House Swapping

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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. With a home swap, not only can you save about $1,500 a week, typically, on a holiday in Europe, without the cost of hotel, car and some restaurant meals, but with the swap, you also get the kind of intimate look at another culture that not even the swankiest hotel in town provides. Live the way the locals live, meet their friends, buy bread at their favorite bakery and dine out at strictly native haunts. And the connections you make on a swap can turn into lasting friendships.

Jerry and Mary first swapped in 1982, exchanging their Upper West Side Manhattan apartment for a five-room Paris flat in the 17th arrondisement, just a short hop from L'Etoile. Not only did they get the charming, high-ceilinged apartment furnished with 18th century antiques; they also got Rene, the owner, a charming and sociable French engineer, who met them for drinks at John F. Kennedy Airport. They have kept in touch since, through notes and Christmas cards, visits to each other and at least seven stays at Rene's, including three quid pro quo exchanges. Sometimes Jerry and Mary have used Rene's condo in the French Alps, or one--or both of them--has stayed at Rene's Paris apartment when he was away from home. This March, nearly 20 years after their first swap, the couple plans to spend an entire month in Rene's Paris flat.

After exchanges from Hawaii to England, Tom and Pat Hogan of Carrollton, Texas, are so enamored of the house-swap life that they're shopping for a retirement home in Florida, partly because it is a much sought destination for vacationing Europeans. "That way, we could string together four or five exchanges," Pat says, "and spend time in Europe in the summer."

How, you might ask, does one get deals like these? And how, you might also ask, does one make sure you're not getting a shack instead of a chateau on one end or a reprobate instead of a Rene in your home on the other?

In both cases, it helps to deal through a reputable home-exchange network like HomeLink or Intervac, which are the largest and have been around for 40 years. There are also a growing number of newer exchange services cropping up on the Internet. For an annual fee, usually under $100, your home or apartment is listed by location with a brief description of its amenities and occupants. You can also note the cities or countries you would like to visit and the times of the year you would like to go.

When the listings appear in a catalog or on a website--or both--you can contact the folks with whom you would like to exchange by mail, e-mail, telephone or fax or, through some online services, anonymously. Some services allow only members to browse their listings; others make them available to all viewers. From that point on, you make your own arrangements with each family.