Property Life
Rather
than renting a villa in Europe last summer, Caroline Connolly and
her family swapped their home near Winchester for an elegant house with a private beach in Nova Scotia, Canada. It belonged to a family with similar-aged children, who were planning a three-week holiday in southern England and were delighted to take over the Connolly’s home. No money changed hands; the only upfront costs for either family were transatlantic plane tickets. “We’d dreamt of going to the South of France but when a house in Canada came up we saw it as an adventure,” says Caroline, who runs Home Link, a members-only home swapping website. “The exchange couldn’t have worked better. We even left our people carriers at the airport for each other to use.” With school fees rising at a faster rate than infl ation,
and the fi nancial crisis still haunting the country, an increasing number of people are turning to house swapping as a means of cutting down on the cost of holidays. Home Link’s membership has increased dramatically since 2007; there are now 1,400 homes up for exchange, and two years ago a new website called Homes Club International was launched to cater specifi cally for the staff , governors and parents of independent schools. “Many people are now open to the idea of exchanging homes to save money,” confi rms Dianne Stewart, managing director of Homes Club. “They welcome the thought of ‘sweating their assets’: making the most of their homes so they can reduce the cost of their holidays.” Most house swappers, according to Caroline, who has
done home exchanges to Portugal and the UK in the past, fi nd there are many other reasons aside from the obvious fi nancial ones, as to why house swapping can be a more attractive proposition than renting. Private family houses tend to be much better equipped for visiting children than a commercial holiday property, she says, and they’re often larger. “We went whale watching and swimming in the sea but the highlights for our four children were the kayak on the private beach and the huge playroom in the house,” she says. “If your exchange family has similar aged children, they can borrow their toys and games.” Home exchanges can be of any length: from a weekend
in Cornwall to a six-month stay in Australia. They’re particularly popular with ex-patriates based in the Far East and North America who want to come back to Britain during the school holidays; and are also a useful way of arranging accommodation for a sabbatical or extended business trip. Those with second homes fi nd they have double the clout when it comes to fi nding a suitable exchange candidate and many agree to do non-
simultaneous exchanges: for example, swapping a winter week in a ski chalet in the Alps for a villa in the South of France for a week in summer. It’s not necessary to join a home-swapping club to
organise an exchange: you can advertise on listings sites such as Gumtree or Craig’s List without paying a fee. The benefi t of being a member of a club such as Home Link, which has been running since 1953, is that you can contact an offi ce in one of 28 countries if you have any questions or if problems arise when you’re abroad. “Someone on the ground is on hand which is particularly helpful if you don’t speak the language,” says Caroline. Members of Home Link pay an annual fee of £150 to upload a profi le of their home on to the website and submit details of the type of property and location they are looking to exchange it with. At Homes Club International, the annual fee is currently just £25, enabling members to view full details of all properties and to contact members via the site. Exchanges can then be discussed and agreed between parties, using the online guides or by contacting the Homes Club team. It’s perfectly legal to swap homes with someone else
– it’s akin to having friends to stay when you’re not there – although you should alert your insurance company. Many homeswappers take comfort in having someone in their home while they’re away: it’s less likely to be burgled if it’s occupied and – if you agree in advance – your guests can water plants or feed your goldfi sh while you’re away. “It’s like having an unpaid house sitter,” adds Caroline. For some people though, the idea of strangers staying
in their home is unappealing. “There is a huge amount of trust involved,” Caroline admits. “You’re swapping your most valuable possession.” She advises exchangers to lock up valuable or sentimental items before they leave, and only to commit to a house swap if they’re confi dent their host is genuine. “Good communication beforehand is the key to a successful house swap,” she says. Arrangements regarding keys must be agreed beforehand and clear directions given out with details of what to bring and how to get in to the house. Hosts will also need to prepare a booklet of instructions for their exchange family; many house swappers also decide to leave a note and a bottle of wine in the fridge as a welcome gesture. So long as you are prepared to be open minded about
locations and dates, it shouldn’t take too long to fi nd an exchange, says Caroline. “It’s best to avoid being too specifi c about location; and the more fl exible you can be with dates, the better,” she says.
For more information:
www.homelink.org.uk,
www.homes-club.com
READER OFFER Go to
www.homelink.org.uk and click on the “Join Now” button on the right hand side. On step 3 of the form, there is a box for Voucher Codes - just enter FIRSTELEVEN, and this will deduct £20 from the standard application fee.
www.fi rstelevenmagazine.co.uk Michaelmas 2011 FirstEleven 75
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