House Swap Holidays

Ginjafro

I am considering a house swap holiday, where I exchange my house here in the UK for another, somewhere abroad. There are numerous organisations that enable people to organise and arrange such exchanges with other members. They seem to be honest and above board with good reputations but it still seems a big step to lend your house to strangers, even though you would also be a stranger to them. So for example I would hope that my house would interest somebody, say in the US, South Africa or Australia, who would use my house as a holiday base whilst I use theirs at a mutually agreed time.

Massively reducing the cost of going and staying somewhere good abroad is very appealing, so I am wondering if anyone else here has tried it and how good or bad was the experience?

nunowoolmez

Are wives also part of the swap?

verylonglegs

I haven't tried it but I should imagine the hassle outweighs any cost savings? I'm thinking from having to put out of the way all your personal stuff you don't want strangers snooping through or messing around with. You'd have to pack twice, once for you holiday and again to store the stuff you don't take wouldn't you?

islwyn

Sounds like mega hassle! Like the wife swap idea though.

peat

A group of strangers using your throne? No thanks.

capt_slog

I have head some bad stories about this,

One 'found' that the people who had stayed in their house had used it as the set for a porn video.
Another had their wine collection polished off by the swappers.

but I think they tend to be rare.

All the same, I've never like the idea of it myself, even though I'm honest enough to admit that I'd get the better half of the bargain