| Top 15 Questions. |
| 1) |
Is there an official or standard exchange contract? |
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Yes, a home exchange contract is available for all members. This home exchange contract is a formal agreement between both parties involved in a home exchange. It is intended to clearly set down the terms of the exchange and all agreed logistics, such as date and time of arrival, exchanging keys and so on. A car exchange contract can also be included if applicable.
Accommodation insurance
As an optional part of the exchange contract, you can purchase 'Accommodation Insurance', which protects your travel plans in case your exchange partner is forced to cancel the deal due to illness, death in the family or other unforseen and viable reasons covered by the insurance.
For more information about the home exchange contract and the accommodation insurance, please logon to your account and click on the link 'my agreements'.
Note: the contract is only available for members of HomeForExchange.com.
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| 2) |
Are there any further charges besides the membership fee? |
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No, there are no further membership charges. The annual membership is based on a fixed fee and there is no limitation in the usage of the services we offer.
Note: As an optional part of the exchange contract, you can purchase 'Accommodation Insurance', which protects your travel plans in case your exchange partner is forced to cancel the deal due to illness, death in the family or other viable reasons covered by the insurance. For more information about this click on the link 'my agreements' (available for logged on members only). |
| 3) |
Will my home owner's insurance remain in force? |
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Your exchange partners are guests like any other guest you invite into your home. Normally the home owner's insurance remains in force to cover this because no financial transaction is involved. Sometimes there is a limit of 30 days, but check your agent to be sure about this.
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| 4) |
Give me 10 reasons why I should join HomeForExchange.com? |
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1) You could save easily well over $1,000 on accommodation and car costs per exchange, and you can have as many exchanges as you want.
2) Live like a local while you are on vacation. You are not 'locked up' in a holiday resort or hotel, but you live amongst the locals. Most members enjoy this very much.
3) Make new friends. Exchanging homes has been in many cases the beginning of a longlasting friendship.
4) Easy to navigate website, all information is no more than 2 clicks away.
5) Unique feature automatically shows you members who might be interested in exchanging with you.
6) Quick Advanced Search facility to find your desired location, property, and exchangees.
7) Innovative interactive maps to show the exact locations of potential exchangees.
8) Our weekly personalized mailing keeps you updated on other members who match your exchange profile.
9) Low annual registration fee. For less than 1 night in a hotel you are registered for a full year including all features of the membership.
10) We make sure that there is a continuous stream of new listings; we advertise worldwide in the countries where you want to go. |
| 5) |
Can I charge rent for others to stay in my house? |
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No, HomeForExchange.com is about non commercial home exchange or house swap. To keep this clear to all users of this website, it is not allowed to offer any accommodation for rent.
NOte: we do offer another website for second home owners to register their vacation rental: www.SecondHomeForRent.com. There is no financial risk involved, you only pay a minimum commission if you rent property through SecondHomeForRent.com. |
| 6) |
Can I edit my information? |
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Yes, all information you have entered during the registration can be edited. You can update the dates you want to travel, change the destinations you want to go to, change your personal notes about your house and add, delete or replace pictures whenever you like. And when you have arranged an exchange and don't want to receive any more offers you can put your listing 'on hold' (this can also be used when you are not available for other reasons, like illness or holiday). To edit your information, simply logon to the website using your email address and password; after the login you will always be directed to your own listing, where you will see a clear link saying 'Click here to edit, update or add information about your registration'. |
| 7) |
Will my car insurance cover my exchange partner? |
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A car insurance normally remains in force for about a month, covering anyone driving with your permission. However, check with your insurance-agent. If it makes you more comfortable, set up restrictions, i.e. restrict drivers to those aged 25+, indicate the maximum amount of miles to be driven during the period of the exchange, and make it clear if you do not wish your car to be driven out of your local area (and specify how you define "local area"). |
| 8) |
How do I pay my membership fee? |
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The following payment methods are accepted. Credit and debit cards: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, checks and bank transfers directly from your bank account into our bank account. For more information about each specific payment method, see the other questions in this topic. |
| 9) |
How does the 'referral program' work? |
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As a member of HomeForExchange.com you can give away free trial memberships to others. By doing this you do not only give away a nice present, but you will be also rewarded $15.00 once this trial member becomes a 'paid member' whenever after the free trial period.
Briefly:
- Send as many 'Gift Vouchers' as you wish.
- Be rewarded $15.00 for each trial member who becomes a 'paid member'.
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| 10) |
What is 'home exchange' or 'house swap' ? |
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Home exchange or house swap is a non-commercial way of using each others' accommodations. You stay at your exchange partners' home and vice versa. This is a basic summary of home exchange. In most cases, the actual exchange is simultaneous, so both parties stay in each others' accommodations during the same period. But many members offer their second home for exchange and in this case the house swap can be non-simultaneous. |
| 11) |
How do I keep track of the members I have tried to contact? |
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When you send out a first contact email/form to another member, our email server sends a copy of the exact email to you as well. But you can also see the notification 'contacted ' in the right upper corner of the brief listing of the property (you have to be logged in of course to view this). |
| 12) |
How do I contact other members? |
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You can either wait for other members to contact you or you can contact other members yourself. The very first contact with another member must always be done using a 'contact form'. We will forward this contact form to the members email address immediately, and it is up to this member whether or not he want to reply on your enquiry. When he does, he will do this directly to your email address - or call you up. |
| 13) |
Should I add some pictures of my house? |
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Yes, absolutely! Many members simply skip listings without pictures and we reward members who add pictures by showing the listing more prominent on the website. Experience has learned that listings with pictures get over 10 times more offers, so the chance to finally close a successful exchange deal is also much higher. Common pictures are: a picture of the outside of your house, the master bedroom, the kitchen and the living room. Each member can add up to 16 pictures. If you experience problems trying to upload the pictures, please send the pictures to us by email and we will take care of the rest. |
| 14) |
Can I include my car in a home exchange deal? |
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Cars are often included in a home exchange deal, but it is up to you whether or not to include this. Exchange deals must be belanced in the sense that you have to get what you offer to the other party. And adding a car in the house exchange deal can maybe make a positive difference for the other party. Read our notes on insurances in case you do include a car in the home exchange deal. |
| 15) |
What are the benefits or advantages of home exchange vacations? |
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Exclusive of cost savings (hotel/car rental/restaurant expenses are largely eliminated) and having more space and freedom of a private residence, one experiences another country like a "local" rather than a tourist. Based on our personal exchanges in several countries - you get to know another family, become immersed in another way of life (including shopping in local stores, using public transit), you often meet your counter-parties' friends and neighbors, kids (and parents) play with new toys and you often are forced to communicate in a foreign or sign language. This personalized and realistic travel experience cannot be matched by a guided/packaged tour! Many exchange families remain life time friends. |
