Here is a bunch of questions from someone who may be questioning her relative's sanity for agreeing to a home exchange:
My cousin in Maryland is considering home exchange with a family in France. I have so many questions about this (it's her first time home exchanging).. What about the safety of your home? Do you allow the people to drive your vehicle? (Considering that she's exchanging with another culture and we have a lot of weird laws... is that a safe thing to do?) What are the biggest concerns?To answer your last question first, my biggest concern as an experienced home exchanger is that your cousin's first swap will take her thousands of miles to a very different culture. If her home in Maryland is attractive to French swappers it will certainly appeal to exchangers closer to home. Can she do a long weekend swap somewhere within driving distance? Home exchange is not like checking into a hotel. Your cousin should work out the bugs, and the butterflies from her stomach, when she isn't fighting jet lag or trying to read a French Metro map.
As for the other questions, her home is safer with someone in it when she is away than if it were vacant. Make sure the swappers understand your perspective on safety. We often host people from rural areas where they are not used to locking their apartment door. New York City has the lowest crime per person of any large American city. Still, it is against my best instincts to just leave the front door unlocked, and I ask swappers to make sure to lock it.
Does your sister have home-owner's or renters' insurance? She should. She can also buy home exchange travel insurance through KnowYourTrade.com.
Do I let exchangers drive my vehicle? I own a car, but would never subject any home exchange guest to the nightmare video game that is driving in the heart of Manhattat. My most common vehicle is a New York City subway car. I am afraid that folks who spontaneously try to drive one of those vehicles end up in jail. I sometimes swap unlimited transit passes for the use of others exchangers' cars.
Your cousin will be tempted to swap cars because car rental is very expensive in Europe. I would only swap cars with a signed contract from the exchangers, and a clear understanding about insurance, deductibles and other legal concerns. I am much more comfortable having people stay in my home. I have never had a ticket or accident in two decades of driving, but that's not very common.
Tell cuz to read this blog! She can at least avoid repeating some of my mistakes. Let me know how her swap goes.
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