Would you do a house swap?

[fridayschild]

A glowing piece on the joys of a house swap in the Guardian at the weekend has got us thinking it might be a good idea. Anyone with less glowing views/ experiences I should bear in mind?

And we were thinking about the summer half term and I wonder if actually I have left it all too late.. We have a lovely house (imo!) in south west London and would be looking for somewhere within striking distance of a beach. Mission impossible?

[slowreader]

We did a house swop with a US family 3 years ago- for about a month. It was arranged through Intervac and was brilliant- still in touch with the family (and their neighbours). The worst thing (both families agreed) was cleaning the house before hand- that turned into a joke. Anyway, nothing was damaged, lawns cut, kitchen cupboards restocked everybody ended up friends. I should go for it. We will do it again if we ever get the building work finished.

[fridayschild]

Was the worst bit not cleaning the other family's house when you left? I have to say that worries me more! These Fly threads just pass me by...

And how far in advance did you arrange the swap?

[babywhiting]

nah i live in a big house but whatever it was like inside i wouldnt think mine was ever clean enough even if it was spotless to everyone else.(what would other people find

[brimfull]

We did one about 6 yrs ago to florida,all went very well.We exchanged cars aswell.It was useful to have kid's toys/bbq/pooltoys etc at hand.
I agree the cleaning bit was the worst bit,but it was nice coming back to a spotless house
I used hombase holidays.co.uk.For a swap in the summer half term ,you'd need to get your skates on I think.

[slowreader]

No, cleaning their house was easy- cleaning ours felt compelled to buy new quilts, shift enormous cooker to scrub round back, polish up Christmas decorations etc. We also swopped cars, having to use gears scared them to death but they survived. We started arranging nearly six months in advance but that was mostly getting time off work, and taking kids out of school. Stocked fridge and freezer for them, didn't lock up anything but did put pets in kennels, as did they, although I believe some people exchange pets too.
If I do it again I am going to book a house blitzing company to come and do it for me!

[fridayschild]

blitzing company is a top tip, thanks! I expect the house could do with it anyway

[Libra]

We have done 14 house swaps so far, all through Intervac. For us, it is the only way to holiday now. All you pay for is the flights, we tend to swap cars.
The best bits are the facts that we swap with people with other children so there are toys, videos, computer games etc there for the two boys to play with. We always leave details about the neighbourhood - it is great to read about the best places to buy bread, meat, wine, etc. We love living in a real house, not in a tourist area, and meeting the neighbours. We like the fact that we can use a proper kitchen that is fully equipped rather than the crappy kitchens in rental properties.
We are off to Spain this year. have gone all over Europe and also to England. Sometimes we just swap for a long weekend, ie to Glasgow or Edinburgh.
The bad bits are definitely the clean up but it does mean that our house is very clean at least two or three times a year.

[fridayschild]

Libra, how far in advance do you fix up your swaps? do you have a website of your house? The prospect of toys is really appealing...

[Libra]

Fridayschild. The Intervac site gives each member a page on the website. This shows one photo of the house. When we contact potential swappers we normally send other photos of the inside of the house (taken on a clean and sunny day). We fix up exchanges all the time. At present we are receiving emails all the time asking about the summer (we have just arranged the Spanish swap). There is a section on the website just for people who are looking for exchanges in the next two weeks.
What is interesting is the amount of people who are interested in coming to the far north. I thought it would be difficult to sell Aberdeenshire as a holiday destination, but there are a lot of Europeans looking for something different from a beach holiday and we do push the whisky and romantic castles aspect.
You can specify where you are interested in swapping so that you are not contacted by people from countries you would not go to. We only state Europe, for example, because DS2 is too young to fly further afield at the moment, although we are considering Canada for next year.
Another nice thing about swapping is that we never fly during the weekend and we end up staying things like 17 days: it is all personal choice and you are not confined by holiday companies.

[hannahsaunt]

Libra - v interested that you houseswap from Aberdeenshire - I've always had a notion that this would be the way to go now the dc's are a bit bigger and we've loved renting serviced apartments for the freedom/neighbourhood aspect but assumed that no one would want to come here . I guess we do have castles and the like to tempt. Off to the site now...

[Libra]

Hannahsaunt. It is definitely possible to attract people up here. The skirl of the pipes, the wee dram, the unpolluted beaches.... Try not mention the rain, the wind, the cold and you are OK.
I tell myself that it is good for people from the south of France and Spain to experience our interesting climate while we use their swimming pools.

[elliott]

I've toyed with this idea too but wonder if realistically, we have the TIME to do all the arranging, sorting out of an information pack, cleaning etc etc. I can also imagine it must be a bit stressful trying to be the 'perfect' swapper - is it a real bind doing all that sort of thing?

[elliott]

Yes, and would anyone be interested in coming to Newcastle? Personally, I think its a fab destination - Northumberland is lovely and we holiday there ourselves! - but I'm not sure that many Europeans will have heard of it...

[Libra]

Actually I really enjoy receiving emails from all over the place and discussing with the family whether or not we want to go there. As for the welcome pack, I go the Tourist Information office and get all their leaflets, write on the ones that we recommend 'go here', and that's about it. We have a Word document which we alter and print out once a year which explains how to use the cooker, feed the cats etc.
Forgot about the cats: we swap pets too (although we don't do dogs), so no hassles about arranging pet care. We have fed goldfish, turtles, cats, chickens and hamsters in our time.
What I really love is the way you meld into the community. The neighbours ask you around for a meal or a drink, your kids play with theirs and it's so much more than a holiday. I get to use other people's cookbooks, and we always come back with some new redecoration idea.
A couple of Easters ago we went to Sweden and I was stunned by the minimalism of the house we stayed in despite the fact that they had two children. Came back determined to declutter, to discover that the Swedish family had apparently been enchanted with what they tactfully called the 'cosiness' of our somewhat different approach to decoration and were planning to take everything they owned out of storage...

[Libra]

Elliot, as far as Newcastle is concerned, there are all sorts of places to swap and it is up to you to sell your home town. Remember that sometimes people are visiting the area to visit relatives. For example, we have swapped a couple of times to Birmingham so that we can visit family without actually staying there.

[elliott]

Well i guess if you can swap a house in Birmingham....!

[Libra]

It was a nice big house with all mod cons and SKY!! DS1 was in seventh heaven and didn't want to visit family, just watch television.
I would definitely recommend house swapping. It's a bit scary the first time you do it, and I would recommend that you swap with someone who has done it before so that they can guide you through, but it's a great way to have some cheap holidays and really see the real country.

[fridayschild]

my family is in Aberdeenshire! might call on you for a swap with London next time we have a big gathering....

I really appreciate the advice, thanks very much

[Libra]

Definitely! It is about time we introduced the children to London!

[rookiemum]

We did a houseswap through the NCT and have another one arranged for this summer. As its non commercial its only #35.0 per year to be on the register.

Upside didn't have to take all the baby stuff as there already ( our clued up swappers picked us because our baby was the same age as theirs) Nice house, cheap holiday.

Downside, didn't feel as relaxing as being in a hotel or appartment because of someone elses clutter sorry belongings.

Cleaning before their arrival and on last evening hideous, but just do it as quickly and as well as you can.

I'd say go for it but you are wise not to make it your main holiday.