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Bernie and Ann Johnston suffer from incurable wanderlust. The only downside to travelling the world? Expenses. Still, the Johnstons have discovered a solution that enables them to pursue their travels without paying an arm and a leg: house swapping. After 11 years of home exchanges, the couple are veterans, and, says Bernie, “We’ve had lovely experiences with no problems the entire time.”
The principle behind home exchanges is simple: “You stay in my house; I stay in yours.” Various organizations (most of which are online) act as go-betweens, posting listings and providing a safe means of communication between participants. No money changes hands, but each homeowner pays an annual fee to the linking organization. (Shorter or longer memberships are available and priced accordingly.) Once that’s covered, members can take part in as many home swaps as they want.
The first concern that most people have is security. Bernie, a retired RCMP officer, says, “People are so security-conscious that it defeats them – they just don’t want to let a stranger into their house.” But, in fact, one linking agency, HomeExchange.com, reports that, in its 14 years of business, and after tens of thousands of exchanges, it has never had a report of theft or vandalism. Common sense dictates that valuable items, such as jewelry and family treasures, be put away. And although most insurance companies regard home exchangers as “guests within the home” (and thereby covered by insurance), it’s wise to double-check your own policy. Often, cars are swapped as well; most car insurance provides coverage for swappers, but again, check before you swap.
Bernie has always found that, because of the considerable back-and-forth exchange before the swap, “the owners know each other’s personalities pretty well.” Once initial contact is made via the Internet, the owners exchange emails and phone calls, asking each other questions, coordinating vacation times and discussing myriad “how-to” details on everything from booting up home computers to operating the washing machine. Sometimes, homeowners arrange to care for each other’s pets and plants. It’s also a good idea to provide lists of friends to contact in case of emergency, or simply as an entrée into the community. Exchangers can even set up an agreement of rules or use one of the boilerplate agreements provided by the linking agency.
Finding home exchanges that accommodate larger families may be more difficult – which is where villa rentals come in. Richard and Barbara Wafer planned a vacation to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary and wanted to bring along the whole family. To get everybody in one place, the couple decided to rent a villa. Working through an agency, they found one in Portugal’s Algarve area – a huge residence with seven double bedrooms, each with its own ensuite. The dining room sat 16, the swimming pool was Olympic-sized and tennis courts were just a short walk away. As the pièce de résistance, a local caterer prepared a four-course gourmet dinner for the celebration in the villa kitchen. For both accommodation and meal, the outlay was considerably less than what it would have been at a hotel, and the experience much more memorable.
Before starting your search for a home exchange or villa rental, it’s important to first list all of the amenities you need for the kind of vacation you want. Will you be spending most of the time sightseeing (you’ll need a car) or just relaxing (a pool would be nice)? Will you be cooking most of the time? If you need to keep in touch with home, is there access to high-speed Internet? Elaine LeJambe, AMA manager of Product Development, adds another bit of advice: “Read your contract carefully to ensure there are no hidden charges. For example, sometimes there’s a substantial damage deposit,” she cautions. “However, most people who have booked villa experiences love them and we get rave reviews.”
So as the cost of flights and accommodation increases, creative solutions like home swaps and villa rentals can keep the love of travel alive and the budget low.
Home-swap Links
• HomeLink Canada,
604-987-3262; homelink.ca
• Global Home Exchange,
250-756-6177; 4homex.com
• International Home Exchange Network,
386-238-3633; ihen.com
