Do We Run Checks On Our Home Exchange Members?
Home Exchange Blog
One question I’m frequently asked by people new to home swapping is, what checks do we run on our members. Of course, the answer is none. I then hasten to add that in return for a small membership fee, no home exchange organization can be expected to fork out quite significant amounts to pay for member screening.
The ExchangeHomes.com website contains guidelines and a great many suggestions that members should carefully follow, all as part of locating and setting up a home exchange.
Without a doubt, home exchangers are an honest, trustworthy group of people. In the 21+ years that ExchangeHomes.com has been promoting home swapping vacations, I’ve never received a report of dishonesty, theft or malicious damage of any kind, but if formal personality investigations are viewed as essential to any individual members, there are a number of Internet based companies they can hire to carry them out.
New or potential members initially see trust as purely a one-way deliverance. They expect fellow members to immediately trust them implicitly, yet they want to know how we clear everyone else. As I explain to them, when a home swap takes place, each is occupying the other’s home. That fact alone creates an enormous sense of responsibility and trustworthiness. It also helps that we are not an “open” site (see my post on 07 Apr 2007). We know all our members.
Members who have already completed home exchanges can usually obtain references from previous partners and these can be very reassuring to new members. Other types of references are of no value whatsoever. Job references have no bearing on how a person conducts his family and personal life, while “personal” references from friends and neighbors are worthless.
As I say over and over, the best way to assess a potential exchange partner is to allow plenty of time to get to know them before committing to a firm arrangement. Exchange lots of photographs (remember, it’s a two-way operation), see if you can exchange video clips of the families, the homes and the neighborhoods.
ExchangeHomes.com Allows each member to publish up to six photographs with their listing, but I suggest that they also utilize a site such as MyPhotoAlbum.com where they can post an unlimited number of photos and video clips and send links to likely exchange partners.
Never be afraid to ask questions and if the person being asked starts behaving like a politician and tap-dancing around giving a straight answer, drop the discussion and look elsewhere.
