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
You can begin your search for a home exchange
partner by asking around or by placing an
advertisement in an international publication, such
as International Living, 824 E. Baltimore St.,
Baltimore, MD 21202, or the International Herald
Tribune, 850 Third Ave., 10th Floor, New York, NY
10022; (212) 752-3890.
The alternative is to 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.
Agencies to contact include Better Homes &
Travel, 185 Park Row, P.O. Box 268, Suite 14D, New
York, NY 10038; (212) 349-5340. This is the only
home exchange organization that screens
participants and negotiates arrangements for you.
The registration fee for first-time participants is
$50. The closing fee ranges from $150 to $600.
Also try Loan-A-Home, 2 Park Lane, 6E, Mt.
Vernon, NY 10552; (914) 664-7640. This group deals
primarily with members of the international
academic and business communities. You can list
your home in Loan-A-Home's directory free.
Intervac, P.O. Box 3975, San Francisco, CA
94119; (415) 435-3497, is part of an international
network of 22 home exchange companies representing
30 countries. For $35, you can list your home and
receive a copy of the club's directory.
Vacation Exchange Club, in Honolulu,
Hawaii,(800) 638-3841, is affiliated with 22 other
exchange companies and represents 42 countries. For
$24.70, you can list your home and receive a copy
of the directory.
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...
For more details on home exchange how-
to's, read Your Place and Mine by Cindy Gum.
It is available from Gum Publications, 15195
El Camino Grande, Suite 100, Saratoga, CA
95070. The cost is US$5.95.
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.
Some home exchange organizations will also
list houses or apartments for rent (refer to the
list given above). Another good contact is
Hideaways International, 15 Goldsmith St., P.O. Box
1270, Littleton, MA 01460, which lists rentals in
its annual directory.
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.
