[quote=CA renter][quote=spdrun]No thanks to “stankations.” I usually just rent my place out one month during summer, which helps quite a bit with costs.
(And it bothers me not at all to “time share” my home with someone off of Craigslist or rec’ed by a friend, since private papers and computers go in one file cabinet that gets locked in basement storage.)[/quote]
I’d really love to rent our place out/exchange during vacations, but it’s really different when you have an established family home vs. a young person’s bachelor pad. Back in the day, I would have easily done it, too, but those days are over now (not complaining, just stating a fact).[/quote]
CAR,
Yes, it’s MUCH different when it’s your primary home that you live in. We own many rental properties that we DO use for home exchanges but my wife says we could never use our primary home for home exchanges or to rent out. (No matter how much we were offered to stay in it).
Still, we do a LOT of home exchanges in some AMAZING properties where it’s their primary residence. You’d be surprised how well it can work out. Before we moved here we did many home exchanges with primary residences in Point Loma, 3 in La Jolla, Cardiff by the Sea, and a few others that were GREAT!
I know it sounds difficult but we’ve had GREAT experiences with http://www.homeexchange.com. It makes traveling really amazing! Also, if you have a really nice place you can make some insane money. I have a friend that has a VERY nice smaller home (totally renovated with high end furniture) and he rents it during Del Mar Racetrack season for something like $15,000 or maybe $20,000 per MONTH.
It’s not his primary residence (he lives in Texas) but it is his place while he is in town and they don’t rent it besides during Del Mar Racetrack season.
You should check out HomeExchange.com We have done over 40 exchanges all around the world and never had any problems at all with the swap partners.
