The original home exchange
You Intervac listing has the information on both your house and your family.
Here is how you can change the information on your family so that everything is up-to-date.
When you no longer want to see a specific message in your Inbox, you can archive it. Archiving a message will archive the conversation, that is, the original message and all replies to that message.
In the example in the screenshot, the two messages in the conversation will be archived when clicking the “Archive this conversation” button.
You can also archive multiple conversations at a time. For that, you need to be in your Inbox home. You then select each message you want to archive by using the checkboxes to their left and click on the “Archive selected” button. This will archive all messages in all selected conversations.
Please note that archived conversations are still considered when you search, that is those members will also be considered as members you have already contacted.
To delete a message, you first need to archive it as described above. You can then open the Archive section and delete them. The procedure is identical to the one described above for archiving multiple conversations: you should select the messages by using the checkboxes to their left and click on the “Delete selected” button. This will delete all messages in all selected conversations. Please note this cannot be undone.
You’ve searched and contacted and chatted online with lots of nice people and now you have found exactly the right partner for this year’s exchange. You are ready to start the exchange agreement? This article is for you.
Before you get started, have a look at your member home page and be sure that your listing is marked as available for exchange.
You will find the Exchange Agreements section of our site by scrolling down in the member navigation to the My Membership section and click on Exchange Agreements.
From here on it’s pretty straightforward. If there is not an agreement already started by your partner, the only thing you’ll need to get one started is your exchange partner’s listing id. At the top of the Exchanges overview page, you should see the blue “Start Exchange Agreement button”. Click on it…
First, you will see the legal text for your agreement after that, you can choose to search for your partner’s listing via their listing id, or if they are already on your favorites list, you can look there.
In this tab, you will find each of the listings in your Favorites. Each favorite will have either a tag explaining why it is not possible to start an exchange agreement with that listing (expired or trial member for instance) or else it will have a Start Exchange Agreement link.
Clicking the Start Exchange button will create your exchange agreement and, moreover, it will automatically fill in your name and address as well as your partner’s name and address. Your partner will be notified that you have started the agreement process. You will see a new ongoing agreement card on your Exchanges overview page.
This screen is your control panel for the progress of your exchange agreement. Just by starting, you are already 20% finished.
The next step is to click the “Edit Your Terms” button and fill in the form. Please be sure that you add at least one participant (yourself, for instance). Also, add the dates you will be arriving and leaving your partner’s home.
What does that mean: Use “n/a” if the field does not apply to your situation.?
The abbreviation “n/a” is commonly used in English and it stands for “not applicable” (does not apply) or “no answer”. For the purposes of our exchange agreement, you can also use a “–” or any other abbreviation common in your language. The main thing is you should not leave any of the text fields blank.
Ok, first off, I’m going to go through the whole agreement form in this post. It is a bit long, but I hope this helps you with your next exchange agreeement.
Having chosen your partner and clicked the Start Exchange Agreement button our system made one of these forms for you and one for your partner. You can see here that it has automatically filled in both of your names and contact information. You can choose to show your email address and/or mobile phone number on your working exchange agreement. This information will only be displayed here. It will not be visible to other members or your exchange partner via the contact information on your listing.
In the next section you should give the dates you will be staying in your partner’s home. Remember, your partner’s form is independent of yours so be sure to put the dates you are planning to be there. Your exchange partner should put the dates they are planning to be in your home.
Question: What if it is a non-simultaneous exchange and one party doesn’t know their dates yet?
The form requires that you add dates in order to save it. Since non-simultaneous exchange usually requires more planning, we recommend you choose something close. You will be keeping in touch with your exchange partner anyway.
Question: I am having trouble getting the dates to work. What am I doing wrong?
These date-picker calendars on the web all work slightly differently and that can be troublesome. Here is what you need to do to use ours:
This is where you list all of the people who will be staying in your partner’s home. You will not be able to save your form if you do not have at least one person in this section.
The new form loads with space for one participant. To add another one participant, click the grey button “Add a Participant”. Fill in the name and age of the next person traveling with you.
To remove someone from your party, just click the red “trash” button next to the name of the person who will not be accompanying you after all.
Next, you’ll find a text box where you can write any important details about your car. If you need more room to write, just click and drag on that little “handlebar” in the lower right-hand corner of the text box.
Some things that you might want to mention are:
Update: This section used to be called “Regarding Long Distance Calls” but has been changed to better reflect how members are using it. (March, 2014)
Some things you might want to clarify here are:
In this box members often write about:
That one is pretty clear. This is the place to arrange pick-up and drop-off of keys.
Anything you want to agree with your partner about taking care of your pets?
What have we missed in the list above? This is the place to mention it.
Three easy checkboxes to give your partner explicit permission to use your linens (or not), to bring their guests into your home (or not), and to bring their own pets.
After that, it’s time to save your form – and that is all this button does. It does not send your terms to your partner but assumes that your agreement is a draft. When you are ready to send your terms to your partner for review, you will find a button on the Exchanges Overview page.
You’ve filled out your form and you are all ready to send your terms to your partner for review.
You can do this from the Member Home navigation. Scroll down to My Memberships > Exchange Agreements > Then click the View link near the agreement you want to send.
Clicking the blue “Send to partner” button will send your partner an email to let them know that the exchange process is moving along and that you are ready for them to read the terms you filled in.
Question: I am unable to edit my terms. What am I doing wrong?
Because of the back-and-forth nature of exchange agreements, our system keeps a lock on each form allowing only one party at a time “edit” access. When you send your terms to your partner, your partner receives “edit” access – by which they are only able to Accept or Decline what you have written. They can not make changes to your text.
If you need to make a change at this stage, it’s best to contact your partner and ask them to decline the term you want to change and send the agreement back to you for edits.
When your partner is ready for you to review their terms, you’ll see a button in the box for your Partner’s Terms.
Click the button and you will see the form that your partner filled out. Underneath each item is a set of buttons. Each of your terms is shown to your partner with two buttons “Accept” and “Deny”.
To signal your approval with each set of terms that your partner has written, click the “Accept” button.
If you are not in agreement with something your partner has written, or more likely, if you have questions, use the “Decline” button. When you click it, you have the opportunity to write a note to your partner
… and that note will show up next to the title of the category when they look at their terms.
Your partner will also receive an email that there were updates to an exchange agreement process as well as notification message on their member overview page the next time they login.
Once you have made changes to your terms based on any suggestions your partner has, be sure to save the form and send your terms to your partner via the blue Send to Partner button again.
It is important that your terms are clear and you are satisfied with them. So, don’t be shy about making changes back and forth up until your agreement is signed.
Once your partner has accepted all your terms though if you want to make changes to them – you will need to click the Unlock Agreement button in the upper right-hand corner of your agreement form. This button is a reminder that any changes you make to already accepted terms will set the process back and require that you send your terms again for your partner to review and accept.
Once you and your partner have reached an agreement, and you’ve accepted each other’s terms it is time to get on with Signing Your Exchange Agreement.
Once you and your partner have reviewed each other’s terms and accepted the conditions your agreement is ready to finalize. You can tell that it’s time when the green “Review and Sign Agreement” button shows up.
Remember, if you want to edit your own terms, you must first click the red Unlock Agreement button in the upper right-hand corner of the form. Any changes to your terms will set the process back and require you to send your terms to your partner for agreement again.
Clicking the “Review and Sign Agreement” button will show you again the agreement, but this time in full with your dates and conditions as well as your partner’s – all in a single, printable document.
In this screenshot, you can see that the agreement form keeps you up-to-date with the process by giving you a button to “Sign the Agreement” and also telling you, in the blue box, that your partner has not signed the agreement yet.
Or, in the green box, that you partner did already sign.
Even though one of you has signed, it is still possible to cancel the agreement.
As soon as both parties have signed, the cancel button is no longer available and the agreement is moved
from:
Exchange Agreements > Overview
to:
Exchange Agreements > Future Vacations.
You can view and print the agreement any time you like but you can no longer cancel it.
I hope you have found this series helpful and wish you happy home exchanging!
As we have just retired, exchanging houses is on top of our bucket list! So we have had the opportunity to exchange houses with a Greek family.
Evdokia and Minas from Kavala near Thessaloniki had contacted us just before our New Year’s exchange in Leeuwarden, European cultural capital of 2018.
We booked our flights and were lucky to exchange cars also. And so we arrived in the middle of winter at Thessaloniki Airport.
After searching car keys and texting each other where to find the cars, we were ready to explore Thessaloniki.
An amazing city full of culture, Roman and Byzantine and a lot of hidden spots we hadn’t expected. We admired the beautiful churches and “The Rotunda”! In ancient times its mosaics must have been as splendid and impressing as the ones we had been able to admire in Ravenna during a former exchange.
Soon it was time for our first Greek coffee and surprisingly, even in wintertime, we could enjoy a frappe! Love it!
In the evening my wife and I reached the lovely seaside village Palaio near Kavala. Thanks to the neighbours we had a very warm welcome and the great meal Evdokia had prepared made us feel most welcome!
During our exchange, we visited Filippi, the old town with the forum and its splendid theatre, all without the overpopulation of summertime visitors!
We loved the beautiful walks into the Nestos Valley, enjoyed wandering around unspoiled small towns like Drama, Amphelio and Kavala.
We took a boat trip to the island of Thasos, visited its beaches and white marble quarries. In Skala Panagias we witnessed inhabitants dancing in the streets.
Just Greece as we like Greece to be.
Happy people, enjoying life.
And so did we, being Greeks for ten amazing days!
Frans and Sonja / BE022
This is part of the Intervac Home exchange stories series. Do you have a story yourself? We would love to hear about it! Tell us your story.
Read this newsletter in German or French.
On 17th January we launched our new support system. We hope to provide a better service for all our members.
When no support agent is available the system switches to offline mode. This means you can leave messages using a form and contact us even after office hours. We will do our best to reply promptly.
And you can, of course, also contact your National Representative like you always did!
Have a look at our new video and share with your friends.
Entries are only on the hotlist for four days. The members who enlist are actively searching for a house swap holiday within the next eight weeks.
Have a look at some of the entries
Nice house in the small beautiful town of Mårslet only 6 km away from Aarhus, the second largest city in Denmark. The house is 120 m2 and consists of kitchen, bathroom, 3 bedrooms and a large living room.
Nice flat in the centre of Paris only 5 mins from the opera and Galeries Lafayette. Two double bedrooms, bath and shower and a well equipped, large, sunny kitchen. Third floor with lift. Very convenient to visit Paris. Several Metro and bus lines, many shops.
Modern three-bedroom house in Canberra, Australia. The house is fully equipped and very comfortable – there is an expansive backyard (950m2) with outdoor deck and Weber BBQ, large lawn area with sandpit and trampoline for the kids. There is also a large organic vegetable and herb garden with products available for use during your stay.
Meet Sonja and Frans. They have just come back from their 82nd exchange, in which they visited Greece. After their recent retirement, they have included house exchanging in their bucket list. It seems to have been a success.
Sonja and Frans have exchanged houses and cars with Evdokia and Minas from Kavala near Thessaloniki.They visited the amazing city with its beautiful churches and “The Rotunda”.
After enjoying Greek coffee and even a cafe frappe in the middle of winter, they arrived in their holiday home. Evdokia had prepared a greek meal for her guests and they felt most welcome.
Do you want to know what else they experienced?
Every home exchange has its own unique story. Share yours.
Depuis le 17 Janvier nous avons installé un service d’assistance en ligne pour vous apporter une aide rapide et efficace avec le système du Live Chat.
Nous répondons à vos questions instantanément par Chat et si l’un de nous n’est pas disponible, vous pouvez toujours nous laisser un message lequel sera répondrons dans les meilleurs délais.
Vous pouvez aussi contacter votre représentation nationale.
Découvrez notre nouvelle vidéo and partagez la avec vos amis.
Les annonces placées dans la Hot List restent 4 jours seulement. Consultez cette liste pour trouver un échange imminent dont la date de début commence d’ici moins de 8 semaines. Si vous aussi vous recherchez activement un échange, affichez votre annonce dans la Hot List et renouvelez tous les 4 jours, tant que nécessaire.
Quelques exemples d‘annonces de la Hot List
Mårslet, Danemark #DK1016090
Nice house in the small beautiful town of Mårslet only 6 km away from Aarhus, the second largest city in Denmark. The house is 120 m2 and consists of kitchen, bathroom, 3 bedrooms and a large living room.
PARIS, France #FR050495
Nice flat in the centre of Paris only 5 mins from the opera and Galeries Lafayette. Two double bedrooms, bath and shower and a well equipped, large, sunny kitchen. Third floor with lift. Very convenient to visit Paris. Several Metro and bus lines, many shops.
Griffith, Canberra, Australie #AU1016062
Modern three-bedroom house in Canberra, Australia. The house is fully equipped and very comfortable – there is an expansive backyard (950m2) with outdoor deck and Weber BBQ, large lawn area with sandpit and trampoline for the kids. There is also a large organic vegetable and herb garden with products available for use during your stay.
Où trouver la Hot List?
Rencontrez Sonja et Frans qui reviennt juste de leur 82ème échange, au cours duquel ils ont visité la Grèce. Jeunes retraités, ils se sont convertis aux échanges de maison et c’est un véritable succès.
Sonja et Frans ont conclu leur accord avec l’échange/prêt de voiture avec leurs partenaires, Evdokia et Minas résidant à Kavala près de Thessalonik. Ils ont ainsi visité cette ville magnifique et son impressionant monument de la Rotonde.
Après avoir dégusté un café grec et même un café frappé, ils sont arrivés dans leur maison d’échange où Evdokia leur avait préparé un authentique repas grec pour leur souhaiter la bienvenue. Quel bel accueil!
Voulez-vous savoir ce qu’ils ont vécu ensuite?
Chaque échange est une histoire unique.
Am 17. Januar haben wir unseren neuen Live Support aufgeschaltet. Dieser unterstützt alle Webseitenbesucher bei Fragen. In Englisch und je nach Supporter in anderen Sprachen.
Wir hoffen unseren Mitgliedern damit einen besseren Service zu bieten.
Wenn kein Supporter frei ist, wechselt das System in den Offline Modus. Webseiten-Besucher können mit Klick auf den Button eine Nachricht hinterlassen. Wir bemühen uns um eine prompte Antwort.
Natürlich können für Fragen wie bisher die nationalen Organisator kontaktiert werden.
Schau dir das neue Video an und teile es mit deinen Freunden.
Die Einträge auf der Hotlist sind nur für vier Tage gültig. Mitglieder, welche sich in die Hotlist eintragen suchen aktiv nach einem Haustausch innerhalb der nächsten acht Wochen.
Nachfolgend stellen wir ein paar Einträge vor.
Mårslet, Dänemark #DK1016090
Nettes Haus in der kleinen schönen Stadt Mårslet nru 6 km von Aarhus, der zweitgrössten Stadt Dänemarks, entfernt. Das Haus hat 120m2 und verfügt über Küche, Bad, 3 Schlafzimmer und ein grosses Wohnzimmer.
PARIS, Frankreich #FR050495
Schöne Wohnung im Zentrum von Paris. 5 Minuten zur Oper und ein Galerien Lafayette. Zwei Schlafzimmer mit Doppelbett, Bad, Dusche und eine grosse sonnige Küche. Die Wohnung befindet sich im dritten Obergeschoss mit Lift, sie liegt nahe an verschiedenen Metro- und Buslinien und Geschäften. Die Lage ist praktisch, um Paris zu erkunden.
Griffith, Canberra, Australien #AU1016062
Ein modernes Haus mit drei Schlafzimmern in Canberra, Australien. Das Haus is voll ausgestattet und sehr komfortabel. Ein grosser Garten (950m2) mit Terrasse und Weber Grill, grossem Rasen, Trampolin und Sandkasten lädt zum Verweilen ein. Ausserdem dürfen sich die Gäste im biologischen Gemüse- und Kräutergarten bedienen.
Wir stellen dir Sonja und Frans vor. Sie sind kürzlich von Ihrem 82. Tausch in Griechenland zurückgekommen.
Nachdem sie beide kürzlich pensioniert wurden, haben Sie sich vorgenommen mehr Haustausche zu geniessen. Sie sind dabei ziemlich erfolgreich.
Sonja und Frans haben mit ihrem Haus auch gleich das Auto mit Evdokia und Minas aus Kavala, in der Nähe von Thessaloniki, getauscht. Sie haben die erstaunliche Stadt mit den wunderschönen Kirchen und “The Rotunda” besucht.
Nachdem Sie einen Griechischen Kaffee und sogar ein winterliches Kaffee-Frappe genossen hatten, sind sie in ihr Ferienhaus gereist. Evdokia hatte für Ihre Gäste sogar eine Mahlzeit vorbereitet. Sonja und Frans fühlten sich herzlich willkommen.
Möchtest du wissen was sie ausserdem erlebt haben?
Jeder Haustausch birgt seine eigene Geschichte
