Housing Swapping

[JG]

I see on Craigs list under housing, there is a category for housing swap. swapping your apt. or home with another. does anyone have any first hand accounts. what do you think are the pros and cons. would you do it. if not, why not.
in my case, i own an apt. and am not rolling in cash, so i might make my apt. work for me while i was away so to speak. anyway, it sounds strange, id have to research it more before i would do it.

 

[smith]

I used to subscribe to Intervac, an international house swapping agency. I suspect Craigslist works the same way without the middleman. We swapped my house in the San Francisco Bay Area for an apartment in Paris for about 3 weeks. (Parisians love to swap.) Had a very good experience. Still trade postcards with the swaping Parisians. We plan to swap our Barrio Norte apartment some day.

 

[steveinbsas]

At the moment I am in a wonderful apartment in San Francisco (near Union St and Pacific Heights). The owner is in my apartment in Recoleta. I have also exchanged with three families from Paris in previous years. It was all good. I exclusively use www.homeechange.com. A fee is charged for the listing as opposed to Craigslist which is free, but there is no middleman. I am a bit dubious of some of the postings on craigslist as the Buenos Aires apartments aren't always in the barrios they claim to be...or omissions...like being in a building with a strip club/escort service (Madahos in Recoleta) on the ground floor...could result in unpleasant experiences for the visitors. In this case the wonderful view of the cemetery is pretty much offset by (some of) the drunken whore-mongers whopping it up and relieving themselves in the street until five AM...seven nights a week. (Walk along the back wall of the cemetery and the smell will be unmistakable). Though still in Recoleta, it is not at all desirable for most exchangers. I've also seen listings for apartments in Retiro and south of Cordoba (near Faculdad de Medicina) that claim to be in Recoleta when they are not. It does make a difference.