House Swapping? The Ultimate Guide

House Swapping? The Ultimate Guide

February 8, 2022 • By THIRDHOME

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House swapping vacations are such a great way to explore new locations without feeling like a tourist! And who wants to be a tourist when you could be experiencing things in style like a local?

House Swapping? The Ultimate Guide

How to get started:

The first step in the house swapping process is to find a host to trade homes with through your contacts, Facebook group, or other social platform. When you do, ask the host for references, and always communicate with the owner well in advance of your holiday.

While home swaps are usually simultaneous, they don’t have to be. Also, it’s not impossible to arrange a home exchange if you don’t have a home in either destination. But generally, if you live in New York and want to visit Paris, for example, you’d need to find someone in Paris who wants to visit New York.

The great thing is that, whether you’re traveling for business or pleasure, many times house swaps offer free accommodations for both parties. And not only you’ll get to experience a new city, but you’ll also get to enjoy the local life of a neighborhood that you may have missed had you stayed in a different type of accommodation.

This is the difference between being a tourist and a real world-traveler.

To make sure you have a good experience, you must take a few precautions when house swapping.

First of all, make sure you thoroughly study the pictures and read reviews and feedback left by other people who may have visited the home you’re interested in.

It’s also advisable to ask the host to show you the property in real time by using apps like Whatsap, Skype or Facetime. This will ensure a degree of accountability since you won’t be able to view the property before your visit.

Moreover, before starting your house swap, make sure you’ve checked your homeowner’s insurance coverage. It should cover your personal belongings and certain types of damage to the home. You should also ensure that your insurance covers your guests. You may need to increase the limits of your coverage for complete peace of mind.

As all of the above can quickly add up to a lot of work and become overwhelming, a safer, more convenient solution that has become available over the last several years is to use websites that specialize in house swapping for holidays or business. If you’re looking for a house swap, you’ll find a host of opportunities at these sites.

Meet THIRDHOME:

THIRDHOME is a private travel club that specializes in luxury home swap, and offers over 13,000 listings all over the world organized by location. You can’t help but find the perfect solution for your home swapping desires!

Every home swapping site is different, but in general, you simply have to find a member with a home you’d like to swap with. Once you’ve found someone, it’s just a matter of coordinating dates before booking.

When it comes to safety, house swapping is almost always safe. But, for additional peace of mind, most home exchange sites have insurance coverage for the house and even for personal items.

Do your research.

In addition, many sites offer review and feedback systems, so, not only you will know what to expect, but you can also be sure that your property will be in good hands.

Using a reputable house swap service is especially important when traveling internationally where there are different customs and expectations, and you may not know what you’ll find.

Overall, the process can be fun and a great way to save money, in addition to providing you with an exciting way to see the world and meet interesting people.

Although this is not a solution for itinerant travellers, home exchanges can be a great base for weekend excursions, and a wonderful place to feel at home while away from home.

In fact, one of the highlights of house swapping is that you’ll become a part of the local community, which can make your trip feel as if you are staying in your own home even while exploring the world.

So, you end up getting the best of both worlds… and that’s hard to beat! Get started on your home exchange adventure with THIRDHOME here.

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