Travel the Home Exchange Way blog

A Cautionary Tale About Two Cats and a Home Exchange

When answering an enquiry last week about the possibility of taking a cat on a home exchange (there's a subject for another post!), I was thinking back to when I first started Home Base Holidays in 1985 and was working with a small agency which offered home exchange as an addition to a holiday rental service. I have long lost touch with Mary but I always remember a little story she told about one of her member's home exchange experiences:

This was a UK-US swap and, as with all good home exchange arrangements, the preparations before the exchange were meticulously done (a more laborious process in the days before email). Part of the agreement was that the American couple would take care of the English exchangers' cat during the three week exchange. Being animal lovers, the Americans, Gwen and Bob, were happy to do this and, immediately on arrival in the quaint West Country cottage, checked the information folder provided for instructions on looking after Freda, the cat. To their delight, in through the cat flap pops the very friendly moggy, and purrs her appreciation when her bowl is topped up with fresh food. Having been told that Freda is an independent type, and not to worry if she only shows up once a day for food, her temporary carers weren't concerned when Freda took off as soon as she was full.

The second morning of the home swap, Gwen was annoyed to find a stray cat had come in through the cat flap and was helping herself to Freda's remaining cat food. After booting the stray out, Gwen decided the best way to discourage the intruder was to always clean the cat bowl after Freda had had her once a day fill. This was one persistent stray though, and every morning during the three weeks of the exchange she would turn up at the back door, looking increasingly sad and bedraggled.

You will have already guessed what had happened - yes, while Gwen and Bob were pampering the impostor Freda, the real Freda, mistaken for a stray, must have wondered how her owners could not only abandon her but allow such mean people to live in their house! Although we've never heard of a Home Base Holidays member having a problem of mistaken cat identity, if you have an independent cat and a cat flap that any cat could use, it's a wise precaution to leave a description of your cat or, better still, a large photo of her/him, in your information folder, along with care instructions. Better to be safe than sorry!

Home Exchange: Safe as Houses (Household Insurance Cover)

Q: We are retired so all the time in the world and v. interested in home exchange. What happens in the unlikely event of your house being "trashed"? Would one need to take out insurance to cover this? Regards, Maggie

A: Yours is a very common (and understandable) concern of those new to the idea of swapping homes. But, in all the years we have been operating a home exchange service, we've never had reports of homes being trashed! Although, of course, there can be accidental damage, and differences in house keeping standards, the reason the vast majority of home exchangers take very good care of homes entrusted to them is that, generally, exchangers are living in each others' homes at the same time - this gives each a very powerful incentive to care for a property as they would want their own home to be cared for.

Contact your home insurance company before agreeing to an exchange to inform them that you plan to have non-paying guests staying in your home for a certain period. Generally, home exchange guests, who aren't paying rent, are treated in exactly the same way as any other friends or relatives you may have stay in your home, and your household insurance cover should remain in force (in fact, most insurance companies acknowledge that an occupied home is much safer than a home that is left empty for several weeks). The only proviso, certainly with home insurance policies in the UK, is that if you had a burglary while non-paying guests were living in your home, and there was no evidence of a break-in, most policies wouldn't cover this.

Before agreeing to an exchange, you will be corresponding and sharing information on all aspects of the proposed exchange with your potential home swap partners over a period of time, so that, by the time you both agree that you want to go ahead with the exchange, you should feel very comfortable with having people that you've got to know living in and looking after your home.

Keeping Home Exchange Options Open: Not Ruling Out Swapping Homes With Young Families

'We are a married couple in our late twenties, Ross is a former professional football (soccer) player who now heads up the sports department at a local prep school, Sarah owns her own company organising corporate hospitality and events. We have no children of our own (yet!) but a number of adorable nieces and nephews, so we are sympathetic towards little ones. However, our home is not really very "child-friendly" (antiques, light-coloured carpets etc.!). If you do have young children, please contact as we wouldn't want you to think this ruled out a home exchange with us.'

This young couple are recent members who, I feel, have given a very good description of their situation, i.e. without children of their own, their home is not geared up for the needs of young children but they have kept their home exchange options as flexible as possible by not putting off members with young children from suggesting exchanges. In this way, and as they actually like children, they will be able to consider any such offers individually.

Although many members with children look primarily for other families with similar aged children as the best possiblities for home swaps (it helps to know a home will be child proofed and that there will be baby equipment, toys, books and sometimes local playmates and babysitters), families whose children are used to respecting their surroundings from an early age, may well consider exchanges to normally child-free homes.

The home in Burgess Hill, West Sussex, England for exchange:

'Beautiful, newly-renovated Victorian home with original features (high ceilings, open fires, sash windows) in the medium-sized town of Burgess Hill in West Sussex. The house has 3 bedrooms (2 double, 1 single) but the single we use as a study so any bedding would be temporary! We have high-speed wi-fi, satellite TV with all sports channels, beautiful 65ft garden and fantastic 23ft lounge with solid oak floors.

Burgess Hill is 10 miles from the famous seaside town of Brighton, around 45 mins by train from central London (our house is 100 yds from the station) and 20 mins by car from Gatwick airport (can also be reached by train). Beautiful country walks along the South Downs and quaint local pubs are nearby.' See the full home exchange offer and more photos, HE19617.

We Need Home Exchange Partners Able to Look After Our Horses

Q: Hi, We live in a rural part of Ireland and keep horses on our property. We would love to get away and would be interested in a home exchange but only with people who themselves have horses and with whom we could mutually trust to look after the animals. Does Home Base Holidays, or anyone you can recommend, offer this specialist service? Thanks, Chris

A: I don't know of a specialist agency for home swaps between horse owners. This doesn't mean there isn't one (although it would be a fairly small niche). Use Advanced Search to find current exchange offers that might suit you.

In the free text box type 'horse' or 'horses' (without the quotation marks) and click Search, below right. Not all in the summary search results will be possibles (you may find some where the 'horses' within the description refers to a local pub!) but there will be some horse owners who would be able and willing to look after your horses on an exchange. You should find a good number of possibilities, including one very attractive exchange offer in a former equestrian centre in France where your horses can come too (described in a recent post), although that's unlikely to be practical except for exchangers with homes located not too far from the centre.

Arranging a Home Exchange for a Special Family Occasion

We had a little break last week in the small town of Wiarton (my birth place), in southern Ontario, to celebrate my Aunt Mabel's 100th birthday (pictured here enjoying her party). My family converged on Wiarton from Alberta, Arizona and England to celebrate this important milestone with our very special auntie. It was a great family occasion and one I wouldn't have missed for the world. The logistics of planning accommodation in such a small rural town at short notice, and for a fluctuating number of extended family members, meant that considering a home exchange was virtually impossible. Instead, we made do with basic motel housekeeping rooms (or what Kyla, my young great niece, referred to as our 'hut in the woods').

Many Home Base Holidays members do, however, arrange home swaps as a way of having a comfortable, private base when celebrating special occasions - family reunions, weddings, birthdays, the birth of grandchildren, etc. It helps a lot, of course, when dates and locations are known well in advance and if the occasion is either in or near a large city where there are a good choice of home exchange offers, or if it's the type of occasion (an anniversary for example) where a couple may be looking for a desirable home and area to have a celebratory vacation rather than is the case with an event like a wedding when the location for a home exchange is restricted by where the event is taking place.

A few examples of recent members using home exchange in this way:

Vancouver, BC, Canada - Beautiful 2 bedroom bungalow with lovely garden and fruit trees and patio/deck in a friendly neighbourhood, 2 blocks from Jericho park/ beach, the best beach in Vancouver and 5 minutes from downtown Vancouver.

My wife, myself and our 20 year old daughter will be attending a wedding in England in late June/07 and would like to build a 4-5 week holiday around the wedding. We are looking for 2 weeks in London and 2 or 3 weeks on the continent. See full home exchange offer, HE17257

Mildenhall, Suffolk, England - Three bedroom house at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac. A 10 minute stroll will take you into the nearby town of Mildenhall with its beautiful church, shops & several good pubs & restaurants. The River Lark offers some lovely walks along its banks with an interesting array of wildlife.

We decided to take early retirement to enable us to spend more time visiting our daughter in Australia. She married an Australian lad in 2004 & they now have a daughter (our first grandchild) so we want to visit as often as we can. We were lucky enough to get an exchange this year to be at her birth but now our aim is to be with them in April for her first birthday. See full home exchange offer, HE18945

New York City, NY, USA - Two bedroom apartment in pre-war building in Manhattan/Washington Heights. Spacious, stylishly-appointed with high ceilings, hardwood floors, separate formal dining room with French doors, fully-equipped modern kitchen, antiques, art, books, wireless Internet. Located along the Hudson River, in the shadow of the George Washington Bridge, the building has a rear courtyard garden.

It's our 10th anniversary this September. Looking to celebrate in Europe, preferably, and with our son. Our work provides for flexible schedules, so we're open to suggestions. See full home exchange offer, HE19258

Swindon, Wiltshire, England - An architect designed six bedroom house set in a desirable residential surburb of Swindon. Good transport links, and easy access to major tourist areas. On edge of Cotswolds, near Avebury and Stonehenge, Bath and Oxford less than one hour away by car, London 1 hour by train.

Looking for exchange to enable us to attend our daughter's wedding in Brisbane, plus open to offers after that so that we can visit them. See full home exchange offer, HE19032

500 Year Old Home for Exchange: and Please Look After Our Triops

It's quite common for home exchangers to agree to look after each other's cats, dogs and other small animals and birds often kept as pets. But a recent Home Base Holidays member has a rather unusual request:

"There is one cat to feed, and usually some triops (small water creatures -- rather ugly if you ask me, but Rob likes them and at least they don't make any noise)."

I must admit I'd never heard of triops and looked for a photo of them (shown here). As well as having a cat and the triops for company, the lucky people who arrange an exchange with this member will be spending time in a house in Kent, England surrounded by history:

"We have a 500-year-old Grade-II-listed two-bedroom house in Faversham, voted 'the best market town in Kent.' The house features oak beams, 18th-century bread ovens, wood stove, 2 computers with wireless broadband, herb and fruit garden, 6'6" Bluthner grand piano, lots of Arts and Crafts antiques, plenty of books and DVDs, far too much cooking gadgetry, 1 car, 3 bikes and one self-regarding pedigreed Abyssinian. Professionally cleaned twice a month. Near the centre of Faversham, within easy walking distance of shops, pubs, restaurants, movie theatre and the train station. Trains to London take 70 minutes; Canterbury is 15 minutes away.

The photo on the right shows the bread ovens. They are in the 'new part' of the house (i.e. the 18th-century back rooms, as opposed to the 15th-century front rooms), and it was actually used as a professional bakery at that time. They are no longer connected to the chimney so are not usable as ovens, but they make great places to keep wine slightly cool."

Check out the full home exchange offer and see more photos, HE19421