Anyone done any home swaps?

[Imsosorryalan]

We'd like to visit sydney, oz and this seems like a good way to do it ( and cheap) has anyone done this? Good or bad experiences or any tips for a novice!

I can answer your question very simply indeed. If you get decent people staying in your house you will be fine but, if you get a herd of animals, you'll come back to a terrible mess.

Most people who swap houses have no problems but the risk is always there. It's a question of whether the savings are worth the risk. Most people who've tried it would say 'go ahead and do it'.

My parents did it. They ended up in a wonderfully located apartment in Paris with horribly uncomfortable furniture. They returned home to find every major appliance broken, and an antique table left outside in the yard.

However, that was a long time ago, before the dominance of the internet, so probably there's more oversight now.

We have done 8 very successful swaps over the last 5 years through www.homeexchange.com In most cases we have met the family we are swapping with at one or other end of the swap and without exception they were all lovely people, interested in experiencing different cultures and "living like a local". We have had the odd broken vase and we have had a few minor mishaps ourselves but nothing that can't be sorted out. Think of the process as a kind of cross between blind dating and pen pals. You generally exchange emails for a few months before travelling and get to know your exchange partners pretty well. Also you can screen out potential swap partners at the initial stages- for example we would not swap our family home in the suburbs to a group of 20 something girls wanting to party in our city. I also look at a like for like swap as much as possible and avoid anywhere that looks like it is out of a magazine with comments like "my home is in immaculate condition"- as mine is not and I wouldn't want the other side turning up their nose at my "lived in" family house.
It is a wonderful way to see the world, but I'm not sure I would go as far as Australia for my first trip- there is definitely benefit in building up some experience closer to home as to what does and doesn't work for you first.