Changing Homes: Britain’s first house swap

In what has been called a UK first, a family and a couple have permanently swapped homes.

Having considered whether or not to downsize, couple David and Margaret West state that they have swapped houses with a family in search of a larger property.

In May this year, Mr West put the three-bedroom home up for sale on a property website, which John Davie later came across. With his wife Kelly and young daughter Lucy, the family were looking for a bigger home, with John requesting a viewing of the Davie household.

During the viewing, Mr West mentioned his and his wife’s thoughts of downsizing, suggesting the idea of a home swap when Mr Davie said that his two-bedroom home was yet to be put up for sale.

Agreeing to the idea and letting Mr and Mrs West view the property, the home swap was soon confirmed with both putting offers on the other’s property.

Commenting on the benefits of the arrangement, Mr West mentioned the lack of pressure where timescales were concerned, stating: “The house swap allowed us flexibility on the move date and enabled us to solve moving-in issues such as finding the stop cock when I needed to isolate the water in the bathroom, and the knack to locking the patio door.”