Is My Home Ready To Swap?
Nicole Frank is one of the leading experts of the home exchange community. Nicole has been an avid home exchanger since childhood and has completed dozens exchanges around the world with her family. Nicole’s "Key to Home Exchange" appears weekly on RoofSwap.com with do’s and don’t regarding house swapping and tips and advice on a wide array of travel topics. Have a question for Nicole or want to share some insight of your own? Visit our Member Forum section and post your comments and questions.
We bought our house last year, and it's still a bit of a work in progress, meaning we're putting down some new flooring in a couple of weeks, our walls are fairly bare, and our furniture is what we've had for years and probably needs replacing at some point.
We should have everything painted and in good shape by the beginning of this summer. I'm hesitant to post photos of the house on an exchange site yet because we do have some painting left to do, which will be completed after our flooring is replaced in a couple of weeks.
The house has come a LONG way from where it started (we bought a foreclosure), but because we're doing everything with cash, it will be a while yet before we have a home full of beautiful furniture. We actually have very little clutter in part because we moved from a one-bedroom apartment to a four-bedroom house! Those extra bedrooms will likely remain empty.
You'll notice on the front of the house, three shutters are missing. Those will also be replaced come summer.
With all of that said, our home is comfortable and in a convenient location. We want to post pictures and will, but how likely is it that someone will want to exchange with us given our lack of decor? Is location more important?
Also, while we have a large four bedroom house, we only have one bed and an air mattress. We're young and just starting out in life, hence the lack of furniture, etc. Is all of this going to be an issue? Should we wait to exchange until we have more in the way of amenities?
Thanks so much for your willingness to help. I'm excited about the home exchange program, and we want to go ahead and sign up. We just want to make sure we have all of our ducks in a row. We're looking to exchange internationally (Ireland) in 2011.
Thanks,
Jen, TN
Dear Roof Swapper,
I looked at all of the photos you sent for me to review. I saw a home that is being tastefully renovated. As you note, work is clearly going on and you don't have a lot of furniture or decor.
What's important is that each room is functional. The living room has a comfy couch and easy chairs in front of a fireplace with a new mantle. The new washer/ dryer are installed. The master bedroom has a comfy bed and night stands.
Clean and uncluttered in a good location usually works for most swappers. The other plus is that including a photo of each room lets people make an informed decision about whether or not they would be comfortable in your home.
The most important thing is that your communication with other Roof Swappers be as clear and honest as you were with me. Note right in the home description that you recently purchased the home. You can say you have renovated much of the home but are holding off on finishing the bedrooms you don't use.
A family with young kids might prefer a home without lots of fancy knick knacks and furniture. There are so few listings in Tennessee, where you live, that you are sure to get many offers from other Roof Swappers.
To attract as many offers as possible, I urge you to invest a few hundred dollars in air mattresses, linens and a chair and side table for each unused bedroom. You can easily make each bedroom usable by a large swap group for under $100 per bedroom. Then you can honestly list your home as the four-bedroom place it is.
Being able to accommodate a group of more than four swappers comfortably will get you offers from people uncommitted to a specific location but eager to find a spacious home.
When you send out offers, use Roof Swap's advanced search function to find large families in your target destination. A family of six or more will be so delighted to be offered a home large enough for everyone that your destination will get far more consideration than if you keep those other three bedrooms empty.
Let us know how this works for you. Welcome to the home exchange community.
Happy Roof Swapping!
Nicole Frank,
Your Key to Home Exchange
