Anyone tried house swapping?

[bob246810]

I'm planning a month-long trip overseas sometime next year, and one of the options that's come up is house swapping. I've had a look at some of the Australian sites and they seem decent, but at the same time there seems to be heaps of horror stories.

Just wondering if anyone has tried doing this, especially if it's your PPOR? If the other houseguests trash the place, are there insurance or legal options? And is this something like airbnb where only inner city properties will be popular? (as opposed to a place in the suburbs)

 

[fernfurn]

Havent tried it but looked into it a while back and there didnt seem to be any problem. The only problem which cropped up seemed to be with each persons idea of cleanliness. In other words, some people dont keep your house as clean as you do, or they didnt think you kept their house clean enough. Everything else seemed to work out fine. I think you would have to establish a dialogue with them first and get to know them a bit. When we went to France for 3 months we stayed in gites all over (and then in England) and we noticed they all wanted you to sit down and have a cup of coffee with them (or wine) first. It was very subtle and we didnt realise but worked out later, they were actually interviewing us to see if we werent axe murderers. So a few phone calls to houseswappers where you can judge their voice as well as internet contact would be a good idea

 

[Chris B]

I'm planning a month-long trip overseas sometime next year, and one of the options that's come up is house swapping. I've had a look at some of the Australian sites and they seem decent, but at the same time there seems to be heaps of horror stories.

Just wondering if anyone has tried doing this, especially if it's your PPOR? If the other houseguests trash the place, are there insurance or legal options? And is this something like airbnb where only inner city properties will be popular? (as opposed to a place in the suburbs)

I've never house-swapped but have used couch surfers and global free-loaders in the past (which have some similar risks) and had some great experiences and made lifelong friends.

My relatives did a house swap about 10 years ago and loved it. They stayed in Florida for a couple of weeks and then California for a month. Their home is in the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne and just happened to be close to where the guests wanted to be for visiting friends/family. They were quite fortunate as they discovered they were staying in a multi-million dollar property in Santa Barbara.

Of course there are risks but if you are sensible, there is no reason why it can't be a great experience. The other people will be taking the same risk as you (as long as they prove it is their home) but you definitely need to do your research, make sure you are properly insured (my family also exchanged cars) and definitely speak to the people you're swapping with. You can also arrange for friends or neighbours to check up on your place while you're gone or even pay someone to manage it for you (to do weekly cleaning or whatever you agree with the other party).

Good luck

 

[vaughan]

I've done two house swaps, one with a family in Melbourne and another with a family in Perth (I am in Sydney). Both were for 3 to 4 weeks. Worked really well.

I took the time to talk with the people first. Removed valuables and expensive items from the house (mine, not theirs).

 

[RPI]

My Sister does this internationally twice a year. She says using skype gives helps weed out people you can see might be difficult.