I got a tough question from a reader last week:Thank you for your great blog! It is definitely helpful for those of us that are just starting to think about home exchange.My wife and I (with 1 small dog) are looking to do a home exchange between our house in Florida and a furnished apt. in NYC for one year. I have looked at SabbaticalHomes.com and it seems like a reasonable site although I haven’t found swapping options yet.Is there a site you would recommend for our type of search?
Everyone who has spent time searching for house swaps knows that this is a difficult scenario. This writer might get lucky and find someone in New York who wants to move to his city in Florida for a year. But the odds aren’t good.
First, I point everyone who has questions about which networks to join to my table of all the house swap networks. You can sort or filter by the specialties of each network which should help find appropriate ones for specific travel goals.
It does sound like SabbaticalHomes is the most aligned with this reader’s goals. But I see a few others on there for educators that maybe would also target longer term swaps. I’d also suggest joining one or two of the largest networks with the hope that you can find others on there looking for long term exchanges. It’s a bit tricky because his desired destination is one of the most popular swap cities in the U.S. Then again it’s also one of the most populous so that increases swap listings.
Another option to consider is looking for 1 month swaps and being willing to move around. Even if he doesn’t find something for every month, at least it might decrease his housing costs for the year and allow them to enjoy some home exchange time in NYC.
Do any of my readers have other ideas that might help this couple find a long term swap in NYC?
on GuestToGuest, there is a group dedicaced to long term swaps. but not sure it will help ,because of course it’s a really difficult project for such a long time…
Hi Dawn. I live in NYC and it’s going to be almost impossible unless they find someone with a private home (not a coop or condo). To sublet my coop (which is required under my building’s rules, even if a swap) the prospective swappers would have to complete a Board package that is the same as if they were buying in the building. Many, many pages of intrusive information, years of tax returns, etc.
This is a good point Evelyn, thanks for sharing.