Can you tell me about house swaps?

[Fridayschild]

I would like to go on my own with DSs to America, I think summer 2016 when they will be 13 and 11. This will be easier to afford if we do a house swap... We live in London which I think means it should be relatively easy to find someone to swap with. However I have never done this before and only know friends of friends who have. Childress friends of friends at that!

Does my house need to be completely immaculate? There are all sorts of little jobs that need doing but for example one DS has a cabin bed with out a ladder that one needs to leap into - is this the sort of thing that will put someone off? Do I need a professional clean first? How long should I allow to arrange a swap? Can you recommend an agency?

We have done 8 swaps in the last 6 years and have another planned for this summer and it is the best thing we have ever done! Our first trip was to the U.S. and I found that this site seemed to be the one with most choice there- it does link up to partner European sites too and we have used it for all over. Www.homeexchange.com it costs about £80 per year which keeps out time wasters but is a bargain compared to what you save.
Some tips- you need to take good but honest photos of your house and put in a decent amount of blurb about your location transport links local tourist info etc - have a browse of the site for some idea of what other people do. Your house needs to be clean and tidy with everything working eg washing machine etc but nobody expects a show house. We did have one where half the lightbulbs in the house were out and it was really annoying.
I always try to swap with other families rather than young couples or retired people so both sides have similar expectations as to a family home.
You need to be quite flexible with dates and location so eg if you want to only go to Texas for the third week in July you will probably struggle. Also Americans plan their holidays up to a year in advance so make sure you are set up on the site in good time as all the toing and froing takes a while even when you have an offer. We are in Edinburgh and I get almost daily offers from around the world so can afford to be very choosy and probably you will be the same with a London house to offer.
Good luck!

Thanks!