House Swapping: Fad or Possibility

Posted on September 21, 2007

House swapping is the increasingly popular activity involving two homeowners staying at each other’s houses for a set period, typically allowing both to vacation gaining a more authentic experience for a low cost.  Homeowner A would live in Home B for a time period, while Homeowner B lives in Home A. 

I have seen this growing in popularity the last few years despite the hesitation most people have initially with letting a perfect stranger in their home while they are not there.  The New York Times reports house swapping is up 40% in the last two years.  Some of the benefits of house swapping include:

  • Save money.  This is probably initially the first advantage most people think of when approaching house swapping.  You would save money on cooking meals, lodging, rental car (some people swap the cars too), boarding for your pet, and laundry among others.  Statistics show that people who swap houses typically take a longer vacation due to decreased cost of per night lodging.  Intervac reports “families save an average of about $5,000 by trading homes and cars instead of booking hotels and rental cars.”
  • Cultural enrichment.  Lets be honest, how much cultural do you really get out of staying at the downtown five star Marriot or Hilton.  They are often all the same.  But immersing yourself in the local culture by living in neighborhoods with other families will beat any organized tour you could take.  Think living in a small town in Italy walking to the market each day.
  • Adventure.  You never know what to expect when staying at another person’s home.  Sometimes that can be good while at others not so great, but nevertheless an adventure either way.

Here are some factors to consider before doing a house swap:

  • Terms of swap.  Ensure you know what you are swapping by checking the sample agreements offered on the home exchange website (see below list).  The terms could include requesting that your guests feed your pets or water your plants as well as fill your car back up with gas.
  • Insurance.  It is a good idea to give your insurance company a call to make sure there are no problems and they are covered during their stay.  Generally since no money is changing hands insurance should cover them in the home and in the car.
  • Valuables.  Store any possessions you have in a locked room or safe.
  • Logistics.  Often times people will meet the other family at the airport if schedules permit to give them a tour and get everything working prior to taking off on their vacation.
  • Cleaning.  It is customary to leave a clean house with fresh linen for your guests.  If you break anything ensure you leave payment for the broken item.

How to do a house swap:

  • Digsville.com.  Annual cost of $44.95.  Founded in 1999 and caters to first timers with over 2500 listings in 55 countries.
  • HomeExchange.com.  Annual cost is $59.95.  15 year old company with 14,000 listings with about 40% in America. 
  • HomeLink-USA.com.  Annual fee is $90.  Started in 1953 the agency has over 14,000 listings with many in Europe.  An added feature is they have local offices in Europe that can assist with on-site problems.
  • Intervacusa.com.  Annual fee is $95 for full membership or $65 for US listings only.  Started in Europe in 1950s and now offers 12,000 listings in 50 countries with local offices in 30 countries.

In conclusion house swapping is not for everyone and to be honest I am not sure I could ever do it.  But one thing is for sure the adventure and cultural enrichment gained by immersing yourself in the local way of life would be a last memory.

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    » Filed Under Real Estate, Saving, Spending

    Comments

    4 Responses to “House Swapping: Fad or Possibility”

    1. Lois on September 21st, 2007 6:35 pm

      Thanks for publishing a post about home exchange. One point to mention is that, if you are looking for an exchange in another country, it often pays to look beyond agencies based in your own country that can sometimes be top heavy with listings from fellow citizens who can be competing for the same smaller numbers of exchange offers in your country of interest.

      I hope, especially if any of your readers are interested in exchanges to the UK, that they will check out our London based agency for lots of choice of attractive exchange offers here and in the rest of Europe:

      http://www.homebase-hols.com

      Also, the home exchange blog:

      http://homeexchangetravel.blogs.com

      Cheers

    2. Inaugural Edition of the Carnival of Travelers on October 7th, 2007 10:38 am

      […] presents House Swapping: Fad or Possibility posted at Saving With Me.  The holidays are coming soon, so saving money during fall travel is […]

    3. Paul on November 12th, 2007 2:24 pm

      I use switchome and I have managed to do a number of exchange totally free of charge.

      http://www.switchome.org

    4. Kelly Burns on April 12th, 2008 9:39 pm

      We use several free home exchange web sites. Our latest find is easy home exchange. It is free and we have meet a great number of new friends and are setting up a home exchange for our next vacation in New Zealand. The link is http://www.easyhomeexchange.com

      Hope this helps

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