Why exchange your house?

You dream of leaving on the other side of the world, discover a trendy capital or take a breath of fresh air in the countryside but your income does not allow you?

Exchanging your house or apartment will save you a lot of money while you are on vacation, while having a benefit equal to or greater than what you would have had if you rented an apartment, a house or a hotel.

In addition, a home exchange allows a real immersion in the daily life of the city in which you will spend your holidays. Traders, neighbors ... you will live your stay as a true cultural discovery and without passing for the tourists of the corner!

Beyond all these practical and economic advantages, the exchange of house is a true human adventure . It promotes openness to others and promotes values ​​of sharing and conviviality. Moreover, the people who follow this practice form a real network of contacts. Need legal advice from a lawyer, a chef's cooking advice ... what is certain is that you share commonalities with these people, such as love of travel and a taste for sharing.

Before you get started, you want to know more about the procedures, the formalities and the pitfalls to avoid. Here are some tips so that your home exchange happens in the best conditions.

* Directed by Nancy Meyers
With Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law

How do you change your house or apartment?

The exchange of house or apartment is done through the Internet . Several sites propose to connect people wishing to use this means in order to be accommodated during their stay. Most of these sites are for a fee: a subscription is required in order to have access to the proposed offers.

Must-see sites

https://www.homelink.com/ one of the most famous home exchange sites

https://www.switchome.org/ (free)

https://www.trocmaison.com/ Trocmaison belongs to the world's first home exchange network during the holidays

https://www.intervac.fr/ site dedicated to holiday exchange in metropolitan France and overseas

The choice of destination

You can have an already defined destination or you may just want to adventure! If you have not chosen where you want to go, you can start by consulting the offer and the request to know the countries or cities used to this type of practice or that have the largest number of proposals.

You can also define your destination according to your exchange criteria: the desired period, duration, profile of home and family ... and then see the houses available. If you choose a distant destination such as the United States or Australia, it is best to do it well in advance, as you also have to take the airline tickets.

Know that one of the destinations most prized by the French are the United States and all the more since the fall of the dollar.

Once the destination is chosen, it is a matter of placing an ad on your turn in order to attract other exchangers!

Writing your ad

It is important to be honest in describing your home or apartment, whatever it is. There is no interest for you to have the interchange disappointed once there.

In your ad, emphasize the comfort of your home, the assets of your neighborhood (transportation, shops, green spaces ...), the attractions of your city, and the tourist places in your area. If you live in a little known area or if the demands are not thriving in your city, you will have to apply yourself to make people want to discover it.

Do not stress by telling yourself that under the pretext that you have "only one" apartment, you will not be able to have a house with pool. There is no real equivalence. A large number of parameters come into play and the heat exchangers seek above all comfort and user-friendliness. A practical kitchen to prepare good dishes, arrangements to feel at ease ...

Guarantees

The main guarantee is based on the confidence of the exchangers. In principle, you do not do what you would not like to do at home. As you walk through the various forums , you can see that 99% of the testimonials are positive. People are packed and recommend the house exchange without hesitation.

You can use what is called a swap contract often offered by sites that play intermediaries. This contract must be signed by both parties, a copy of which is sent to the site. It summarizes the terms of the exchange: what are your exchange dates? How to organize for keys? Thus, everything is clear before you leave and you have a written document authorizing your stay in the house of your correspondents. The contract is written in the language of each participant. It does not necessarily have legal value but it proves that the person agreed that you were going to her home. It is not mandatory but it is more prudent to do so.

Car exchange

Cars often lend themselves among members, especially for transatlantic exchanges. You will need to contact your insurer to determine the responsibilities and to agree with your exchange partners the terms of payment and the deductible in the event of an accident.

House exchange: To do

Here are some tips to make your exchange go:

- Promote families that have a profile similar to yours, especially in terms of age and number of children

- Before concluding the exchange, send many emails and call the person / family to feel if there is an affinity and to be clear on what you are looking for and what you have to offer. The contact must pass between you. Otherwise, it is better to drop

- Plan a welcome by neighbors, friends or a family member who can make your interchanges discover the place and explain the important points

- Consider writing a short guide to using the house so that newcomers know if they have things to do: water the plants, maintain the pool, run the dryer ... but also the number of the veterinarian if you leave your pet, that of the family doctor in case of emergency ...

- A small gift of welcome can be a delicate attention that is practiced more and more within the community of interchanges. This can be a typical bottle of wine, a bouquet of flowers ...

- In order to make your stay a pleasant one, you can help them by leaving a small list of the best of the neighborhood, the best places to eat, the best local baker, where they can enjoy delicious macaroons ...

- So that the people who live at home feel really comfortable, it is advisable to make them a small place in the dressing room so that they can store their belongings

- It is recommended to leave a minimum of useful things so that the occupants are not lacking the necessary when arriving at your home: toilet paper, oil, salt, sugar ...

Home Exchange: Don't

Some things are to be avoided if you want to leave a pleasant memory to your tenants and if you do not want to take any risk.

- Leave your pets without warning

- Surviving your ad at the risk of strongly disappointing newcomers

- Do not do housework before leaving home. You will have a good chance of finding your dirty house or apartment on your return. But be careful, the notion of the household is not the same in all countries ...

- Leave dangerous drugs within easy reach. If people do not speak the same language they could confuse the tablets ... plan a closed drawer in which you will put them as well as your valuable jewelry and other valuables

Thanks to Lilli Engle, President / Founder of HomeLink France