10 Home Exchange Vacation Tips

If you want the conveniences of home when travelling for almost nothing, a home exchange may be for you. If I tell people that my family has taken a few home exchange vacations, they are enthralled and want to do the same. Of course, many would-be exchangers are apprehensive about sharing lodgings with strangers.

Start with friends and family.

Home sharing with friends, relatives, or acquaintances may be less stressful than swapping with a stranger’s family. This is also applicable if you’re exchanging with friends of friends, so your friends will vouch for the people you’re exchanging with. Furthermore, opposed to using a skilled home exchange service, exchanging homes on your own saves money. Check with people you know about doing a home exchange as a first step. You may not know someone who lives in your chosen destination, but your Uncle Bob may know someone who does.

Vestibulum id ligula porta felis euismod semper. Sed posuere consectetur est at lobortis. Aenean eu leo quam. Pellentesque ornare sem lacinia quam venenatis vestibulum. Duis mollis, est non commodo luctus, nisi erat porttitor ligula, eget lacinia odio sem nec elit. Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla. Vestibulum id ligula porta felis euismod semper.

Craft an exchange email

Include travel times, preferred destinations, and something enticing about your house and hometown in your home exchange text. Include any important provisions as well. Say that you are unable to exchange with someone who has stairs or owns cats. Don’t include a wish list for the ideal holiday home. Keep it quick — no more than two short paragraphs. Offer to submit images and additional information to those who would like to learn more.

Sign up for a home exchange website.

Don’t give up if your efforts to locate a home exchange across your network are unsuccessful. You can still enter an online trading platform such as swaypehouses.com. Add a description of your house, apartment, or condominium, as well as some details about your neighbourhood and area, after enrolling. You may also make a list of destinations you want to visit, as well as possible travel dates.

Peruse potential exchange homes

Next comes the fun part: looking for future matches. Reduce the number of exchangers interested in visiting your location by narrowing the search by travel dates, destination, and/or exchangers interested in visiting your location. Taking a look at other people’s homes is one of my favourite pastimes. For a brief period of time, I enjoy imagining myself as the main character in their life storey.

Have realistic expectations

If you live in a trendy vacation destination like San Diego, California, finding a suitable exchange would be much easier than if you live in Des Moines, Iowa. However, you never know. Someone who lives in your dream destination may be interested in visiting your hometown to see relatives, attend a wedding, or see a new part of the world.

 Paint a positive, but realistic picture

Emphasize the house’s advantages. Is there a pool or a billiard table in your home? Is it possible to walk to stores and restaurants from your house? Could a city dweller enjoy your rural home with nearby hiking trails? Although you want to represent your home and place in a positive light, don’t go overboard. Instead of attracting a dissatisfied temporary inhabitant, you want to find someone who will enjoy what your home has to offer.

Get to know your exchange family.

You’ll want to get to know your exchange family after you’ve signed up for Home Exchange and found a house that appears to be a good fit. Interaction with the owners via email, asking and answering questions. Set up a phone or Skype call after the dates have been decided upon. If your questions, texts, or invitation for a phone meeting seem to irritate the home exchange family — maybe this isn’t the right exchnage for you. With your home swappers, you should have a sense of camaraderie and comfort.

Consider exchanging cars and pets

We considered swapping dogs as well but concluded that arranging our vacation days around doggy potty breaks would be inconvenient.

 Hide expensive items

Put away something you don’t want to be stolen, such as costly watches, even though you’ve formed a rapport with your exchangers. You can also store any delicate things that you don’t want to break. Place valuables and essential documents in a hidden lockbox or with a trusted friend or relative before you return.

Exchange away!

So, if you asked me if I’d do it again, I’d say yes. Without a question. For me, the benefits of having more space, better sleep, homey conveniences, and significant travel savings outweigh the risks of doing a home exchange. Only make sure you’ve covered all of your bases until your home swap. Prepare yourself by getting to know your exchange family ahead of time. In your contract, be transparent about goals and consequences. Be patient for a few hiccups. Furthermore, and perhaps most critically don’t fight any battles that aren’t really worth fighting. Sign up and start exchanging today with swaypehouses.com today!