WORLD’S FIRST HOME EXCHANGE COMMUNITY FOR THE TRAVELLING GOLFERS

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

WHY DO YOU OFFER YOUR SERVICES FOR FREE? IS MEMBERSHIP REALLY FREE?

Yes, it is completely free for old and new members. We are very happy with the growth we witnessed in our community, and we intend to keep our services for free until the size of the community grows really out of scale. That point, however, still seems very far in the future.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Home Exchange is about swapping homes. I stay in your house and you stay in mine. It can be both the house you live in, or a second home.

HOW DO I MAKE AN EXCHANGE?

  1. Search a House in a country or with the features you’d like
  2. Open an interesting listing
  3. Send a message to the owner of that listing, through our website
  4. The owner will receive that message from us, and, if interested, he will get in touch with you
  5. If you also have posted your own listing, you will be getting (privacy protected) inquiries from around the world

IF I WANT TO UPLOAD MY LISTING DO I HAVE TO POST MY EMAIL ADDRESS TELEPHONE NUMBER ON THE SITE?

Absolutely not. That is the point with our website. Your listing will be privacy protected, so that none of your personal data (including email address) will be posted on the website.

All inquiries, made by other members interested in your house, will be automatically forwarded to you by our message system, together with their email address - so that you can decide whether to reply to them directly.

IS IT SAFE?

Home Exchange is a reality that’s been around for decades. It has extensive press coverage, both on papers, TV, and the internet, where you can find countless blogs and websites related to it.

Of course, before you actually decide to swap homes with someone, you’d have already exchanged some emails, talked on the phone some times, and swapped recent photos. Then, you might have collected some references about the person, (a letter from his golf club, from people with whom he’s had previous exchanges…).

Moreover, you might send people you trust (a relative, a housekeeper) to meet the people when they arrive to your house for the exchange.

Finally, if the home to be exchanged is a second home, you may decide to have a non-simultaneous exchange and meet the people personally eye to eye when they arrive.

WHAT ABOUT INSURANCE AND LIABILITY?

Check with your own insurance company, and make sure your exchange partners are covered as invited guests in your home or “permitted” drivers if you let them drive your car.

WHAT ABOUT CARS?

Some Members exchange cars, but it is entirely up to you.

WHAT ABOUT PETS?

The Listings clearly note whether there are pets in the house and whether pet care is requested.

DO YOU HAVE TO EXCHANGE AT THE SAME TIME?

Not Necessarily. As said before, you may decide to have a non-simultaneous exchange. That is usually the case with second homes. If you want to find someone to exchange with a second home, just use the search parameter “type of home”= second home.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

It is completely free for both old and new members.

HOW MUCH CAN I SAVE?

Thousands of dollars on a typical exchange. Just think of hotel rates near golf destinations…

WHO CLEANS THE HOUSE?

Sometimes the owner arrange for cleaning, other times you clean the house before you leave.

The general rule is to leave the house exactly as you found it, and to take care of the home as you expect your partner to take care of yours.

WHAT IS YOUR PRIVACY POLICY?

We do not post your name, street address or email address in your listing, or make them available over the World Wide Web. Our message system makes it possible for a visitor and potential home exchange partner to contact you directly from your listing (i.e. he doesn’t know your name or email address, but we do, so we forward his inquiry to you). Then, if you are interested in the inquiry you have received, you can reply with your own email.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BENEFITS OF A GOLF HOME EXCHANGE, ASIDE FROM SAVING MONEY?

It is not just the savings (which can easily amount to thousands of dollars). It is the new experience, both culturewise (new people, country, neighborood, to be lived like a local not a simple tourist) and golfwise (new courses, local rules, natural environment, golf culture)

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A HOME EXCHANGE AND A HOSPITALITY EXCHANGE?

Home exchangers trade their homes at a time that is convenient to both parties.

Hospitality exchangers, on the other hand, host each other in their homes at designated times. Your home exchange partners stay with you as guests and then you go and stay with them as their guests. There is a social aspect to this kind of exchange that some golfers particularly enjoy.