Home Exchange

• First Home Swap Agency - Started 1953
• Best Coverage in Europe
• Many Second Generation Members
• Member Rating and Reference systems
• Only Active Members on line
• Representatives in Most Countries

Planet Friendly Holidays

Home exchange is more friendly to the environment that any other way of taking holidays!

Home Exchange in the Press

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  As vacationing New Yorkers Jerry Koenig and Mary Geissman jaunted in their posh gray sedan from the 400-year-old stone house overlooking the narrow paths of medieval Padua, Italy, to the modern ski condo in Asiago, Italy, they had time to reflect on how breathtaking the vineyard-dotted Po Valley is...and how the house, the condo and the car had cost them not a cent. All three came in exchange for use of their two-bedroom apartment in New York City. What a deal! No wonder more and more folks--by some estimates 15% to 20% more each year--are getting into house trading as a vacation alternative.

  Francine Russo Time Online

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  Adventures in home swapping

  It's almost January, which means my family will soon be in demand again, though there's no predicting where. A golf resort on a Washington state wildlife preserve? A farmhouse in the south of France? England's Lake District? A Danish island? My wife, two teenagers and I have been invited to them all -- just as we have invited adventurous strangers from around the world to our house in Laguna Beach.

  E. Scott Reckard LA Times

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  Trading Places Can Be Enriching, Too

  I AM in my own little fantasy land right now. I’m spending the Christmas holiday in a three-bedroom tropical mountain farm house in Costa Rica. Or, on second thought, maybe I’ll take the luxury apartment in the heart of Rome. All right, none of them specifically asked for Larchmont, N.Y. But being in the suburbs does not rule me out of playing the home-exchange game. If you are lucky, you will end up swapping with someone like Martine Poulin, who lives outside of Quebec City. "We leave things people can read about the area, " she said. "We also leave flowers and a bottle of wine."

  Alena Tugend NY Times
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  House Swapping

  Betty and Bob Shiffman of Frankfort like to go on vacation, but they do not like to pay for hotels or car rentals while they are traveling. "What I think attracts people like us is to be a real part of the community," Betty said. They begin talking to a prospective home swap family about six months in advance, and then once they have gotten to know the people whose house they will inhabit while abroad, they schedule a home swap. "Talk to people who have done it, maybe start with an exchange in the U.S. or Canada," she said. Whether in the U.S., Canada or the Netherlands, the Shiffmans tout the home exchange program as less expensive and more like a home away from home. "It is a much more intimate way of taking a vacation," Betty said.

  Rorye O’Connor The State Journal, Kentucky

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Your Questions

• Is it safe to trust my home to strangers?

  This is the most often asked question! And. . . . the truthful answer is that you don’t really know. But as you prepare for the exchange you establish a unique relationship with your exchangers. Most are professional people with standards like yours, and being guests in each other’s home creates a very special bond of trust. By the time your exchange occurs you feel like you’re going to a friend’s home and your friends are coming to your home. In the more than 50 years that Intervac has been facilitating contact between exchangers, there have been no reports of theft and rare reports of damage. Occasionally, housekeeping standards differ, but members tend to take even greater care of their exchange home than of their own!

• Does my homeowner’s policy cover damage to my house while on exchange?

  You need to ask your insurance broker. We have had very few incidents of damage to people’s houses in the past 50 years.

• How can I be sure that the exchange will be "equal"?

  Instead of thinking of an exchange as "equal" think of it as "fair". If the location of the two homes and size of accommodations are similar than you might consider it "fair". Many exchangers with large homes often trade for an adequate apartment or condo if the location is right. And there is less housekeeping to do!!

• Will I be able to exchange a home that is not in a tourist area?

  You never know where people will want to visit. Many people use their home exchange as a base from which to explore a wide region. Other times, they may have relatives or a specific event to attend. No matter, where you live, as long as you plan ahead and are flexible about destination and time frame, you have a great chance for achieving your dream vacation.

• I want to travel in the next few days/weeks. Is it too late?

  No. Click on this link to our "Hotlist" and see for yourself that there are many people looking for exchanges in the next couple of weeks. It’s never too late to organize an exchange as long as you flexible about destination and time.

• What about the possibility of cancellation?

  This rarely happens. But you should be prepared in case of illness or an emergency. Make certain that your exchange partner is committed by entering into our Exchange Agreemennt and ask your exchange partner to prepare a contingency plan. Tell your exchange partner what you plan to provide in case you cancel – stay at a friends or mother-in-laws! Or in a motel.