Anybody got any experience with House Swaps

dewsbury

Hi,

My family are looking at doing a house swap via the internet with a family in Toronto.

Anybody got experience of house swaps?
Any tips ?

pa990

i used to work with a guy who did a house swap.. i dont have too many details about it, but he was happy.. he got a big house in boston, while they got his 4 bed semi.

it generally seems to be respectable people doing it (a bit like wife swapping )

Creachadóir

A lot of teachers do house swaps...and they're a respectable bunch It works out ok for them because of the long hols and low wages....

Anyway, if you have any teacher friends, they're bound to know someone who has done a swap. I don't know anyone personally, and I'm quite interested in the topic myself, so do post if you make the swap. However a friend of a friend (a teacher) has done many swaps in Europe, and found it a great way to see places he'd never usually see. I'd go for it if I had a house!

lost_for_words

My friends parents have been doing it for years and everything has been good so far. They leave out a welcome pack for the people staying in their house with all local info like where the supermarket is,pubs, tourist attractions etc., andd stuff like how to work the remote for the tv, when to put the bins out etc.
It's always good to mention to the neighbours who'll be in your house so they'll watch out for them. We usually get my friends house swapping people calling round to ask questions or say hi and it's good for them to get a decent Irish welcome too

dewsbury

Creachadóir wrote: »

A lot of teachers do house swaps...and they're a respectable bunch

mmm..funny you should mention teachers....apparently the deputy head at my kids school does it!

sambora

Sounds like a cool thing to do.

johnk123

You'd want to be sure your not getting tossed into some kip of a house like???? Especially if your own home is decent enough. Nobody likes to get the raw end of the stick! lol