A home trade "is a less-expensive way to spend an extended period in a different location," Larner said. "But equally if not more important, it's a different and more authentic experience - an opportunity to get to know another family. And all three exchange families that we've been involved with have been absolutely delightful."
Budget Travel recently commissioned six people to trade homes and report back. Presumably, the editors hoped to find a mixture of good and bad exchanges and dispense advice on how to avoid the latter.
But "their experiences were all so similar and positive, it didn't turn out to be a really compelling article," Bergman said.
Maybe the biggest potential headache is car trouble. Auto insurance companies usually cover exchangers as guests in your home, but check to make sure. And of course, says Bergman, lock up valuables or store them somewhere else.
Home exchanges were accomplished first via catalog and now on the Web. Intervac International and HomeLink International were founded in the 1950s and are still going strong. The Holiday, a 2006 movie in which the Cameron Diaz character swaps a Los Angeles house for one in the English countryside, popularized the concept.
You can browse home-swap Web sites for free, but most require membership to get contact information for would-be exchangers. (Digsville.com supplies the information to nonmembers and members alike.)
Memberships and listing your house online usually cost $50 or $100 a year, and many sites promise extended free listings if you don't score an exchange the first year. For the best response, you'll have to upload pictures of your house, but it's not difficult.
Swapping homes makes particular sense for European vacations this year. The weak dollar has made European hotels unaffordable for many Americans. Restaurants are problematic, too, and home stays let you save on food.
Fortunately, the cheap dollar is attracting hordes of Europeans. HomeLink.org lists 150 German houses and apartments whose residents want to switch with Americans. HomeExchange.com lists 35 Roman apartments and more than 200 homes in Paris, all occupied by people dying to exchange in the United States.
But not necessarily in Baltimore. "Baltimore is a bit of a challenge," says Larner.
It's more competitive than you might think, however. While most Europeans want to go to New York City, Florida or California, many are interested in Washington and the Maryland beaches. Baltimore and its suburbs - which of course have their own charms - are convenient to both.
