CHANDLER -- A Valley woman and her father have found a unique way to tackle high gas prices and a slumping housing market. They've swapped houses.
Julie Lazzarra said she used to spend a lot of time in her car making the long 30-mile drive to and from her home in Chandler to her job in North Scottsdale.
"How much money it was costing the miles on my car," Lazzarra said. "The time, too, because that was two and a half out of the day I was in the car."
Lazzarra's dad Joe said he had the same problem, only his hourlong commute was from his home in North Scottsdale to his barber shop in Chandler.
"The traffic over there to here got so bad, especially the 101," he said.
Dad and daughter desperately wanted a shorter commute, especially with gas prices still sky-rocketing but neither was ready to sell their home and by a new one.
So they came up with the perfect solution: Trade keys and swap houses. Julie would move to Scottsdale near her job. Dad and mom would move to Chandler to be close to the barber shop.
"When I tell people I switched houses, I get puzzled looks," Julie Lazzarra said. "'What do you mean?' Confused, then, 'Oh, really good idea. Wish I switched.'"
Joe Lazzarra said he never realized how much free time he'd have now that he's not in his car two hours a day. He said the entire family is saving big bucks by not filling up at the pump so often.
"Every four to five days, I had to fill up," he said. "Now I go every two weeks and I still got gas left in car."
The homes are pretty similar. Both are about 1,500 square feet, with three bedrooms and in nice neighborhoods.
But the real key the family said is the new convenience.
Julie Lazzarra said she'll save about $2,000 on gas this year alone. The couple has also swapped mortgage payments.
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