Swap Your Home and Travel Free You want to spend a few months or more somewhere exotic, beautiful, and culturally different, but you don't think you can handle the cost. What if you could arrange it free? The answer is a home exchange. Exchange your home for a comparable residence in a foreign country. It's free, except for the minimal cost of finding someone who wants to trade. William G. Thomas and his wife exchanged their home in California for a 500-year-old rectory in English farm country, a small, austere, Gothic church situated on a knolled horizon. It stood alongside a moss-covered cemetery and was surrounded by ancient, thick-trunked trees and ringed by six handsome and rustic English houses. This tiny English miles north of London has a population of 17. The residents are hard-working farmers and the families of three business executives who chose country life over the rigors of urban living. One of these executives, John Morris, and his wife Mary decided they wanted to venture for a while beyond their English village. They wanted to see the United States. So the two couples arranged a home exchange. The three-week swap was total. The Thomas' and the Morris' exchanged homes, pets, and cars. William and his wife had visited London on several occasions before investigating the idea of a home exchange. They wanted to return to the London area, but not simply as tourists running hurriedly from site to site. So they wrote to English friends, applied for home-exchange brochures, and reviewed ads in the Lo imes. Their inquiries yielded several alternatives: a house at Wimbledon; an apartment near Kensington Gardens; and a bedroom in the home of a friend in Whitchurch, Hants. Then the letter came asking if they would be interested in a home exchange with a family living in an old rectory near the ancient town of Hitchin. They jumped at the chance. The swap was arranged over the telephone. The couples discussed departure times, instructions on how to operate household appliances, trash collection, and what to feed each other's pets. It took several months to make all of the arrangements. How to arrange a swap You can begin your search for a home exchange partner by asking around or by placing an advertisement in an international publication, such as the Internat e, 850 Third Ave., 10th Floor, New York, NY 10022; (212) 752-3890. The alternative is to contact a home exchange organization. These companies publish directories several times a year listing people interested in trading homes, when they want to travel, and where they would like to go. Agencies to contact include Better Homes & Travel, 185 Park Row, P.O. Box 268, Suite 14D, New York, NY 10038; (212) 349-5340. This is the only home exchange organization that screens participants and negotiates arrangements for you. The registration fee for first- time participants is $50. The closing fee ranges from $150 to $600. Also try Loan-A-Home, 2 Park Lane, 6E, Mt. Vernon, NY 10552; (914) 664-7640. This group deals primarily with members of the international academic and business communities our home in Loan-A-Home's directory free. Intervac, P.O. Box 3975, San Francisco, CA 94119; (415) 435-3497, is part of an international network of 22 home exchange companies representing 30 countries. For $35, you can list your home and receive a copy of the club's directory. Vacation Exchange Club, in Honolulu, Hawaii,(800) 638-3841, is affiliated with 22 other exchange companies and represents 42 countries. For $24.70, you can list your home and receive a copy of the directory. The more people you contact, the more likely you are to find a successful match. Send out as many as 50 letters, telling prospects about your home, your community, and the local attractions. Give references. And be flexible. It can take as long as a year to arrange a successful exchange. Once you hav , clearly define all terms. It is best to do this in writing. Details to clarify include: * Gas and electric bills. You can trade bills or settle up later. * Telephone bills. It is best to exchange bills, so that everyone pays for his own calls. * Cars. If you exchange use of vehicles, make sure insurance, licenses, and permits are in order. * Dates. Make sure of the exact dates of arrival and departure. Most home exchange companies do not screen participants. That's up to you. Ask potential partners for references and photographs of their homes. * Potential damages. Who is responsible for paying for repairs? * Yard work. Do you expect your guests to mow the grass or weed your rose beds? Contact your home insurance agent and will have visitors living in your home. For your own peace of mind, put away valuables and fragile ornaments. If you don't plan to meet your guests when they arrive in the United States, have a friend or family member meet them and give them the keys. Ask your neighbors to welcome your guests, perhaps inviting them over for dinner or drinks. Leave a note explaining where essentials can be found, a schedule for trash collection, and a list of important telephone numbers (police, fire, and hospitals). For more information... For more details on home exchange how- to's, read Your Place and Mine by Cindy Gum. It is available from Gum Publications, 15195 El Camino Grande, Suite 100, Saratoga, CA 95070. The cost is US$5.95. Let your tenant pay for If you're unable to arrange the home exchange of your dreams, take a new tack. Put your house up for rent for the week (or weeks) that you want to travel. If you're able to get US$700 or US$800 a week for your home in rent, you surely can afford to spend two weeks sunning yourself in Montserrat. It's not as foolhardy as it may sound. Ask for references -- and check them carefully -- before you accept a tenant. Also request a security deposit, which you can keep in case there are any damages. Some home exchange organizations will also list houses or apartments for rent (refer to the list given above). Another good contact is Hideaways International, 15 Goldsmith St., P.O. Box 1270, Littleton, MA 01460, which lists rentals in its annual directory. When writing the ad for you ke a salesman. List all the features and comforts of your home, as well as all the nearby attractions.