The Home Exchanger

Home Exchange Tip: Do I Have to Contact People to Get a Home Swap?

An Intervac customer called today asking whether they needed to contact other members to get their desired home swap, or whether they should just wait for people to contact them.

In general, the more members you contact, the greater the chance of getting the home swap you want.  But it also depends on where your property is located and how nice it is.

Let's say you are lucky enough (as some of our members are) to live in a luxurious Manhattan penthouse. You will get many, many offers from all over the world as Manhattan is one of the most popular destinations for our approximately 10,000 members worldwide.  Maybe even your ideal home swapper will approach you with an offer to trade homes with their  dreamy Provence estate.

But most of our members have more ordinary properties. Like me...I have a 2 bedroom ranch home in the suburbs of San Francisco.  I contacted 40 members before finding our ideal home exchange in Dublin this summer. 

Click here for ideas of how to best pitch your property to other members.

Home Swap Story: England for Seattle

The Mansons, a young British couple, wanted to do a home exchange in the US. The couple, who have done several house swaps through Intervac, live in Yorkshire.  Here's why they chose to trade homes with a retired couple in Seattle, the Hilyards (photo below):

"America was our dream holiday, so we went for a location rather than a property. Whidbey Island near Seattle is completely off the tourist track, which is exactly what we wanted."

Click here to read the whole tale.

Then you can read the Seattle couple's take on the same home exchange: click here.

FAQ: Does it Matter Where You Live?

A prospective Intervac member called today and asked the following question:

"Do you have to live in top tourist spots like NYC, Florida or California to get a home exchange?"

The answer is no. Living in a destination that is a big draw does help you - you'll get more offers and the chances of getting your dream home swap improve. But our members worldwide may want to go elsewhere.

For example:

The owners of this home in the heart of the Canadian city of Ottawa want to trade homes with Intervac members in Texas.

The owners of this home in Krakow, Poland - a beautiful and historic city - want to swap homes with a member in Chicago.

The owners of this five bedroom contemporary home in Boston also want to trade with members in the Chicago area.

Finally, members who live in a large Stockholm flat are looking to go to Alabama or Mississipi this summer.

One last note: most of our international members like to keep their options open when it comes to the US, and most do not specify where they want to go. Translation: you might be able to tempt members in the fabulous Parisian flat to come to your home in Illinois.

New Home Exchange Listing: Holiday Estate in Provence

Wow! The owners of this large estate in Provence, are looking to go to NYC this summer between the dates of July 15-August 15, 2005.  The property available for home swap is a traditional Provencial maison with four bedrooms, and features a private swimming pool and grass tennis court.

If you live in New York City, trading your home for this villa would be a grand way to spend a holiday in Provence, one my favorite places on earth.  You would be near some of the world's best food, scenery and cultural attractions.  Click here for more on Provence.

New Home Exchange Listing: Belgian Country House

The owners of this lovely four bedroom home outside of Brussels have a swimming pool and are close to transportation and hiking trails.  They are Intervac members who have previously done 10 home swaps. This summer they are looking to go to San Francisco.

This could be a nice sojourn in the Belgian countryside with the kids, with daytrips into Brussels and Brugges. A quick trip to Paris via the Eurostar in Brussels is even possible!

Recommended Reading: Are We There Yet?

I loved the funny book "Are We There Yet?", which was written by Intervac member Scott Haas. Unlike most people,  Scott and his wife decided that having kids was actually a good reason to travel.  From their first trip to Switzerland when their daughter is an infant to a month living in an island villa in Italy (arranged through Intervac), the memoir details the travels and travails of the Haas family.

A wonderful book that demonstrates that traveling in Europe can be done authentically, inexpensively and with your children.

New Home Exchange Listing: Manhattan Luxury Apartment

A new home exchange listing has come up in Manhattan that looks great. A New York member is looking to trade their luxurious one bedroom apartment on the Upper West Side, with access to this rooftop terrace (at left), for a home in the San Francisco area.

The member is looking to travel in the month of June.

Intervac Customer Home Swap Story on Tampa CBS

Intervac customer Geri Espy talks to Tampa Bay's 10 News about her home swapping experience in Victoria, British Columbia. Click here to view and read her story.

Says Geri:

"(Home swapping) is less expensive. But for me that's not the main reason. The main reason is to be able to travel as a non-tourist, and be able to be part of a community, and live like the people do."

Couldn't have said it better myself!

Intervac Member's Tale of Home Swap

We get many letters and emails from our members sharing their experiences with home swapping. Here's one from a US member who did a home exchange in Ireland:

"Our family recently completed a home exchange with an Irish family located in Dublin, Ireland. It turned out to be one of the best vacations that we have ever experienced.

The hospitality and graciousness extended to our family during our stay was unbelievable. The family invited us to arrive a day earlier than their departure. Upon our arrival, they made us a delicious Irish dinner and later their daughter performed Irish dancing for us while their son played his Irish drum. Later during our stay, a close family friend had us over for dinner, took us to a few of the local pubs and also took my husband golfing for the first time in his life (he loved it!)."

To read more about the home trade, click here.

How "Last Minute" Can I Be About Finding a Home Swap?

I get this question a lot from our Intervac members. 

Most people look for a home exchange about 3-6 months before looking to travel.  As we always advocate, the more flexible you are with both your dates of travel and your destination, the greater your chance of getting your ideal home trade.

But if you have not planned your home exchange and have less than 3 months to go, there are several things you can do:

- Put your listing on our "Hotlist", which is for members looking to travel within the next 8 weeks.
- Sign up for our "Match Alert", which will send you an email each time there is a listing in an area you want to go to.
- Be very proactive, contacting as many listings as possible.

We personally arranged a last minute home exchange in Manhattan two weeks before we were scheduled to depart,  so it definitely is possible!