My sister and I are second-generation home exchangers. Back in the 1970's, when we were wee tykes, our parents swapped their second home in New England a few times. My sister and I got to see Colonial Williamsburg and taste Southern delicacies like grits and hush puppies courtesy of a Virginia swap family.
These days, sis is an avid scuba diver. She asked me to create a listing for her at HomeExchange.com. She will use it to try to reel in a swap home in a Caribbean dive location like Dominica or the Netherlands Antilles.
We searched the main exchange club sites for swap homes in Dominica. We came up almost empty. Each club has one or two homes listed, and some of those may be duplicates. There are very few exchange listings for her first choice get-away. Will my sister be forced to scuba dive in the local rec center pool instead of a beautiful Caribbean beach?
It occurred to me that there are a lot more folks renting out their vacation homes in the Caribbean than exchanging them. Many people have rented a condo or house instead of staying in a hotel when on vacation. Few have swapped for the same property, though the benefits are the same -- privacy, more room to spread out in than with a hotel, a homier feel, etc. People who rent their second homes are comfortable having strangers stay there. If they want to visit New York City, perhaps they would consider a home exchange, even if they never did before.
I suggested to my sister that she "create" a swap home in her preferred destination by searching for rental properties on vacation rental sites. Since she is considering renting a vacation home if a swap does not come through she can ask if the home is available for rent during her preferred period. She can also broach the possibility of a vacation swap.
There is a chance that at least one or two owners of vacation homes might be tempted by my sister's offer. She may be able to create her own swap home in an otherwise sparse area for home exchange. Who knows, she may create new home exchangers where only landlords existed before. You may want to do the same if you are searching for an exchange and coming up empty.
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