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It's believed that around half a million people in Britain are signed up to house exchange websites. The idea of getting a cheap holiday, with no hotel fees, is a tempting prospect in the current economic climate. Swapping your home with someone else in a foreign country is a great way of keeping those holiday costs down. Not only do you get a family home for your vacation, but you often get the use of the family vehicle saving you those expensive car hire bills.

North Yorkshire is a popular location for overseas visitors, wanting to visit historic sites like York Minster and Castle Howard. Whatever the size of your home or its location it shouldn't be too hard for you to swap. Lois Sealey, who runs a home exchange website, says; "You don't need a particularly grand home to swap because most people are looking at the destination."

Homeswappers Martin and Marion Irving.

Who swaps?

Martin and Marion Irving are a retired couple from Dunnington near York. They've done five home exchanges, visiting places like New Zealand, Australia, America and Canada. They began in 2000, by registering their bungalow on a home exchange website, within days they'd lined up a swap with another retired couple from Brisbane in Australia. A happy holiday followed and both couples, and their neighbours, are still in touch.

Marion explained just what the benefits of home swapping are; "Meeting people is part of it, really getting to know an area well, experiencing a new community. We've made some great friends through home swapping."

Why choose this type of holiday?

Lois Sealey, from Home Base Holidays, says people choose this type of holiday because; "They're looking for something听 different. That's one of the attractive things about home exchanges, they're looking for a different lifestyle for a while. That chance to be part of a different community."

Brisbane, the location of the Irving's first swap.

Sometimes things can go wrong though, perhaps a mismatch in housekeeping standards for example. But Martin and Marion Irving say the best way to make sure the swap goes smoothly is to share as much information as possible before the swap takes place.

Exchanging photos and information about the area and the house can help. Making sure you've done as much as you can to ensure your guests feel welcome is also important, as Marion explains, "We leave a box of information at the house, including maps, travel timetables and a list of our favourite restaurants and pubs. We even photocopied our television remote controls and left instructions on how to work them. We wanted to make sure that everything was as easy as possible for our guests."

With five hundred thousand of us already swapping our homes with foreigners, the home exchange holiday is certainly here to stay.