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home-exchange.findthebest.com

Homexchange.com the grandpappy has been in business 20 years

Good personal experience years past.. screen carefully

beware of smokers and partiers and expect the unexpected.

lots of stuff photo-shopped reviews locations not always

on the up and up but can be a ton of fun if careful...

Some nightmares recently airbnb.com sued recently over

a destructed rental so caveat emptor companies/imdividual.

MANY scammers.always pay with CC never wire money

insuremytrip.com

Hi Tenek: We have done 24 home exchanges to date, in Europe, Australia, US, and Canada. We have used three different web sites:

1. www.Intervac.net

2. www.homelink.org

3. www.homeexchange.com

Most of our exchanges have been set up with the first two sites. I have done a few exchanges with the third one listed, but I find the site difficult to navigate and in general find the exchangers new to home exchanging.

The second site has a discussion forum, so once you join you can read about home exchange issues, post your own queries, and even post special requests like boat exchanges. The first two sites are much more user friendly and they both have been around since the 1950s. Homeexchange (the site) is relatively new.
I first read about home exchanging in an article in 1994 in the LA Times. I joined Intervac. There were no websites then, just a book that came out twice yearly. I located a couple of people (practically neighbors) nearby and telephoned them. They invited us over for coffee and cookies, told us about their experiences, gave us hints, and helped us immensely. You may want to do that if you decide to join a home exchange organization.


However, if you have some questions, I would be more than happy to try and answer them for you. It really is a great way to travel and it has allowed us to make many trips to places we never expected to be able to visit. As one person said on this board years ago, we have managed to take many trips of a lifetime through home exchanging over and over again.

I wouldn't recommend free sites as in my experience they can be more frustrating than they're worth. The problem I've found with free sites is that you get so few replies - which makes me think that the people that join arent that serious about home exchanging and joined just because it's free and then maybe forgot about it! I've been a member of www.homebase-hols.com for over 10 years and have arranged lots of really good exchanges through them. As with some of the other sites mentioned, they've been around for as long as I can remember and so have genuine people looking to exchange.

My tips are to get to know your exchange partners first - I always message them for 1 or 2 months and call them 2 or 3 times so that we feel comfortable that we know the people staying in our home (and they feel comfortable staying in our home!).

Thank you qwovadis, annetti, and flipzoid for your very substantive feedback. I am currently exchanging emails with a family who also have their pictures on the website. We'll see if it pans out. I might take you on your offer, annetti, to pick your brain further about the details and the mechanics of house exchanges.
Thanks again!

Good luck and post again if you have further questions.

What did I miss? What's is the comment removed by Fodor's moderators? Was it anything useful?

As a side note, we have been getting some interesting offers once we posted the pictures: one in the US, one from Ireland, Germany, and Netherlands. Not the destinations we wanted, but we are open to possibilities.

"What did I miss? What's is the comment removed by Fodor's moderators?"

Who knows, 95% of the time, deleted posts are advertisements

"Was it anything useful?"

Probably not . . .

Per Flipzoid: "My tips are to get to know your exchange partners first - I always message them for 1 or 2 months and call them 2 or 3 times so that we feel comfortable that we know the people staying in our home (and they feel comfortable staying in our home!)."


Good advice.

I would also add that you should make a list of what is important to you for your home's well-being and your own during the exchange. You can discuss these points on the phone or by email.Pick a few things at a time to discuss, don't bombard all at once.

Suggested topics for discussion: (I'm sure you will come with others pertinent to your Home Ex needs.)

Clarify with your exchangers your views on smoking in your house and theirs, too if you intend to smoke or don't want smokers in your home.

Confirm in absolute terms how many people will be exchanging - I am pretty emphatic now, if I say 2 persons only, I don't want to get an email later or be met at the train requesting permission for a third person. This has happened to me. I don't want surprises.


Are pets in the exchangers' home? Is that a problem? Confirm that pets will not be present if you don't want to do pet care. The listing may not state pet care, but it's been a year since the listing was posted and your new exchanger may have acquired a cat and has forgotten to change the listing.

Discuss telephone access. Some people no longer have land lines. Will there be a phone for you? Who pays for long distance tel calls?

Washing machine/ dryer available in the house on down in the apt bldg basement or across the street? Don't assume when they list washing machine and dryer that it is in the home; it could be used by a number of tenants.

who is responsible for mowing the lawn? We were shown the lawnmower twice by our home exchangers when we arrived and expected to mow, something neither of us wanted to do. Find out about lawn service.We hired a temp for the period.

Do you plan to close off a room of your house? Let your exchangers know in advance what is off limits.

Are you going to exchange cars? You may want to put a mileage limit on distances your car will travel.


Will you be offering a cleaning service? Will they?


What about the keys? How will they be exchanged?


What cleaning expectations are there for the day you leave? Strip the bed? Fresh sheets? How about the key?


Remember it is your home, so be clear and definite, no need to be rude and obstinate, you just need to state what is important to you in a pleasant manner.

And for what it's worth, do a house exchange agreement. They will help you consider things you may have overlooked.

You get the general idea, think of what is important to you in your home and how you want people to take care of it.


It may sound difficult, but it's not and when you consider the benefits, once your home is clean and ready for the exchange and you are on your way to a new place, a new neighborhood, no hotel bills, the ability to spread out and take your time seeing an area, you will appreciate all the more that you have elected home exch rather than a hotel.

How do people exchange keys in simultaneous home exchanges? What if we are not meeting each other in person at one's house?

Several ways to Exchange Keys:

A neighbor,friend or family member meets the exchanger at your home when they arrive. I did this a lot in the beginning, but I found it a lot of trouble for my friends since planes were not often on time.

Mail them your key. My preferred way to exchange keys. It's easy. I only put my initials and city on the padded envelope. The HEs contact me when they recieve the key.

Some of our European exchangers have hidden keys under flowerpots for us or taped them to the bottom of their mailbox. It worked, we always found the key.

And occasionally, we meet in person before the exchange and hand the keys directly to each other.

Returning keys: Often meet up at the end of the vacation and then hand the keys directly to each other. If this is not the case, we generally put them in locked mailboxes or if they don't have one, you can give it to a neighbor, or I suppose mail it back.

Tentek: A word of caution, if you feel uncomfortable speaking with your exchanger or find any part of the discussion, written or oral disconcerting, then pull back and reconsider if this is a good exchange for you. You should feel comfortable with the proposals both yours and theirs before you finalize the exchange. Do a written agreement. And if you can get references, use them. Most people don't, myself included, but it makes good sense. Finally, if you can trade with an experienced home exchanger the first time out, it really helps, though I have met some first timers who were terrific and knew exactly how to set up their home and were perfect angels in our home. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Thanks annetti, I appreciate your sage advice. We've been having fun so far, browsing listings on both websites we've joined. we've received some interesting proposals so far, but nothing certain yet.

Tentek: I'm sure you are doing this, but reply to all your prospective home exchangers' proposals "yes" or "no" or even "just considering." If your answer turns out to be negative, write and tell them. It's the polite thing to do and you will appreciate it when people are considerate and let you know one way or another if the exchange will not work for them. It's not pleasant sitting around waiting and wondering whether or not an exchange is going to happen.

Yes, I am getting back to people right away. It is so exciting because every day or so we are getting a proposal. I have to say that so far homeexchange.com has been much better than homelink.org. We are getting many more offers and they seem to have a much bigger database.

Wow, we are riding the roller coaster of figuring out this puzzle. We got many interesting offers, only one is very solid so far. We are interested in the other offer right now, but the other side has not made any commitments, even though they were the first ones to contact us. I wonder if you ever commit to someone and then get a much greater offer. Where are all the experienced home exchangers?

Thank you for listening to me unload...

Once you commit to a home exchange, it is only honorable to follow through with it and not change when something "better" is offered.

If you have not committed to one exchange, that is, agreed to the exchange and are interested in one you perceive as more interesting, write an email to the more interesting one and tell them that you would like the exchange, but if they are not serious, you will take the "solid" offer.

Unfortunately, some people express interest, write emails with lots of details and then drop off the map and even when you write back asking what happened, you don't hear from them again. It can be very disappointing.

Also, the person who wrote you may have written 50 e-mails and has gotten a number of positive responses and is weighing them or just waiting for something "better." If someone keeps you hanging too long and then eventually gets back to you, they may not be a good exchanger down the road.

I am not backing out of a solid commitment. I am just referring to the exact scenario that you outlined in your second paragraph. I think what is happening with the more interesting offer is what you have described in your 3rd and 4th paragraphs. Too bad... We got so excited about the opportunity to travel to the South of France. Oh well, Amsterdam is not bad either.

There are a few locations that are overrun with offers. Examples are NYC, Paris, South of France and Tuscany. People obviously do get exchanges in these places, but the competition is fierce.

Also, beware the mass soliciting of letters where you get the hello greeting (your name is not there) nor is your location. Definitely not a good sign that they are specifically seeking out your listing.

Amsterdam sounds like a great location. The Netherlands is very accessible by car or by public transit.Probably the easiest country to drive in that I have ever visited. You can make tons of day trips, too. Lots of pretty small villages.

We did an exchange in The Netherlands years ago and at that time we bought a museum pass at one of the museums. Cost probably was about two museums entrance fees plus our photos. It was good for a year and we visited tons of small country museums, plus the usual big attractions. It was an incredible bargain. It was good almost everywhere. I wonder if it still on offer.

We bought a Dutch phrase book, but English was spoken pretty much everywhere, even in the out of the way places. If you bicycle you will be in seventh heaven, there are bike paths and bicyclers everywhere. If you decide on Amsterdam, I'm sure you will have a wonderful time.

Are you planning your exchange for the summer? This is the time people make plans and though not impossible of course, it is easier to arrange an exchange now than closer to the summer.

Hi annetti, how do you know that the house is there when you do a simultaneous exchange. In other words, what if the other side of the exchange made up or gave you an address of someone else? What is the best way to verify that these people really live there?

Very interesting information. I am bookmarking for future reference. Hope you don't mind.

Good Question, TEntek. If you are using the Intervac site, there are often references on the the exchangers' listing page. You can write to one of the references listed.

You can ask Homelink if they have any evaluations that will assuage your apprehensions.Also, if you are registered on Homelink, they have a discussion link on their website. You can post the question there. Perhaps, someone will have some more ideas,

You can arrange to arrive a day early, before the exchange, meet your exchangers, get a tour of their home and exchange keys. Probably the best idea yet.

We just returned from a week exchange to Palm Desert and we met our exchangers at their home, took a tour and exchanged keys.

You can ask the prospective exchanger directly for a reference.

You can send them a letter/postcard and see if they receive it and then thank you.

In 1996 before e-mail, we exchanged all our information by telephone calls and snail mail. When we arrived in The Netherlands, outside the small town where we would be staying, we took a taxi from the train station. The taxi driver looked at the address and told us that the street/neighborhood did not exist. Funny, but neither of us freaked out and a few moments later, he located the street and drove us to the house.

Let us know how you decide to handle it.

annetti, thank you for being so patient and so generous with your time and advice. I see that I have already asked you about the keys before, in early December of 2011. We have committed to the family from Amsterdam.

Some of my co-workers were expressing concern over showing up in a foreign city and not finding the place/being duped so I was channeling some of their concerns. I actually feel very confident about our prospective exchangers, due to the emails we have been exchanging.

We are going to Paris too on the same trip, but not doing a home exchange, just renting a place.

It is so great to hear about your experience.

Funnily enough, just a few days before the very first time I did a home exchange, and people I knew were asking about the possibility of frauds, there was a thriller on TV which turned on just that scenario! In that story, the dodgy/frightening visitor turned out to be the wife's lover, and it had all been a put-up job to get the valuables and property deeds out of her husband's grasp: and when you think about it, setting up an exchange with a stranger would be a pretty convoluted way to set about a burglary. Most criminals are actually not that bright or industrious.

There is of course the possibility that a property isn't really as described or is in a dodgier area than you've been led to believe, but nowadays Google Street View can be your friend.

On that particular occasion, I went on to do a good dozen repeat exchanges with that particular person, and I've never had a bad experience with any exchange partner. But you do need to take your time to build up trust and understanding with the other party, and make sure you have explicit agreements about the things you need to be sure about.

Patrick: I've always thought it would be wonderful to do a repeat exchange with the same person. Doing 12 exchanges with the same people is almost like having a second home. And you know the people are responsible and there's less apprehension. Wonderful that you have been able to do this. We've had the opportunity twice (only twice!!) to do repeat exchanges, but it has not worked out on our end. Always had something else planned when the offer was made.

I agree that you need to be specific about your needs and what you require. Don't expect people to read your mind. If you don't want someone to use something in your home, be upfront, but tell them before the exchange takes place so they will not be disappointed that they did not have the option to decline. Glad to read about another satisfied exchanger. When it works out, it really beats a hotel any day of the week.

>>Doing 12 exchanges with the same people is almost like having a second home. <<

Yes, it was. Then he got a job in Strasbourg and sold his flat in Paris. Oh, how inconsiderate.

So, go to Strasbourg -- a wonderful place, too.

Agree, not Paris, but def. worth seeing. Stop off in Nancy on the way.

Well, happy to report that we are enjoying our very first home exchange. The house we are staying in has far exceeded our expectations. It is beautiful and spacious and very clean.

annetti and everyone, thanks for your help in helping me navigate this process.

Can't wait to hear more about it! Are they in your home at the same time?

Tenek: Glad to find you are enjoying your first exchange; it is wonderful to have a place to stretch out in. So much nicer than even the nicest hotel room. And there's a special delight shopping in the local stores, and you can be so leisurely in doing your touring. I'm sure they left you lots of information re their favorite haunts. Have a good time and if you have time - post a log as you go along on your exchange.

The home exchange partners are very experienced. They have a folder full of information, in alphabetical order, on everything from restaurants to how to feed their cat. We did not put together a folder but we left hand-written notes at home on post-it notes.

Yes, DebitNM, tehy are in our home right now, so I guess I should wait to get back to see if the exchange is totally successful. I am not expecting this couple of 50-somethings to throw a wild party in my residential neighborhood, so I am not too worried.

annetti, we are spoiled now. My 5 year old son said today that he never wants to stay in hotels any more. And this is from the kid who LOVES hotels (pool, view, relaxed rules from parents to keep him quiet).

I will post a more detailed trip report when we get back. signing off... Love, Tentek.

Have a wonderful time and thanks for keeping us up to date.

OK, and we are back. We spent 3 wonderful days in Vancouver, BC, in Shaughnessy neighborhood. The house we stayed at was fabulous. I am guessing it is worth something in the neighborhood of $2.5 mln, that's right 2.5 mln dollars.

Vancouver has definitely cast its spell over us. The weather was cooperating, sunny, no rain.

Did I misunderstand - thought the home exchange was in Amsterdam? Was it in Vancouver ?

Oops, sorry DebitNM. We did a trial run closer to home for a 3 day Easter weekend. We are still planning a home exchange in Amsterdam but in the summer. This was just 2.5 hours drive. We were a bit nervous about our first exchange so we thought we rehearse with someone nearby.

Yes, I thought Amsterdam too., but isn't Vancouver great! We did a five week exchange in 2008 and fell in love with the city. So many great places to visit, good food, and friendly people. BTW, I love these short exchanges. We have done a number of them for a week where we can drive to our home exchangers' homes. So much easier than hassling with a plane, worrying about getting everything packed and adhering to a tight schedule. Hope all was well when you returned. If you have time to post, do. I love to hear about other people's experiences in HE. Glad you made it through your first one successfully!!

annetti and all, our Home exchange experience has been very positive. We did another short 3 day home exchange with a different couple from Vancouver over the Memorial Day weekend. It was so much fun. This time we were in Kitsilano, which is a lovely neighborhood with a great beach and lots of restaurants. Our main exchange is coming up soon, this summer, to Amsterdam. We are beyond excited.

Both places were stayed at in vancouver were very nice and clean. I have no reservations about HE as a concept. I agree that individual listings will vary, but we feel like we've been hitting it out of the park so far. Thanks for your help!

Tentek: Very happy to hear another exchange went well. We loved Kitsilano. Strolling the streets there was so much fun and so many restaurants to choose from, too. Thinking, maybe another visit to Vancouver might be a nice idea.

Post about your trip to Amsterdam. We had a wonderful exchange to The Netherlands yrs ago. Get yourself a museum pass, that is, if you enjoy museums (and Amsterdam's museums are fabulous; you'll need photos), but after the first two visits, the pass pays for itself. It's good for a year. An incredible bargain. I hope the pass still exists. You can buy it at the first museum you visit. Have a good time.

Just a quick update: we had a very successful home exchange in Amsterdam. Many thanks to Annette and all other contributors for answering my questions. Our travel philosophy was deeply impacted by this exchange. I am providing further details in my trip report in the Europe forum. I am just very grateful for the information and encouragement I received.

Hi everyone! I'm so glad I found this forum! My boyfriend and I are considering doing our very first home exchange. We're thinking about signing up with Intervac because we've heard good things, what do you guys think?

We live in Los Angeles and will (hopefully!) be traveling to Italy soon. All of your tips and advice in this forum are so helpful.

Question, though, did you find it more difficult to do your very first exchange? Were current exchangers more reluctant to work with you since it was your first time? I'm so excited to try this! It is 100 times more appealing to us to stay in a home and live like locals than it is to be "tourists". Also, about how far in advance of your trip did you start the process?

Our home is on the ocean in Santa Monica and a good size, and we have two cars to offer, so hopefully someone will be interested!

Thank you!!

bookmarking

I'm an experienced HomeLink member and have had good results with them. In particular, when seeking Europe.

Recently I joined switchhomes.net as they seem very different from the other home swap sites. I'll post back when I see how this one goes.