Jeremy McElwain has been swapping his seaside home in Massachusetts and his Vermont ski house for the past six years. He’s exchanged with families in Woodstock, N.Y., Cape Cod, and this year, Breckinridge, Colo.
“If the dates work for everyone it’s a free swap. That’s the key to it,” says McElwain, a Boston-based real estate broker with Keller Williams who travels with his wife and 3-year-old. “It’s different from the normal travel. I actually like staying in a house more than a hotel.”
All of McElwain’s swap experiences have been positive. He has never come home to broken furniture or stains on his carpet.
“When you are staying in someone’s home and they are staying in yours there’s a mutual respect,” he says. “They usually leave it better than they found it.”
Swap meet-ups
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