If you’re just swapping apartments – eh, hazier I would say. It’s not really that different from having a friend stay over while you’re away to housesit, you just don’t know these people. If you live in a secured building then I’d at least alert the building manager so he doesn’t call the police if he notices strangers in your place. But if you’re in a secured building they may veto swapping too since it potentially puts the rest of the building at risk to have you give out your building code/keys and your apartment keys.

But if they don’t, then I would think you’d just be liable for any damage done and any lost/stolen keys.

*** I am in no way an expert, just putting my thoughts out there. ***

So, how do you make sure that the people you’re renting from actually have the right to rent to you or that the places that they’re renting even exist? I’ve read horror stories about scam artists renting homes online only to find out that the actual owners or tenants had no idea their home was being offered. Unless you know someone in the area who can personally visit a property to verify these things, how do you know it’s a real rental?

Also, do you feel safe sleeping in a place that strangers have a key to? Yes, it’s a paranoid thought, but personal safety has to be a concern.

Finally, I’ve also read horror stories about people renting out their homes while on vacation only to return and find out that they’ve been cleaned out. Placing personal documents under lock and key is good, but what about your televisions, stereo equipment, computers, artwork, designer clothing, expensive kitchen gadgets and other valuable items? A minimalist wouldn’t have this concern, but what should the rest of us do?

I may sound like a Debbie Downer, but I really did like the article. I’m just wondering how you work around these things.

#8 – I love the borrowed house idea! I’m still too young to have many friends with houses, but I’ll keep that in mind as my peers start setting down. Fun idea!

The last time, we stayed in a gorgeous waterfront condo in Scotland; 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a huge kitchen, 2 blocks from a gigantic grocery store, all for something like ~$100 a night. It even had a washer and dryer, which was a huge bonus. We had come to visit friends in the area, and we could actually have them over for dinner.

When I was a kid, one of my mom’s coworkers had a tiny beachfront house in North Carolina that we’d barter, trade, or rent from them for a few weeks every summer. A LOT of teachers at my mom’s school did the same thing; in return, we got to rent it for cheap and pretty much whenever we wanted, and they got to have someone live in the house when they weren’t around. Everyone wins!

Renting out my own place on the other hand: no way. Strangers here, with my stuff and my cat? The rentals I’ve stayed at were all explicitly for rent, they didn’t have someone’s stuff in them. I’d be upset if they did, I don’t need to deal with other people’s clutter on vacation and I sure wouldn’t want to be accused of messing up anything important.

Even if you’re only going to be staying a week or a few days, I found in Italy that many very, very affordable rentals were lovely rooms with en suite bathrooms. One place in Corniglia (Cinque Terre town) was referenced by Rick Steves and is (was? it’s been awhile) owned by Christina Ricci (not the movie star). The room was gorgeous AND her father-in-law picked us all up at the train station so we didn’t have to hike up the steps (33 flights of 382 steps) in the dark after traveling all day. They were great.

If you have a family member with a vacation property, whether it is offered to you for use or not, it can’t hurt to ask about it’s availability.

We stayed here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tylerkaraszewski/5109323969/ in Santorini last year for I think €160/night.

That doesn’t sound particularly cheap, but look at the view! And I tend to find with places like this you tend to get to have a personal interaction with the owner that is a lot more helpful than what hotel staff usually provides.

We’ve done this in Greece, Costa Rica, Arizona, The Bahamas, and have a trip planned soon for New York City. I never plan on going back to using hotels.

I have absolutely no desire to rent my house out to random people while I’m gone, though. Most of the people I’ve rented from in these situations do this full time, the property is explicitly a vacation rental property, generally not their primary residence.