I am hoping to swap my house in Australia with someone who lives in England (see my ad in the classified forum) but have not done this before. Can anyone share their experiences if they have already swapped?
What are the pitfalls I should be aware of? On-going costs? Damage? Rates?
If we exchange cars as well, what should I be aware of? Insurance? Registration?
Any advice, thoughts, suggestions appreciated.
John.
Reply to this Hello John 😊
I moved this to the general forum.
It might get more replies there.
Mel
Reply to this Hi John,
I'd definitely check directly with your insurance company/ies to be on the safe side.
Whoever you potentially end up swapping with is probably going to be having the same questions :-)
Reply to this Jo, insurance never occurred to me! Thanks for the suggestion.
John.
Reply to this I did hear one story about house swapping.
A guy living in California swapped with somebody living in Central London.
Even though property is ridiculously expensive in Central London you dont get lots of space for your money. The place in California was huge with lots of parking space etc.
The guy from California complained endlessly about the conditions in London. The parking was inadequate, the appartment was too small........ The guy who owned the appartment ended up having to pay for him to take taxis everywhere in London for the year so he would not need a car.
It may be important that the person you are swapping with knows exactly what facilities you are offering and visa versa.
Reply to this Ouch! I don't think that will happen with us as we are very clear about what some apartments can be like in London. We rented there in 2000 and were appalled at the prices that were being asked and the parking restrictions in the city. We eventually rented a detached house with a garage in Burgess Hill - between Brighton and London - but the garage was too small to fit the car in! We loved the house, though, and the garden.
Our house in Budgewoi fronts on to a lake. We can supply a small dinghy to sail in. The ocean beach is ten minutes walk or less on one of our bikes. The Hunter Valley vineyards are 40 minutes away. We can swap you an all-wheel drive car (and a camper-trailer if you are adventurous, to save you accommodation costs when exploring Australia!). Who needs more?
Is this sounding good?
Reply to this I think it sounds brilliant! I would swap with you, no problem. We have used hospitalityclub and couchsurfing while travelling and it was always a great experience. Different concept but also relying on people and trust. So I also started thinking about a house swap. Not quite there yet, but you do make me think about it more seriously 😊
Reply to this There must be one or more sites actually dedicated to house swapping?? There are internet sites for everything these days.
Mel
Reply to this Mel, there are many of them but most people only want to swap for a couple of weeks, not 6 months or a year. They cost AU$50 upwards to register and it seems pointless to register when I already know that they won't have the swappers (is that a word?!). That's why I thought TravelBlog might work because most people are looking at being away from their home for longer.
John
Reply to this Only the one nibble from Andy & Josie. Guess I'll have to try elsewhere. Maybe a house sitter would do, although I wouldn't have the benefit of having a house in the UK. Then again, maybe I could house sit over there! That might work.
Reply to this Do you have any boating experience John? What about longboats? A lot of people live on them and just move around the canal network. Good for trips away too ;-)
Reply to this I hadn't thought of that! Yes, I do have boating experience. A friend of mine in my youth lived on a house boat on the Thames so it is possible.
Reply to this My sister and her other half lived on one for nearly a couple of years I think.
Reply to this I'm adding this in as general info for anyone who may be interested in exploring this further. The information comes from Heather Eldridge (Hedy) who posted it in the classified section.
Hi, a few words of advice about home exchange sites from a fellow Aussie (in 2005 we did 9 swaps during a six- month holiday - from Ireland- UK-Europe-Malta). And I am currently working on Trip #2 for 2009......
1. I 'd recommend GTI (Green Theme International) - there's heaps of Brits looking for exchanges to Australia. I found it THE best value site, definitely worth the $$$). It's absolutely user-friendly too.
2. Good FREE sites include: Jewett Street, Livingaway, Geenee and Itamos.
3. Have you considered say, several shorter exchanges? Be prepared to do a bit of moving around. After all, the area you've mentioned ("near London") is tiny compared with distances we travel in Australia! Think laterally - you'll broaden your experiences with a variety of locations.
4. Another one to check is the Hospitality Club.
5. And then there are house-sitting sites (can't recall any specific ones but you can Google). We managed one fabulous rural mansion/pet-sit in Ireland in June when they went off to the US.
I would be absolutely amazed if- with flexibility- you don't manage swaps for at least 'our' warmer months - you may have more trouble convincing Brits to be in Australia mid-year when they could be in Spain!
Hope this helps.
Reply to this Have had best responses from GTI (25GBP to join) and HomeLink (Au$250) but it looks as though I will need to do several exchanges to cover the period we will be away. The longest swap we have been offered is Dec - April which isn't bad considering. That house in in South London.
Someone also suggested
Craigslist but there is more of a risk there as there is no vetting of advertisements or the people who put them in.
I notice there are a couple of other posts where home exchange is being discussed. Maybe we could add an entry in Ali's
Essential Travel Websites post. I'll post some sites for consideration.
John.
Reply to this I'd advise it, but definately get to know the people you will be swapping with prior to doing it. I spent a year of email and skype, getting to know the couple I was swapping with. I think this is why our experience went so well. We both knew exactly what to expect, and there were no surprises. We were up front and we covered everything from insurance issues to pet care. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking to experience more than the touristy vacation.
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