people who have roughly similar tastes and expectations. If your house is full of white carpets and Meissen porcelain, don't swop with a family of teenagers (and vice versa). If your idea of a holiday is being pampered in the Hotel Georges V, don't swop with anyone. But if you are fairly flexible/adaptable, it's a great way to see a less tourist-dominated side of a place, and it takes some of the pressure off planning, say, a night or two away somewhere different.

Yes, there must be some concern about accidents (not deliberate theft - most thieves are simply not organised enough to go through all the planning of an exchange for the relatively limited pickings they might find). If there is anything you're particularly concerned about (family heirlooms or whatever), lock them away, preferably somewhere else. But my own experience is that living in someone else's house makes me re-learn the basic principles of domestic cleanliness and tidiness (clean and tidy as you go, but better still take extra care not to mess things up in the first place).

Preparation also means thinking ahead about what help and information your visitors will need - the quirks of the different domestic appliances and services, and so on, emergency phone numbers, local transport, services and shops - and collecting it all together in a usable format. And it helps to make sure there's a neighbour or friend that both of you can contact in emergency.

I've organised it through free-of-charge websites (I'm too stingy for the subscripion ones)

PatrickLondon,
Which Home exchange srvice did you use?

Patrick London, I'd also like to know which home exchange website you used. Thanks.

Strange people in my bed, and I'm not there? I don't think so my dears.

How awful having people touching everything that is in my home. I wouldn't mind living in someone elses home as long as it is as comfortable as mine. People are either brave or mad, or maybe both.

Yes, I would like to do a home exchange too. Patrick, want to come to Fort Lauderdale? We have a pool and we are on the water with a dock, and can walk to the beach...moving into it in October. I am going to put it on exchangea probably after Christmas.

I love home exchange; I have done it 9 times and I write noww from my current exchange in Lyon. We are doing a 5 wk exchange, even using each others computer and cell phones this time round. It makes traveling so leisurely; you do not feel you have to use EVERY TRAVEL moment since you are not paying hotel tarrifs. Also, you are not squeezed into a tiny hotel room, but can sit comfortably in someones living rm. It also takes some of the mystery out of local cuisine when you see it sold frozen in the supermarket. I use Intervac or homelink;org; They both have web sites and you can cruise the visitors site. Homelink has a chat room where you can discuss home exchange queries. Both cost under a hundred dollars US; I prefer paying since it keeps it a bit more limited.

MK2....so I take it you wouldn't mind strange people in your bed when you ARE there ?

It depends on the strange person my dear, but one isn't in the habit of strange persons in the bedroom.

Mkingdom, home exchange is definitely not for you.

This lady, however, is going to Colorado on a swap later this month and working on a deal in Rome for Christmas. In my opinion it is the most interesting way to travel and live like the locals wherever you go.