Home Exchangers Who Have A “Smashing” Time
Over and over again, the question I’m asked above all others is: suppose I try home exchanging, how do I deal with any damage or breakages that occur in my home during the exchange?
This issue has been covered in great detail on the ExchangeHomes.com website, in earlier posts on this blog, in our Newsletter, and in stored copies of email replies, but I thought a good solution might be to write a new, especially detailed post that I can then refer people to directly. Repeatedly reinventing the wheel with a fresh response to every inquirer wastes an enormous amount of time.
First, I will list the basic, commonsense precautions every home exchanger should adopt to protect their possessions:
- Golden Rule Number One: ALWAYS try to home exchange with people or a family similar to your own. If a retired couple with a houseful of expensive antiques and treasures exchanges with a couple with young children, they are asking for trouble. Even the most well behaved children can be clumsy and awkward and accidents can occur without any naughtiness or misbehavior being a factor.
- Golden Rule Number Two: Set aside an “off-limits” area of your house, ideally a cupboard or closet that locks. Then take a careful tour round your home and take EVERYTHING that is of especial value, either monetary or on a personal level, and lock it away in that closet. To give items a personal value is very simple: if you would be especially upset by their loss or breakage, they need to be locked away.
- Golden Rule Number Three: NEVER embark upon a home exchange without both parties first completing and signing a Home Exchange Agreement or Contract, samples of which can be downloaded from Here. In that Agreement detail very clearly what resolutions are required should any breakages or damage occur.
I’ve been continually involved in the Home Exchange concept since ExchangeHomes.com began back in 1986—that’s 22 years! In all that time I’ve never received a report of malicious damage, theft or vandalism of any kind.
What the inexperienced skeptic doesn’t give consideration to is that fact that home exchanging involves two families, not just their own. While the other family is residing in their home, they are in sole charge of their partner’s home and possessions. This fact alone provides a great incentive to treat the home entrusted to you with immense respect and care.
Look at it this way, home exchanging has been around and steadily gaining in popularity since the 1950’s. After more than half a century, would it really continue to be so popular if it didn’t work? The Internet loves to report negative issues so if there were any disasters they would have been well documented.
Another good suggestion is that people new to home exchanging should try to exchange with members who are experienced. They can then obtain references from previous exchange partners, or maybe earlier partners have taken advantage of our Feedback option where they can leave reports for all to see.
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