You need to think about home exchange details for any vacation house swap to be successful.

You want to be trusting, but you also need to protect yourself.  The first thing you need to think about is which exchange club to use.  You need to see what they specialize in, because most do specialize.  Do you need a club that caters to families, or seniors, or people with pets?

Home Exchange clubs are based in countries all over the world; they may list houses mostly their own country, but most have international listings as well.

If you have a certain country in mind to visit, try to get an idea of how many listings they have in your country of choice before you plunk down your money.

Try to look for an exchange club that allows many pictures on their site, or even videos.  You want to know what you’re getting into.

Once you have decided on a club and listed your home, an exchange can happen in a couple of ways…. potential house trading partners may contact you, or you may contact them.

What if someone from Swakupmund, Namibia contacts you…. do you want to go there?  It’s a great choice, in fact.  It could be the chance of a lifetime, or it may be someplace you would never want to visit.

If they contact you, and you don’t want the exchange, politely decline.  Don’t burn any bridges here.  It’s polite to respond, and you never know, you might change your mind in the future if you really like this home exchange way to travel.

If your request for a home exchange is declined, don’t take it personally.  Both of you are in a bargaining process to find the vacation house swap that suits you best.

Start well in advance of your vacation time, and allow plenty of time to arrange the swap.  Once you have found a house you like and arranged in principle to swap, you still need to make sure you are both comfortable with the home exchange details.  This may take several e-mails to decide who feeds the dog or waters the house plants.

You have to decide in advance if your exchange partners can use your ski gear or snorkel equipment.  Can they drive one or both of your cars and how far?  Check all of your insurance policies.  And seriously, if you’re leaving the dog in their care… is that OK with them?

You may feel like a burglar when you first enter someone’s home, and they’re not there.  To make this as comfortable as possible, both of you should agree to leave the names of your neighbors or family to contact and instructions for appliances.  It’s a good idea to leave a letter stating that they are welcome guests in your house even though you aren’t there… and they should do the same for you.  Leave important contact numbers and emergency phone numbers.

Remember, exchangers use each others kitchens.  They sleep in your bed.  Make sure everyone agrees on what should be available in those kitchens.  You need to make sure sheets and towels will be available and come to some sort of agreement on cleaning.

Both parties should have valuables locked away just to be on the safe side.  You’ve both agreed to trust each other, and you’ve hammered out the details, but there is no reason to leave the diamonds and pearls lying around.

If you choose your house swapping club with care and see to the home exchange details with your trading partners, this could be the best vacation ever.