House Swapping for Holiday

[johnbc70]

Has anyone got any experience or know someone that has experience of swapping houses with others for holidays.

I know the thought of someone else in your house is not for everyone but as we plan to move house in next few years then it does not really bother me having strangers living here for a few weeks. Of course the flipside is that you could get to stay in a nice place in a nice part of the world.

I am thinking a nice 2 bed house in Central Edinburgh will be popular in August for the festival and we could end up with amazing house/apartment elsewhere. I know there are a few websites out there but wondered if anyone has any experiences they could share?

[s.a.m]

Yes!! We've done 5 exchanges, and like most people who've done it, I feel a bit evangelical about it. I was apprehensive the first time, but it worked out really well, and we've kept doing it. We've been to Austria, Germany, France and Spain, and all of them have gone well. We get loads of offers from Canada and America, but we've been looking mainly for European swaps, so that's what we've gone with.

We've used Homelink, who I think might be a bit dearer to register with (We pay about £100, which includes a discount for repeat registrations, for our listing on the site. You can look without registering). Mainly because they've got a big database, although there are a few others, and I think some are free. It might not be the best solution if you like resort holidays(although we've had quite a few offers from resorts), but if you don't, it's great. We have two children, and it has helped quite a bit to go to places that are kitted out for families.

Ask away if there's anything specific you want to know.

[johnbc70]

Yes!! We've done 5 exchanges, and like most people who've done it, I feel a bit evangelical about it. I was apprehensive the first time, but it worked out really well, and we've kept doing it. We've been to Austria, Germany, France and Spain, and all of them have gone well. We get loads of offers from Canada and America, but we've been looking mainly for European swaps, so that's what we've gone with.

We've used Homelink, who I think might be a bit dearer to register with (We pay about £100, which includes a discount for repeat registrations, for our listing on the site. You can look without registering). Mainly because they've got a big database, although there are a few others, and I think some are free. It might not be the best solution if you like resort holidays(although we've had quite a few offers from resorts), but if you don't, it's great. We have two children, and it has helped quite a bit to go to places that are kitted out for families.

Ask away if there's anything specific you want to know.

Cheers for that - will have a look at Homelink. Good to hear your experiences are positive, if I think of any other questions will drop you a PM. Thanks!

[s.a.m]

No problem. Don't hesitate to ask.
Might be worth doing a google search, though, and looking at some other sites. The Guardian used to have a big database, I think. And it might be free. We've only used Homelink, and it's worked well for us.