Earlier this week I received a phone call from a lady needing advice. She had joined ExchangeHomes.com back in July and sent out more than thirty contact emails trying to set up a home exchange, but, she claimed, immediately the people she was contacting discovered she was a first time home exchanger, they had suddenly come up with a variety of excuses not to exchange.

I was amazed to hear this. We constantly attract new members who have never participated in a home exchange in their lives and although we often never have occasion to discuss their successes with them, a great many are quick to renew after notification that their listings are due to expire and I find it hard to believe that this would be the case had they been ostracized by experienced exchangers during their first year. Furthermore, we clearly publish the fact that we offer a Guarantee—if you don’t arrange an exchange during your first year’s Membership, we will extend your listing for a second year completely free of charge! In an average year we only receive two or three claims against this guarantee.

So I decided to investigate a little further. I checked the web site logs to determine who she had initiated contacts with and emailed a sampling of these members myself. Two were long time members of ExchangeHomes.com so I knew I would receive informed responses from both of them.

I quickly discovered what the problem was. All were up front and admitted that with first time home exchangers they tend to be somewhat more cautious, but the issue was different matter altogether. The lady had worded her home exchange offer listing the exchange party as just her husband and herself—a retired couple. But, once correspondence with likely exchange partners had been established, she had suddenly introduced a number of teenage grandchildren into the mix.

The majority of members she had contacted were also retired folk with small homes (some just small apartments), so it was hardly surprising that they all had balked at the idea of their homes being invaded by four (one said five) rowdy teenagers!

The moral is clear: be honest and up-front from the start. We have a number of members who successfully arrange home exchanges that include their grandchildren, but usually they take one, or possibly two at a time and they explain their intentions openly in their listings. Also, they initiate exchanges where the homes already have teenage occupants, and the home they offer is usually larger and a fair swap.

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