Travel the Home Exchange Way blog

Taking your car on your home exchange to Europe?

This week's issue of Ratealert, a weekly newsletter published by Moneysupermarket.com, includes the following valuable advice for UK motorists planning on taking their cars abroad:

 

'If you're taking your car abroad this summer, did you know that you may not have the same level of insurance cover that you have here in the UK? Some insurers such as Direct Line and ASDA automatically downgrade your level of protection to the minimum required by law in the country you're travelling to (third party only in much of Europe). Even if your insurer doesn't reduce the amount of cover you have, there will be a maximum number of days your car is covered for being out of the country.

 

So it's really important to put a call in to your insurer and check that you'll be adequately protected.'

 

Read the full issue of Ratealert and subscribe to the mailing list for regular money saving tips and advice.

 

 

 

 

 

Paying utility bills during a long-term home exchange

Q: Would any of your subscribers be able to give me a rough estimate of the costs involved in home swapping for 6 months in the UK for 2 adults?  Electricity, gas, phone etc? Susan, New Zealand

 

A: The cost of household bills varies a great deal within the UK (home's size/age/insulation, location, type of heating, service providers, etc). However, most Home Base Holidays members continue to pay their own household bills (apart from phone bills) during the period of an exchange and this is generally fair to both parties. If there is a discrepancy, for instance if the gas bill for central heating is much higher in the UK (winter) during an exchange to New Zealand (summer) and this isn’t balanced out by, say, a larger electricity bill in the New Zealand home for air conditioning, members will agree that the member consuming most will reimburse the difference when bills for the period are available after the exchange.

 

Phone bills - In the past, many members arranged for a separate bill for the period of the exchange and this (or the difference between the phone bills) would be paid at the end of the exchange. However, now that most members use their own mobile phones (and many use Skype for free calls), most will agree to use the home’s mainline phone only for incoming calls, and continue to pay the monthly rental charge for their own phones.

 

Another important issue with long term swaps is to ensure that household insurance continues to be valid in both homes during the period when non-paying guests are living there. Some insurance companies will charge an extra premium and the cover may not be comprehensive so do check this out well in advance of exchange dates.

 

If you have had a long term home exchange and handled household bill payment differently, please leave a comment below.

Christmas home exchange offers – start planning your home swap

How to find Christmas home exchange offers:

• Do a search on a country of interest. Search results are arranged by membership dates, with the most recent first. The results can be re-ordered, including by dates of exchange wanted (see the drop down 'sort by' list at the top of search results pages). This will enable you to find members looking for December 2010 exchanges plus the many who are 'open to offers' on dates.
• Detailed Search: type Christmas in the box beside 'Keyword Search' after choosing the country and any other criteria. Search. Search results will include all listings that include 'Christmas' within the text (as in the example).
• Detailed Search: as before but this time type 'Christmas' in the box beside 'To find members looking for an exchange in your location, enter your city, county/state, or country here'. As members aren't limited to choosing countries, many also use this field to highlight specific requests.

Samples of recent Christmas home exchange offers:

Norwich, Norfolk, England - Braeside is a single story thatched cottage in the village of Blofield, about 6 miles east of Norwich. It is close to the Broads, and convenient for exploring the surrounding countryside and coast. Christmas anywhere - open to offers.

 

Freshwater, NSW, Australia - 4 bedroom renovated period family home with ocean & district views; minutes walk to Freshwater village & beach; 15 minutes walk to Manly and ferry to city. UK – London, Dec 2010 – Jan 2011.

 

Sydney, NSW, Australia Sydney, NSW, Australia - Modern 3 bedroom home situated on Sydney's Northern Beaches 5 minutes from beautiful beaches and Narrabeen Lake. East/West Sussex, Dec 2010 – Jan 2011.

London, England - Family house in north London. Great local shops, restaurants, bookshops, park. Good access to West End/City of London. Stoke Newington is an area of London about 5km north of the City and West End. It still retains an individual and slightly alternative character of its own. Interested in exchange for 1 -2 weeks over Xmas 2010.

Blueys Beach, NSW, Australia - Our house is simple but lovely...filled with sunlight ... a balcony running the length of the first floor ... an open plan living/ kitchen area. The surrounding area is famous for its natural beauty. We are looking to get to the UK to visit Sarah's 83 year old father...hopefully over the Christmas 2010/11 school break but are open to offers in the new year as well.

 

 

 

Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia - Luxury waterfront home on picturesque wide river opposite nature reserve - Gold Coast. Modern home with swimming pool, outside spa and floating pontoon (jetty) great for boating and fishing.  We are a (middle aged) professional married couple looking for an exchange in the UK for Dec 26th - Jan 13th, 2011 inclusive (or part of the time).

Homebase (discount codes - DIY) and Home Base Holidays (free holidays - home exchange)

Looking for Homebase DIY Promotional Codes? As people looking for Homebase quite often arrive at the Home Base Holidays website, or call us to enquire about paints, hammers (and all sorts of DIY items), we are pleased to have partnered with the codes network to bring you the latest discount codes and special offers available at Homebase.

Homebase was started in 1981 as part of Sainsburys. Home Base Holidays followed in 1985, little knowing then of the DIY brand our home exchange service would sometimes be confused with.

 

If you find us when looking for Homebase, you obviously take pride in your home and like to make improvements. You sound like a typical home exchanger! Why not use your home to enjoy free holiday accommodation while having your home cared for by your home exchange partners who will treat it as they would their own home? Check out up-to-date home exchange offers all over the world at Home Base Holidays.

Save 20% on home exchange membership - join Home Base Holidays by 1 August

To encourage early listing for Christmas swaps, join Home Base Holidays now, including the code, xmas, on the membership form to receive a 20% discount on the regular one or two year membership rate (£29 or £39). What are you waiting for - join today!

Join Home Base Holidays!  (Enter promotional code: xmas)

Offer Expires: 1st August 2010

 

“Awakening Avery”: review of a new novel with a home exchange theme

 

By sheer coincidence Laurie Lewis, author of “Awakening Avery”, was in touch just after I had added her new book to our “library” of novels that centre around characters who swap homes (see right column) . What better way to relax while on a  home swap than by immersing yourself in the lives of some fictional counterparts in a new novel!

 

Laurie wrote:

‘When I first heard about the idea of "house-swapping" I was intrigued. It just opened so many opportunities for interesting interactions, I couldn't resist.’

It’s not surprising that Laurie’s imagination was triggered by the idea of home exchange and its possibilities. It’s a great way to introduce two sets of characters and record their adventures while out of their familiar surroundings, and their interactions with each other. In “Awakening Avery”, the two main characters (i.e. those who arranged the swap) are Avery, recently widowed mother of three grown-up children, swapping her waterfront condo in Baltimore with Gabriel Carson from Anna Maria, Florida, long time widower and father of two over indulged 20 something daughters.

 

The arrangement for the exchange was rather unconventional (hey – they didn’t join Home Base Holidays!) via a rental agency that I presume would rarely list home swaps; but, after initial apprehension that is common with many first time home swappers, both parties agreed it was a perfect fit for their needs – Avery, a writer, to spend some time in a ‘healing place’ to get her life back on track after the early death of her husband; and for Gabriel, the opportunity to finally give his daughters the nudge needed to guide them towards independent lives away from the family home.

 

I am quite an avid reader and belong to a book group in a very cosmopolitan area in London. My friends come from a wide variety of countries, cultural backgrounds, religions (and none) and this always makes our discussions lively and interesting, widening our experiences through seeing the world through the books we discuss from our different perspectives. We had recently read “The Believers” by Zoe Heller and, although the two novels could hardly be more different, I was struck by some superficial similarities when I started reading “Awakening Avery”.

 

Both novels deal with family members’ various reactions to the premature death of a husband and father of grown children. Both touch on religion (“The Believers”, Orthodox Judaism; “Awakening Avery”, Latter Day Saints). Being ignorant of the finer details of both religions, I found it fascinating to read about the various rituals and beliefs. One reviewer on Amazon succinctly described “The Believers” thus: ‘ ... a lot of readers prefer their characters to be in black or white; saints or villains. Heller novels are not for these readers; if you must identify with and "root" for a character when you read a novel, skip this one.’ I would have to say that “Awakening Avery” is definitely a novel for readers who like to root for a character, in this case Avery!

 

I had deliberately not read other reviews of “Awakening Avery”, or details of the author’s background and earlier novels so that I could approach the book with an open mind and hopefully review it fairly from my own perspective. Had I done some background reading, I would have been more prepared for the strong Latter Day Saints element that pervades the story. Interestingly, there is one minor character, Sonnet, born to LDS parents but who has rejected religion, whose sole role seems to be to represent temptation to Avery’s young son, Luke, thus giving the impression that Sonnet can’t be other than a ‘bad’ character.  In contrast, the ‘good’ characters, if not already LDS, either embrace the faith almost immediately or come back to it in the end.

 

Apart from the slightly full on religious element (to a non-LDS reader), the novel includes some delightfully drawn characters and it would be unkind not to wish them all happy endings, whatever their life choices. I particularly warmed to George, the inventor of such culinary delights as ‘slumgolian’ and Kool Aid Pancakes (note to British readers: Kool Aid is like a powdered fruit squash drink. Slumgolian? You’ll just have to read the book!). 

  

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Visit Laurie (L.C.) Lewis website for more details on “Awakening Avery”, where to buy the book, plus background information and reviews. Also see Laurie’s blog, where you can read the first chapter of the book.

 

Laurie would be delighted to hear readers’ home exchange stories and publish them on her blog. Send your stories to Home Base Holidays and we will share with Laurie and, to give plenty of time, choose a ‘best’ story on 1 November 2010 to win a copy of “Awakening Avery”. Although your real-life home exchange stories are likely to be very different to the novel, we know there are lots of good stories out there (many published in Home Swappers newsletter), from marriage proposals, to the adventures of adapting to a strange home, to all the many acts of kindness that home exchangers and their friends extend to guests.