Swap Your Home and Travel Free
You want to spend a few months or more somewhere
exotic, beautiful, and culturally different, but you
don't think you can handle the cost. What if you could
arrange it free?
The answer is a home exchange. Exchange your home
for a comparable residence in a foreign country. It's
free, except for the minimal cost of finding someone
who wants to trade.
William G. Thomas and his wife exchanged their
home in California for a 500-year-old rectory in
English farm country, a small, austere, Gothic church
situated on a knolled horizon. It stood alongside a
moss-covered cemetery and was surrounded by ancient,
thick-trunked trees and ringed by six handsome and
rustic English houses.
This tiny English community about 40 miles north
of London has a population of 17. The residents are
hard-working farmers and the families of three business
executives who chose country life over the rigors of
urban living. One of these executives, John Morris,
and his wife Mary decided they wanted to venture for a
while beyond their English village. They wanted to see
the United States.
So the two couples arranged a home exchange. The
three-week swap was total. The Thomas' and the Morris'
exchanged homes, pets, and cars.
William and his wife had visited London on several
occasions before investigating the idea of a home
exchange. They wanted to return to the London area,
but not simply as tourists running hurriedly from site
to site. So they wrote to English friends, applied for
home-exchange brochures, and reviewed ads in the London
Times.
Their inquiries yielded several alternatives: a
house at Wimbledon; an apartment near Kensington
Gardens; and a bedroom in the home of a friend in
Whitchurch, Hants. Then the letter came asking if they
would be interested in a home exchange with a family
living in an old rectory near the ancient town of
Hitchin. They jumped at the chance.
The swap was arranged over the telephone. The
couples discussed departure times, instructions on how
to operate household appliances, trash collection, and
what to feed each other's pets. It took several months
to make all of the arrangements.
How to arrange a swap
Contact a home exchange
organization. These companies publish directories
several times a year listing people interested in
trading homes, when they want to travel, and where they
would like to go.
The more people you contact, the more likely you
are to find a successful match. Send out as many as 50
letters, telling prospects about your home, your
community, and the local attractions. Give references.
And be flexible. It can take as long as a year to
arrange a successful exchange.
Once you have found a partner, clearly define all
terms. It is best to do this in writing. Details to
clarify include:
- Gas and electric bills. You can trade bills or
settle up later.
- Telephone bills. It is best to exchange bills,
so that everyone pays for his own calls.
- Cars. If you exchange use of vehicles, make
sure insurance, licenses, and permits are in order.
- Dates. Make sure of the exact dates of arrival
and departure.
Most home exchange companies do not screen
participants. That's up to you. Ask potential
partners for references and photographs of their homes.
- Potential damages. Who is responsible for
paying for repairs?
- Yard work. Do you expect your guests to mow the
grass or weed your rose beds?
Contact your home insurance agent and tell him you
will have visitors living in your home. For your own
peace of mind, put away valuables and fragile
ornaments.
If you don't plan to meet your guests when they
arrive in the United States, have a friend or family
member meet them and give them the keys. Ask your
neighbors to welcome your guests, perhaps inviting them
over for dinner or drinks.
Leave a note explaining where essentials can be
found, a schedule for trash collection, and a list of
important telephone numbers (police, fire, and
hospitals).
For more information...
Let your tenant pay for your trip
If you're unable to arrange the home exchange of
your dreams, take a new tack. Put your house up for
rent for the week (or weeks) that you want to travel.
If you're able to get US$700 or US$800 a week for your
home in rent, you surely can afford to spend two weeks
sunning yourself in Montserrat.
It's not as foolhardy as it may sound. Ask for
references -- and check them carefully -- before you
accept a tenant. Also request a security deposit,
which you can keep in case there are any damages.
When writing the ad for your house, think like a
salesman. List all the features and comforts of your
home, as well as all the nearby attractions.
