Finding a Home Exchange listing by Member ID#

Hi there,

Yet again I am frustrated by not being able to find a listing using another member's ID #! I have been having difficulties since signing up last year-is there something else I can do other than looking through all the ads!

Thanks,

Alison Schreiber, HE17386

Hi Alison

I am very sorry to hear of your frustration in not being able to find another member's listing by their ID number. If you are in your own Member Admin Area having logged in with your email addrss and password, and then click on the link Message from the Administrator, you will see that I have attempted to include useful pointers in navigating and making the best use of the site, including the following information about listings and finding a Member's listing
by Member ID#.

Searching the Listings

You can search the listings from your own Member Area, by clicking on the
hyperlink "Property Search". This takes you to the Basic Search page where you enter the appropriate information, ie Search by Continent, State/County/Region, or City and click on the Search Button. The Search results will bring up Summary Listings with just a short summary of the exchange offered, and a thumbnail picture (if the
member has added photos to their exchange offer). Then if you click on the live heading link of a Summary listing, you can bring up the full listing which will display the name and contact details of the member.

If you wish to carry out a more Advanced Search, from the Basic Search page click on the link 'Detailed Search' towards the top left of the page, which will take you to the Detailed Search page which carries a number of Advanced Search options to limit your results further. (Beware adding too many alternatives at once, as you may then get zero results!)

To find a particular listing by its HEXXXXX ID number: there are two ways of achieving this. Either click on the link Find Member by User ID from your own member area, or if already on the Detailed Search page, scroll down the list of Advanced Search options. At the bottom you will find the box Search by Member ID. Enter their HEXXXXX (the HE is essential and no spaces between) to bring up the full Member listing.

Making Searches Easier

Those countries which currently have the largest number of listings (Australia, Canada, England, France, USA) are sub-divided by state, province, county or region. When you do a search and choose one of these countries from the drop down list, you can either search for listings in the whole country or limit the results by selecting from the drop down state list which will appear.
Note: just as only countries where there are current listings are shown in the drop down list, so too only states/counties etc which have members listed will appear in this drop down list. This is to help make searching easier as there is nothing more frustrating than getting zero results!

I think in view of your comments, at our next upgrade I willendeavour to see if it's possible to make the Search by Member ID# made more visible and also to clarify that it is necessary to include the HE prefix before the number with no spaces between.

Please don't hesitate to contact me again if you have any more problems with navigating the site.

Very best regards
Kath Botterill

Home Exchange - Getting started

As this is the time of year when many new members are joining the home exchange community, I thought that it might be appropriate to list a few of the basic procedures for setting up and enjoying a carefree home exchange:

1 Sign up with a reputable home exchange agency. (Compare membership prices too:
Green Theme International Home Exchange charges just £21 for 12 months membership; HomeLink a massive £115, Intervac £65 to register on-line; and HomeBase Holidays £29.

2 Use the site’s search engines to find suitable properties to swap with and start making offers preferably by e-mail. Alternatively, wait for offers to come to you, but you can really only afford to do this if you live in a tourist hotspot. Far better to be proactive and really seek out the exchange you want and contact your prospective exchange partners straight away.

3 Draw a short list from your responses, not forgetting to send a polite refusal to those you have eliminated from your quest. If references are available for those on your short list, do not hesitate to take them up once you feel that you are near to finalising an exchange arrangement.

4 Once you have committed to an exchange arrangement, exchange full information by email, so that you really feel you are getting to know your exchange partners.

5 Draw up a pre-swap agreement, with details of what to do if something gets broken, who pays the bills, whether cars are included in the swap and whether you are expected to look after any pets. Sample agreements, one short and the other more detailed and therefore perhaps more suitable for long-term exchanges, are shown on the GTI Home Exchange web-site at pages:http://www.gti-home-exchange.com/englishcontract.html and http://www.gti-home-exchange.com/GTI%20Sample%20Extended%20Home%20Exchange%20Agreement.htm

6 If possible agree to book your air, train or ferry tickets on the same day, then send details to your exchange partner proving that you have. This will reassure both parties that financial commitments have been made and that neither plans to pull out.

7 Contact your insurance companies and let them know your plans. Take out any extra insurance if necessary.

On the whole, insurance companies are pleased that your house will be occupied while you’re away — it makes burglary less likely. Most insurance companies have a relaxed approach to home exchange. Direct Line says that as long as the company is notified in advance and agrees that the incoming occupants are a “like-for-like” risk — pro-fessionals swapping with professionals, for example — property and contents will be covered for the duration of the exchange, even if incoming swappers damage or even steal items in your home. Others, including Churchill, will continue to cover all losses incurred as a result of forced entry.

Similarly, most car-insurance firms will cover a new driver for a nominal charge, providing they are told of plans in advance. However, some people do find they have difficulty particularly with adding cover for drivers from the USA. A site which you may find useful if you find yourself in this situation is: http://www.moneysupermarket.com/motor/

8 You're almost ready. Finally, clean and tidy your house, lock particularly valuable items away and put together a welcome pack of information about the house and the area. Before departing for your holiday, leave keys with a neighbour who can greet your visitors. Even better, arrange to overlap with your swapping partners so that you can meet face to face.

The Romantic Angle on Home Exchange

This is not the first time that I have written about their being the possibility of a romantic angle on home exchange. Way back in the Green Theme International Home Exchange newsletter of March 1996 I included a little snippet entitled 'Love is in the Air' when a GTI home exchange member told us about her exchange partner from the States who decided to look up an old flame while in England. It wasn't long before romance was rekindled and this time the couple decided to tie the knot.

I have now been asked by a journalist if I can find any other GTI members who have a romantic story to tell:

"I'm not sure if you can help me, but I'm a multi-published freelance writer looking for true love on home exchange stories for potentialarticles in national magazines (and perhaps even a book if response is strong enough).

I believe there will be sufficient media interest in this idea, as it will tie into the upcoming romantic comedy 'Holiday', starring Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet. (In the movie, two single women arrange for a 14-day exchange of their L.A./London houses and each meets a man, and becomes romantically involvedwith him--on the wrong side of the Atlantic, of course!)

If any of your members have arranged to swap homes, and then got into a relationship - I'd ask that you provide them with my contact informationfor interview purposes.

Many thanks for your consideration.
Best regards,
Stephanie Olsen Founder/Owner Family Life Abroad
email address: editor@familylifeabroad.com "