HOUSE SWAPPING
Updated February 2025
photo credit: renee | costa rica (ethereal sunset, no filter)
CONSIDERATIONS WHEN HOUSE SWAPPING & PET SITTING
Home exchanges and pet-sitting are two of the cheapest ways to travel. Why? Because your accommodation should either be free with a house-swap, or you should be paid (or get an exchange-in-kind) for your pet-sitting services.
As with most “too good to be true” scenarios, there’s a catch: you have to put in the time to research your potential neighbourhood and interview the people who’s home you’ll be living in before making your decision. Your goal is to start comfortable and then work your way up by gaining trust so that you can stay in nicer homes in better locations.
That’s where this blog comes in. I’ve had some hilarious experiences as a pet-sitter that have resulted in a lot of time researching how to do better. Download Considerations For House-Swapping and Pet-Sitting, my free e-book that’ll help you get started in the right house and with the right people.
Happy swapping (or sitting!)
Renee | Updated June 2025
4 BENEFITS
- Home Security
- Pet Comfort
- Affordability
- Adventuresome New Friends
9 CONSIDERATIONS
- Setting Boundaries + Expectations
- Pet Care
- Home Safety + Security
- Neighbourhood Safety + Walkability
- Comforts + Amenities
- House + Yard Maintenance
- Proximity to Sites + Attractions
- Recommended Apps
- Budgeting
Before Getting Started
Renters
If you’re a renter I’d recommend reading your lease agreement and renter’s insurance policy before even thinking about a house-swap. Breaking any of the clauses your lease agreement could get you evicted, and it could nullify your insurance coverage.
Home Owners & HOA
If you’re a homeowner, read your homeowner’s insurance policy to find out what’s covered and what’s not covered in a house-swap situation.
If you are covered, then make sure you’ve taken the necessary steps to meet all the clauses in the policy, like any required alarm systems, the location of fire extinguishers, etc.
If you’re part of an HOA, read the rules for home exchanges. Here’s a good article to read: Understanding HOA Rules On Home Exchanges and Rentals.
The Benefits of Home Exchange
Home Security
In addition to fending off opportunistic burglars, having someone stay at your house could add a layer of financial security: some home insurance policies will lapse or become void if it can be proved that your home was left unoccupied for a certain amount of time.
Pet Comfort
If you can’t take your pet with you, the next best thing is to leave them in the comfort of their own home and with a regular routine. You may be surprised to find that having a pet-sitter is less expensive than boarding your pet while you’re away.
Affordability
Swapping homes means you’re not paying for accommodation (or restaurant meals) at your destination, making it one of the most affordable ways to travel. My husband and I took two different month-long vacations for just the cost of flights, occasional meals out, and car rental for a few days for some self-guided sightseeing.
A bonus for me is the inspiration I get from learning to cook local recipes with local ingredients. My husband and I live in one of the most expensive places in the world (Victoria on Vancouver Island, BC), so groceries abroad are often cheap in comparison.
Adventuresome New Friends!
It takes a certain character of spirit to take the risk on a home exchange or to trust someone with your pet. And those are my people! The ones who open their heart to the experience and trust themselves to do good work.
The Considerations
Setting Boundaries + Expectations
This is the most important thing to do when deciding whether to stay at someone else’s house, and trusting them to stay at yours:
- tell them about your boundaries and expectations; and;
- ask them about their boundaries and expectations.
When you’re working through this section of the workbook, DON’T:
- be unrealistically flexible with your expectations; and,
- make assumptions about what your counterparts have to offer.
DO be genuine. Being genuine will:
- endear those who you want to swap with; and,
- alienate the ones you don’t want to swap with.
Trust me, both of these are good things. Very, very good things.
Personal Safety
Learn about cultural and religious traditions in the country you’re swapping to before you set up the interview. Deciding in advance whether you can abide by cultural norms, expectations and laws can save you money and disappointment if it turns out you’re not open to that sort of experience. Read my blog How To Travel Safely and use the the free checklist to research your destination with a safety mindset before booking your trip.
Pet Care
This section goes down a bit of a rabbit hole (see what I did there?). Because pets are family, too!
Home Safety + Security
This part of the workbook covers security systems, cameras + privacy legislation, fire safety, property access, restricted + locked areas, and natural disasters.
Neighbourhood Safety + Comfort
Ask your swap-mates about neighbourhood noise, particularly if you’re a light sleeper. Find out about nearby walkable neighbourhoods. Ask about general safety, especially if you’re going to be doing a lot of walking or taking public transit. Get yourself into a mindset of situational awareness before you make the swap, and take the time to conduct thorough research about your potential neighbourhood.
Read my blog How To Travel Safely and use the the workbook for that blog to research your destination with a safety mindset before booking your trip.
Comforts and Amenities
This section covers everything from learning how to manage temperature controls in the home to how to use special amenities like a pool and hot tub. It also gets into basics like what to expect in terms of furnishings and where to find extra linens so that you can have a stress-free, comfortable and relaxing stay.
House + Yard Maintenance
Make sure you know what sort of work you’re expected to do before you arrive so that you can have the sort of vacation you planned. When I’m at home I love to garden and take care of our hot tub. But that doesn’t mean I want to do that on vacation.
Car-Swapping
If you’re going to allow your swap-mates to use your car then it’s your responsibility to ensure your car is insured for their use – regardless of who is paying for the insurance. Look at your auto insurance policy to see if they’re covered, and if they are, find out if they need an international driver’s licence to satisfy the requirements of your policy. If they will need their own auto insurance, make that clear to them up front, along with anything else they should know about operating your vehicle (like if it has a standard transmission instead of an automatic, and whether it requires special maintenance).
Proximity to Sites + Attractions
Ask for approximate distances to attractions. This will help you to determine how realistic your plans of “getting out to see things.” Consider factoring in the cost of a rental car or public transportation instead of skipping this house swap.
Recommended Apps
Check out Best Home Exchange and Home Swap Websites To Save Money on Travel Accommodation for the 7 best apps and websites for house-swapping.
Budgeting
A pet-sitting gig should include being paid. That’s right: pet-sitting gigs are paid.
When house-swapping, your travel budget should include food, entertainment, transportation, and travel insurance.
If you’re facing rental fees on a house-swap or pet-sitting gig, then draw up a list of Pros and Cons, and their associated cost, to determine whether it’s worth it.
My List
Necessities vs. Comforts vs. Amenities
This bonus section of my free PDF is just what it sounds like – a beautifully landscaped section of blank spaces where you can make your ultimate wish list for the best house-swap or pet-sitting gig.
Happy Hunting!
I truly hope this blog helps you to have the best first-time or return experience doing a house-swap or pet-sitting gig.
Renee | Updated June 2025
From my travel diary: Pet-Sitting in Costa Rica
photo credit: renee | costa rica (ethereal sunset, no filter)
My husband and I traded homes from Victoria, BC to Puntarenas Province, Costa Rica with friends that we trusted. The home we traded to looked gorgeous in photos: mountain-top views, private pool, huge bedroom, fully stocked kitchen, and a truck we could use to explore. All those things sounded great on paper, but there were some major lesson-learning hiccups:
- On our way in from the airport our truck broke down. We were still 20 minutes from the house and sunset was falling fast. We flagged down a friendly cab driver who took us up the mountain in the pitch-darkness, but his little sedan didn’t have the clearance to navigate major wash-outs and ruts in the road. We ended up having to hike our suitcases through the jungle wearing only flip-flops and shorts. To call it exciting would have been an understatement. It turns out that the truck battery needed to have water added to it, and the 3-hour drive from San Hose Airport had run the battery dry, shorting out the electrical systems in the truck.
- The plumbing at the house broke down and we had to use pool water to wash dishes and flush the toilet. Luckily we knew in advance that the tap water wasn’t safe to drink, so we had stocked up on bottled water for drinking.
- One of the two cats we were pet-sitting had gotten locked out (and the other one was locked in) by a friendly and landlord who hadn’t been informed of the fact that the door was supposed to be left open. When we arrived the house smelled like a litter box and there were messes everywhere from the kitty who’d been locked inside. Sadly, the other cat never found its way home. We called for that cat every morning and every night, and the sadness of his loss hung like a pall over our trip.
This all happened by day 7, and we were there for 21 days.
However!
I’m a silver linings kind of person, and the silver linings from this trip are almost entirely due to being stranded at the top of a mountain. First, the views were absolutely spectacular, and so we never felt like we were missing out on a true Costa Rican experience. Second, the exotic wildlife encounters filled my heart with awe and joy. Not only did we have a resident praying mantis, we also had nightly honking conversations with a mating pair of toucans in the trees on our property, and we watched the circle of life when a giant raptor carried off the carcass of an equally huge lizard. We found creative ways to make the most of our private magical mountain-top pool. And most importantly: we spent a lot of time enjoying our peaceful solitude. Despite its challenges, that trip to Costa Rica lives in my memory as three weeks in a jungle paradise.