“Without new experiences, something inside of us sleeps. The sleeper must awaken.” – Frank Herbert
So you are thinking of doing a home exchange.
Perhaps you and your spouse are soon retiring and are interested in trying a new way of travelling, or perhaps you are a young family with children and are looking for an affordable, alternate version of summer vacation... or maybe you are like me, a bit of both; I am single parent, partially retired, with a couple of teenagers in tow. You might be wondering, is this really possible, switching houses with someone else in a distant country? The answer is YES. With a little common sense and a little courage and determination, it is more than just possible, it is wonderful.
How do you get started?
The best idea is to jump right in with both feet and start looking at some of the websites that are available to potential swappers in order to find someone who would want to switch houses with you. All of them allow you to view homes available, but you must join up before you are allowed to contact the member to inquire about their listing.
Free sites or yearly membership fees?
Some sites require a yearly fee, some are free and some are even partnered together so that when you join one you can join another for a discounted or nominal fee. Frankly, I found the free sites I joined did not seem that serious because none of my queries were responded to. This could have just been bad luck of course, but perhaps the fact that no one needs to pony up any money means that most of the members may have been just testing the waters and not quite ready for a home exchange commitment. Certainly no harm in checking them out, of course.
Four home exchanging sites worth looking at:
These sites all require yearly membership fees which range from $50 to $130. However some them have a guarantee; if you do not receive a home exchange within the first year, you get another year’s membership, free. Also check for special rates and offers. Eventually I joined up with six exchange sites (for most people one or two would be enough). I found that these were the best four.
HomeLink has been around since the 1953 so they certainly know the house swap business. This site has excellent search features (searching is limited if you are not a member) as well as an amazing support system. When I had a cancellation my listing was flagged and within a day I had an email from a representative who put on the front page of their newsletter. It also has a rating system a that keeps track of a member’s response rate. If you see 100%, you have a good chance that you will hear back from them. This encourages prompt replies.
Another excellent long running home exchange service, in existence since the early 1950s. Intervac is short for “International Vacations”.
Be careful, this gorgeous site is a feast for the eyes and you will end up spending a lot of (enjoyable) time here. I found that there are many luxurious homes available at this site so if you want to go high end this might be a place to start. Additionally HomeExchange’s map search feature which is located on its main page is very easy to use.
This group is based in the United Kingdom and has been in existence for 25 years. Members respond quickly to inquiries. I used this site because it had many of listings from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, all countries I have an interest in visiting. This is something to keep in mind when choosing an exchange service.
