How to do an Academic House Swap
Professors at colleges and universities spend a lot of time prepping for class, teaching and grading their students' work. They need a break every few years to work on their own research and refresh themselves. When a sabbatical leave takes an academic out of town, finding a place to live is an important step. A smart way to find housing and save money is to do an academic house swap.
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Instructions
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Contact a realtor that specializes in house swaps or locate an online home exchange resource, and get your house listed. A home exchange organization may charge a fee but it should be lower than a realtor's fee.
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Describe your house accurately in terms of number and type of rooms and square footage as well as your neighborhood and surrounding community. Give potential swappers a sense of what it might be like to live in your house.
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Search the listings of available houses in the area where you plan to visit. Consider a house's proximity to where you will be teaching or researching.
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Accept assistance from the house swap organization once a potential swap appears imminent. They should be able to help you and your fellow swapper communicate with each other and settle upon terms of the swap.
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Write down any expectations you have for both sides of the swap: what you will get and what the party using your house will get. Both you and the other party should agree upon the expectations and sign off on them.
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Prepare your house for the swap by packing away any important papers or any other items of value or that need to stay private. Clean your house thoroughly before you leave for your sabbatical.
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Leave your house's new occupants a list of important phone numbers (plumber, electrician), directions on how to use any tricky appliances and any other information that might help them adjust to life in your house.
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Clean the house you've been living in and change the bed sheets when the sabbatical is over. Thank your swap partner by leaving a gift of flowers or a small gift for him to find upon his return to his own house.
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Tips & Warnings
If you have trouble with your academic house swap, be aware that home exchange organizations usually don't get involved in disputes between swappers. Learn as much as you can in advance about the person who will be living in your house.
