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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be fed up with house exchange...

36 replies

CarCiKoTab · 23/05/2014 10:42

Pretty fed up now of people on the house exchange website who actually don't want to move! You look at all the 'success stories' Yeah just rub it in my face why don't you.

I have phoned people, emailed people, nudged people offering to help them exchange in any way they may need just so I can get there house and they either don't answer, come up with some silly excuse and so on and so forth, it's tiring!

Is there any hope? Or has anyone got any advice about anything else I can do?

OP posts:
Feminine · 23/05/2014 10:45

Can you do a transfer? let your local council know?

Are you over -crowded?

Original poster
CarCiKoTab · 23/05/2014 10:50

Well that's how our council advise you do the transfer if you like, via the house exchange website. We are over-crowded we have 3 children with number 4 on the way although we do have a large 2 bed house.

OP posts:
iloveshortshorts · 23/05/2014 10:53

Same on homeswapper all you get is "no not interested" so why are you on homeswapper if you're not interested in swapping? Its very annoying.

gamerchick · 23/05/2014 10:58

I remember homeswapper.. it was a pain in the arse. People wanting a day out, not getting back to you, wanting to take the house to give back to the council in exchange for the area they wanted and on and on.

If people messaged me and their house wasn't suitable for me I would at least take the time to tell them why it wouldn't be. A not interested is bloody annoying.

Original poster
CarCiKoTab · 23/05/2014 11:05

Did you get any luck in the end gamerchick?

OP posts:
Roobix04 · 27/05/2014 16:23

We're on homeswapper at the moment. Our latest problem seems to be the site matching us with people who don't want to live in our area! Then why match us! We live in a flat and want a house and it keeps matching us with people who want a house hundreds of miles away. Has anyone actually gotten a successful swap?

MacenroeTheBoatAshore · 27/05/2014 16:57

Im on it too, been a long time, and im fed up of people either never replying, all you have to say is no thanks, or asking from an area a million miles away from where Ive stated.

I don't get how many apparent successful swappers feature every day either.

Roobix they've changed the way they do things I think as Im looking for a 2 bed and they matching me with 4 or 5 beds! what?

and some people, if you say you don't want their house (after a viewing) and you explain why, the least they could say is thank you, good luck, thanks for letting me know. some just don't aknowledge they've received your message.

also, some people don't realise these are COUNCIL places, not Escape to the country. theyre looking for a mansion!

Normalisavariantofcrazy · 27/05/2014 17:03

Home swapper used to drive me mad, I thought people on free cycle were rude but home swapper was something else!

I feel your pain OP I'm convinced most people on home swapper don't want to move

MacenroeTheBoatAshore · 27/05/2014 17:10

yes, some say theyre really really wanting to move yet they've been there ages.

its good that we CAN swap, but its such a waste of time most of the time.

Edenviolet · 27/05/2014 17:13

We tried homeswapper. Viewed a house that was perfect for us and from the other persons ad our house was perfect for them the exact size, location and rent they wanted.
They viewed our house, said they were interested then we never heard from them again!

I had a look on their page recently, she keeps putting how she doesn't want time wasters etc as she s a "serious swapper" !!!

Normalisavariantofcrazy · 27/05/2014 17:18

I got skeptical about it towards the end and thought it's a way to scout out properties to go on the rob...

MidniteScribbler · 27/05/2014 17:34

You have three children, chose to have another, and now you're upset that people won't swap houses so you have a bigger home. Did you not think about space before you chose to have more children?

NeedsAsockamnesty · 27/05/2014 17:49

Have you attempted a multi way swop?

Not long ago I over saw a 13 way one it worked really well

NeedsAsockamnesty · 27/05/2014 17:50

midnight

That's a shitty thing to say

gamerchick · 27/05/2014 19:02

No I gave up and decided to stay where I am when the husband got offered a job up here. Was quite relieved have to say.

Feminine · 27/05/2014 19:13

13 way? Shock

I can't even start to think of the organization involved!

Grin
IamRechargingthankYou · 27/05/2014 20:13

Homeswapper can work, I have used it twice - the first time was a very complicated 4-way involving 2 of us moving over 200 miles. So I can't imagine attempting to synchronize a 13 - way as you essentially all have to move on the same day.

Having said that there are a huge number of time wasters on there where I really wonder what are you doing on there. It's generally harder trying to get something bigger, or moving from a flat to a house, but it can happen - so please just keep trying you never know. Good luck.

TheUnburnt · 27/05/2014 20:24

Oh god, I hate hate hate both homeswapper and house exchange. Several times now I've had people contact me about a swap, before I even reply we always take a drive down to the area to have a quick look then I can give a definite yes or no answer. So why, when they've contacted me first and we've arranged viewings do they always cancel the night before with some bullshit excuse? Hmm I KNOW it's because they've decided to scope out the area we live before seeing the house (it's a really shit area, but looks good on Google maps because it's a new estate). Why the hell can't they view the fucking area BEFORE they contact me, instead of just wasting my time? Hmm

I've given up now, have resigned ourselves to living in a shit area and the kids not being able to play out until either we get a lottery win or hell freezes over.

Theincidental · 27/05/2014 20:24

Two years in and can't get a swap from one side of the country to the other. Happy to do a Multi swap but can't find the right links to make it work.

I've only met one person who was serious and lovely, but the location was wrong for me.

Mostly get time wasters and those who think all council houses in the south west have epic sea views and are just like the ones on escape to the fricking country. It drives me nuts.

TheUnburnt · 27/05/2014 20:27

Not to mention the woman who rang me repeatedly after 10.30pm several nights on the run even though I told her I wasn't interested in her house. Had to block her number in the end, and I removed my phone number from the website after that.

NeedsAsockamnesty · 27/05/2014 22:03

It actually was not that hard.

I think we had 3/4 reschedules due to dates not matching but that was it.

Initially the hardest bit was getting the HA's and LA's involved to hear me out and not hide from me but they were quite happy when they realised I was offering to collate all the paperwork do everything that could be done by an outsider leaving things that were simple like booking the checks and just checking my paperwork.

It was easier than some of the larger management transfers I've asked them for.

I was terrified that something would go wrong and it was quite an intimidating thing but it worked really really well,I now have a very weird ambition to do a 20+ multiway just so I can say I've done it.

I'm currently trying to get a meeting with homeswopper to see if we could find a way to link them into DV services so professionals could try and use it precisely for larger multiways because if they made the website more multiway friendly it could be a great resource.

Last time I spoke to a homeswopper representative the 13 was the biggest one they had heard of.

deakymom · 27/05/2014 22:08

ive given up i found a house that was almost perfect told her we were going on holiday soon no idea about wifi would be in touch after she said fine then i came home to loads of emails about me missing a meeting she took a day off work for if i didn't want to swap why didn't i say so then it got abusive really nasty even putting messages on homeswapper for all to see about what a timewaster i am etc etc i called it quits i mean i just went on holiday for a week i ended up with my homeswapper membership cancelled i don't really want to but looks like im staying

MacenroeTheBoatAshore · 28/05/2014 16:47

Theincidental I agree totally with you. weve been on it a long time too, and just get timewasters.

and REALLY rude when people don't reply to your quiery or emails/text meassages/phone messages.

thertes one that's been there a few months, ive left about 6 messages, one a month or so, and they just don't answer on their ad to anyone. why bloody bother being on it then?

brightcoin · 28/05/2014 17:21

I used the council home swap website (before Homeswapper) to move from the Midlands to my London flat. It took a couple of years of searching, as I needed to be in a certain part of London (near my parents) so I would have been seen as fussy/timewasting but there was no point agreeing to a swap I didn't really want, as I didn't need to move urgently.

I am on Homeswapper now but I don't urgently need to move either (we have enough bedrooms), but I keep my advert online as it's free and you never know if something might come up. It would be nice to move to a property with a garden, or a house but again I need to stay within certain areas so I do turn down quite a few. It can be discouraging when people refuse to consider certain types of home (I'm on an estate and many people write those off completely).

Theincidental · 28/05/2014 21:48

It just feels so wrong that it's the only option that's viable. I have sick elderly relatives who need me and the only other way is to give my home and go private rental which I could never afford.