(MONEY Magazine) – I love my family, but spending three weeks with two kids in a cramped hotel room is not my idea of a vacation. So last July we traded houses with an affable family of four in Boucherville, a suburb of Montreal. After long days of sightseeing, we loved being able to return to a house where the kids could romp in the backyard while we dined on the patio. The kids had two rooms full of toys to play with; we had cable TV, a VCR and a car to drive. And not renting a hotel room or car or eating every meal in a restaurant saved us at least $3,500.

There is a flip side: Home exchanging takes a lot of work--from finding the right partners to getting the house ready for visitors. Here's how to make it all work.

CHECK THE LISTINGS. At least four months before your trip, go to www.homeexchange .com. Scan the free, user-friendly listings section and read the tips. If you're serious, pay the $30 annual fee and post your own listing.

ASK LOTS OF QUESTIONS. Use e-mail to narrow your choices--ask about the house, car and local activities, and insist on photos of the home. After that, the telephone is best for the serious work of selecting dates and getting to know your exchange partners (who, in our experience, tend to be well-traveled professionals, teachers and retirees). You may feel jittery at this point--after all, you're letting strangers into your home--so communication is essential. Discuss all concerns openly and don't be shy about asking for references. If after all this you still have reservations, home exchanging is probably not for you.

PLAN CAREFULLY. And make sure your partners do too. No detail is too small. We made a list of useful phone numbers, from our neighbors to the plumber. We typed up directions to the grocery store, the movie theater and the beach. Our new Canadian friends, the Poirier family, did the same--so when my son decided to run into a wall and required five stitches, we were able to drive straight to the nearest urgent-care clinic.

BE FLEXIBLE. And bring your sense of humor. We really enjoyed living like natives while we were in Montreal--shopping in local supermarkets and swimming in the community pool. But we also got lost a lot while driving around. And when a heat wave hit Montreal during the last week of our trip, we realized that our home away from home had no air conditioning.

But the way I see it, all vacations involve some inconveniences. So we're doing it again this summer, this time in a three-bedroom home in Ireland, five minutes from the mountains and the sea. Use of Mercedes included.

--LISA GIBBS