Home/Apartment swap in Ireland?

sheroman01

My girlfriend and I would like to do a home/apartment swap in December - our apartment in Lyon, for a place in Dublin. Has anyone here done anything like this before? Does anyone have any recommended sites to advertise?

Thanks!

The_Conductor

If you google 'house swapping' you'll find a long list of various companies who facilitate swapping such as you are suggesting. There are a number of French and Irish websites in the list (obviously the .fr and .ie sites). Having never used this type facility- I honestly couldn't recommend any one company over another- however, I would urge you to conduct reasonable due diligence.

JustAThought

The_Conductor wrote: »

If you google 'house swapping' you'll find a long list of various companies who facilitate swapping such as you are suggesting. There are a number of French and Irish websites in the list (obviously the .fr and .ie sites). Having never used this type facility- I honestly couldn't recommend any one company over another- however, I would urge you to conduct reasonable due diligence.

I would be extremely vigilant - how would you know the person wouldn't rob you blind or thrash your house for a month as a party pad or run up huge electricity /gas bills . My worry , having seen how respectable seeming professional working people can be utterly dishonest & wreck a rented house, is who I would be letting have the run of my home . I'd be looking for a big security deposit. For all you know they'd be leaving their lease following month & using your place as an escape pad to avoid paying bills & you could end up in the street with an angry landlord asking who you are and what you are doing in their accommodation with no lease.
fRAUGHT with issues.

The_Conductor

JustAThought wrote: »

I would be extremely vigilant - how would you know the person wouldn't rob you blind or thrash your house for a month as a party pad or run up huge electricity /gas bills . My worry having seen how respectable seeming people can be utterly dishonest is who I would be letting have the run of my home . I'd be looking for a big security deposit. For all you know they'd be leaving their lease following month & using your place as an escape pad to avoid paying bills & you could end up in the street with an angry landlord asking who you are and what yiu are doing in their accommodation with no lease.
fRAUGHT with issues.

It may be fraught with potential difficulties- it is however something that lots of people commonly do. I've colleagues who have swapped properties in Brussels, London and Dublin with complete strangers in Paris, Oslo and Peniche (Portugal)- successfully and without issue. There are ground rules to be followed- and you do have to be aware of prospective pitfalls (such as your home insurance may not be valid, should anything go askew- for example)- however, when you're swapping property- normally both parties have a mutual interest in taking good care of each other's dwellings.

sheroman01

JustAThought wrote: »

I would be extremely vigilant - how would you know the person wouldn't rob you blind or thrash your house for a month as a party pad or run up huge electricity /gas bills . My worry , having seen how respectable seeming professional working people can be utterly dishonest & wreck a rented house, is who I would be letting have the run of my home . I'd be looking for a big security deposit. For all you know they'd be leaving their lease following month & using your place as an escape pad to avoid paying bills & you could end up in the street with an angry landlord asking who you are and what you are doing in their accommodation with no lease.
fRAUGHT with issues.

I was sceptical too but you can see with the huge rise of AirBnb how this can work. I would personally try meeting with the people first. There's a mutual trust too, at the end of the day you are staying in their house too. Also, it's mainly couples and families who house swap - less chance of parting and wrecking the place. Anyway, CouchSurfing and AirBnb have always worked for us.

As for checking sites on Google, have done this but getting no luck so far. Doesn't seem to be too popular in Ireland but will keep trying. If anyone knows someone interested sure drop me a PM (* MOD - if this is not okay to post here, please let me know and I will remove this or delete my post, thanks).

JustAThought

sheroman01 wrote: »

I was sceptical too but you can see with the huge rise of AirBnb how this can work. I would personally try meeting with the people first. There's a mutual trust too, at the end of the day you are staying in their house too. Also, it's mainly couples and families who house swap - less chance of parting and wrecking the place. Anyway, CouchSurfing and AirBnb have always worked for us.

As for checking sites on Google, have done this but getting no luck so far. Doesn't seem to be too popular in Ireland but will keep trying. If anyone knows someone interested sure drop me a PM (* MOD - if this is not okay to post here, please let me know and I will remove this or delete my post, thanks).

I know - I tried to do one a few years ago in France or Anerica & ended up doing a short term rent instead for a few weeks . I am a fan o AirBnB but I guess you have some comeback with having a multinational involved & insurance & a visa linked deposit system! Anyway - best of luck with it. How long did you want to swap for & is it holidays or work?

Thoie

A friend uses a house swap site for all their holidays, and loves it. No bad experiences so far. He did recommend that you use one of the sites that requests a membership fee to join, as that filters out people who aren't serious about it. They've even swapped cars as well as houses.

JustAThought

Thoie wrote: »

A friend uses a house swap site for all their holidays, and loves it. No bad experiences so far. He did recommend that you use one of the sites that requests a membership fee to join, as that filters out people who aren't serious about it. They've even swapped cars as well as houses.

What's the name of it!? Don't keep us hanging!

sheroman01

JustAThought wrote: »

I know - I tried to do one a few years ago in France or Anerica & ended up doing a short term rent instead for a few weeks . I am a fan o AirBnB but I guess you have some comeback with having a multinational involved & insurance & a visa linked deposit system! Anyway - best of luck with it. How long did you want to swap for & is it holidays or work?

True, valid points.

It's for holidays essentially - my girlfriend visits from Lyon, France every so often so home exchanges at most dates suit. But particularly looking for somewhere 14th Dec to 23rd Dec.

We joined the most popular site for a fee but very little responses. Two other sites we joined are proving better, possibly getting a place in Feb and March. But really need somewhere for Dec

Thoie

JustAThought wrote: »

What's the name of it!? Don't keep us hanging!

It's a surprise! (I'll ask him when I'm talking to him, but it may be a while).