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One way to leverage your investment in your vacation home is to participate in vacation home exchange networks. There are a number of companies, including Digsville, ExchangeHomes, Holswap, Homex, HomeExchange, HomeForExchange, SeniorsHomeExchange, TheVacationExchange, Vacation-Home-Exchange and 1stHomeExchange, that allow you to swap vacation homes, on a temporary basis, so that you can take a vacation without needing to spend money renting a hotel, villa or apartment. We have compared some of the leading vacation home exchange networks below.

Vacation Home Exchange Network	Web Address	Annual Cost	Number of listings	Special Offer
Digsville	digsville.com
Exchange Homes	www.exchangehomes.com			Second year free
Holswap	holswap.com
Homex	www.homex.com	$50/year
HomeExchange	HomeExchange	$99/year	20,000	Second year free
Home For Exchange	HomeForExchange.com	Euro 45/year	10,000	6 months joining bonus
Seniors Home Exchange	Seniorshomeexchange.com	$79/ 3 years		$100 for lifetime membership
The Vacation Exchange	TheVacationExchange.com
Vacation Home Exchange	Vacation-Home-Exchange.com
1st Home Exchange	1stHomeExchange.com

Before joining up with any of the above vacation home networks, it is worth considering the advantages and disadvantages of these for the vacation home owner.

Advantages of Vacation Home Exchange

1. It's cheaper than renting a hotel, villa or apartment!

2. You get to choose from a wide variety of high quality vacation properties, in a wide variety of locations.

3. It's more personal that renting a hotel, villa or apartment. Typically, vacation home owners who exchange their homes only do so once or twice per year and they are often much more selective about who they rent to: many people report making lifelong friends of those they exchange vacation homes with.

4. Vacation homes that participate in Vacation home exchange are typically better cared for than more vacation rentals. Because owners know that their continued participation in vacation home exchange networks is contingent on positive feedback from the person with whom they exchange their vacation home, they are more likely to ensure that their vacation home is maintained to a high standard.

5. Similarly, vacation home owner who exchange their homes are more likely to take good care of your property. Also, being vacation home owners themselves, they understand the importance of being a good "renter".

6. It's a good way to use your vacation home during low season, when you might not otherwise we able to rent your vacation home.

Disadvantages of Vacation Home Exchange

1. You can't earn rent when you are exchanging your vacation home!

2. You may find it difficult to find a suitable property to exchange with in a location that you want to visit. However, some of the vacation home exchange networks are so large now that this is less likely to be a problem. For example,HomeExchange has more than 20,000 listings in more than 100 countries and HomeForExchange.com contains over 10,000+ listings worldwide.

3. You have to pay for membership. However, the cost is usually very modest. For example, HomeExchange costs only $99 per year and they will give you your second year free if you don't exchange in the first year. HomeForExchange.com costs only Euro 45 per year, plus you get 6 months free as a sign on bonus.