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Swapping keys with another seller lets you scope out other areas before you move and possibly find an interested buyer.

If your home has been languishing on the market for months, there are ways to make it work for you. Consider posting your property online as a vacation destination -- through a home rental or swap.

"People swap homes for a variety of reasons," says Helen Bergstein, owner of the online home exchange Web site, Digsville.com. "Many of our members have swapped homes as a way of scouting relocation destinations for a lifestyle or job change."

Homeowners hoping to make money off their slow movers can rent their home out at nightly or weekly rates, like a hotel or bed and breakfast. Sites like VRBO.com let homeowners post listings of their available properties for interested vacationers.

Say you've always wanted to visit Paris or you're thinking of relocating to another state but want to check out the area first. Consider home swapping. It's not a new concept, but it has become increasingly popular as homeowners look for ways to leverage their properties in a slow market. As a home swapper, you can:

• Exchange your home for vacation purposes, while waiting for the housing market to improve
• Try out potential places to move (in the U.S. and overseas)
• Try out another home of a different size or style
• Possibly find a buyer interested in buying your home

'It Worked for Me'

When Christine Harmel of Charleston, S.C., decided to put her traditional Southern home on the market, she had a short list of states where she was interested in relocating. She posted her home on Craigslist and mentioned that in addition to selling her home, she was open to conducting a vacation swap with a homeowner in Austin, Texas.

"A family contacted me that also had their home for sale and they were interested in visiting Charleston, so we swapped homes for 10 days," Harmel says. "Our homes were both listed for sale for almost the exact same price so it was a very even swap."

While Harmel's Charleston home was a traditional Southern home, the Austin family owned a new modern home.

"It was nice to try out a different style of home for a week but I decided I could never live in a modern home," Harmel says. "I ended up buying a traditional home in Austin, and the family I swapped with sold their home for a more traditional home and stayed in the Austin area. It was a great experience and allowed me to check out the Austin area before I committed to moving there."

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