House swapping between individuals,
according to figures from OnePoll, a market research company, reveal that the
number of people swapping homes more than doubled in the United Kingdom
in 2012 when compared with the previous year. In 2011, 1.6 million swapped
houses whilst in 2012 it had increased to 3.3 million.
House swapping has been undertaken by
individuals going back as far as 1953 and involves the swapping of
houses on either a temporary or even a more permanent basis. The practise has
grown in popularity in recent years throughout the world due to the global economic
recession.
It is most widely used by people wishing to
holiday in either other parts of their own country or abroad. So, for instance,
if you live in an apartment in London and would like to holiday in a villa in
Cannes in the south of France you would try to find someone that has a home in
Cannes who would like to spend their holiday in London.
Having done that, you would both swap homes and
live in each other’s property, usually over the same period of time. The
Internet has seen many house swapping companies set up and advertise their
fee paying services through their websites.
These companies enable you to show off your
home in all its glory to other people who wish to house swap and allow you to
view their property. You can communicate with the other people in a variety of
ways such as e-mail, Skype or telephone and, having agreed to house swap with
someone, complete any documentation all from the comfort of your own home.
However, here at Bargain Barter, you will be pleased to note that we provide a free,
quality house swapping service that is quick and simple to use.
Some of the benefits of house swapping are that
it is inexpensive as no money usually changes hands between swappers, there are
no hotel bills, your home is more secure whilst you are away on holiday as
someone else is living in it, you can live like the locals, you can even swap
cars so saving on car rental, care for each others pets and spend holidays in
various parts of the world.
