'The one thing that does stop me from investigating (a home exchange listing) further is lack of photos.'
This is a comment received recently from New Zealand member, Cathy Lawie-Phillips. I thought of Cathy's comment when adding this photo to a listing this week. Maybe it's just me being nostalgic for my childhood (having grown up on a farm in Canada), but the thought of relaxing by a pool while cows grazed in the adjoining field, seems like perfect bliss! This holiday villa, in Kissimee, Florida, is currently available for rental (the owners' home in Lancashire, England, is available for exchange) and the picture really does give a feel for the location that would be difficult to describe in words.
Some Home Base Holidays members have a way with words and their descriptions are interesting and full of information on their home and area while others, whose exchange offers are often just as attractive, find it difficult to describe that which is so familiar - attractions and facilities can easily be taken for granted when you live in an area. This is where photos (exterior of the home, garden, views from a window, inside shots, family photos, local scenes, etc) can really lift a listing and attract those like Cathy who might otherwise overlook the offer. Even if your home may not seem particularly photogenic to you (maybe your typical London Edwardian semi looks very much like all the others in your street - as mine does!) it may well attract people who live in modern homes but who are fascinated by the many period details often carefully preserved in older homes.
Use your imagination when taking photos of your home to include in your home exchange listing (digital cameras make it so easy to take lots of pictures to get just the right ones). Now that up to five photos can be added to each listing (the first of these is also shown as a thumbnail in search results), if you are a current Home Base Holidays member, do consider logging on and adding photos to your listing, if you haven't already done so, to help make your offer stand out. If you aren't yet a member, get snapping and hopefully you will join soon.
View Cathy's exchange offer in Auckland (with photos of course!) and read her article on her first exchange last Christmas to Utah in the April/May 2004 issue of Home Swappers Newsletter.
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