We’re Lee and Ben, HomeExchange members in Ottawa, Canada. We’re in the early stages of planning a long-term trip to New Zealand (potentially a year or more) and starting to think through how a long-term reciprocal exchange actually works in practice.
From what we can tell, the platform’s tools (trip search, GuestPoints, trip planner, etc.) seem built with shorter stays in mind and we haven’t found a great way to filter or search specifically for members open to a 6+ month swap. If we’re missing a feature or a better way to search, we’d love to know!
In the meantime, we’re hoping to hear from anyone in this community who has done (or tried to arrange) a long-term reciprocal exchange:
On finding a match:
- How did you find a partner open to a year-long (or multi-month) exchange? Did you search directly, post in the forums, or find them another way?
On structuring the exchange:
- Did you do a fully simultaneous swap (both homes empty and swapped for the same period), or something staggered/non-simultaneous?
- Did you commit to the full year upfront, or start with a shorter trial period (e.g., 1–3 months) before extending?
- How did you handle GuestPoints or reciprocity for a stay this long — straight home-for-home, or a different arrangement?
On practicalities during the stay:
- How did you handle mail, bills, plants/garden, or minor maintenance issues at your own home while you were away that long?
- Did you check in with your exchange partner periodically, and if so, how often?
- Did you loop in your home insurance provider or landlord/condo board about an extended absence and a long-term occupant? Any surprises there?
On trust and vetting:
- What made you comfortable committing to someone for a year rather than a week or two? References, video calls, an in-person meet first, a written agreement?
- Did you put anything in writing (even informally) about expectations — house rules, who covers utilities, what happens if either side needs to end early?
On how it actually went:
- Would you do it again? What would you do differently next time?
- Any advice for two first-timers considering something this long?
Thanks in advance for sharing your experience!
Lee & Ben