A "shifty" exchange home is one that the exchange family "moves" from its actual location to a more popular location by purposely listing it incorrectly. An example of this are the many New Jersey homes that comes up when you search for Manhattan swaps. When you have not visited an area, it is hard to know if a home's stated location is accurate or convenient.
SHIFT THAT LOCATION BACK
Every time you receive a swap offer, get an idea of where the home is before you respond. I recently received an offer from a family in Florida. I enjoy visiting Florida in the winter to swim in the warm ocean. I had never heard of the exchangers' town so I typed its name and state into Google.com. A map came up at the top of the results showing me that the home is a two hour drive from the ocean. That exchange won't work for us.
SHIFT THAT LOCATION BACK
Swappers in "invisible" home exchange locations live off the beaten tourist track. They often list their homes as in the "Better Known City Area". That is fine, as long as they clarify in their listing where the home is physically situated.
If you keep seeing the phrase "area" in the exchangers' communication without a specific town, beware. I received an offer from a Central California family whose home comes up if you search for "Big Sur". That's among the most beautiful and expensive areas of coastal California. They list their home as being in the "Big Sur area". Sounds legitimate. After all, the coast of California is lined with small towns no one has ever heard of. They are all cute and I would trade for a home in any of them. The hilly areas further from the ocean are lovely too. Hidden gems no one has heard of.
I was open to almost any town along the Central Coast. Having lived in California throughout college and graduate school I was familiar with all of them. I am a cyclist and I have biked all the back roads. The more remote the town the better I like it -- less traffic and more scenery that way.
After several emails the exchangers were still referring to their home as being in the "Big Sur area". When I asked they mentioned how many miles they were from various other city but never revealed the name of their own town.
Using the mileage figures I was able to triangulate their general vicinity. It seemed as if their home was located in a crime-ridden inland city known for factory farms and transient crop pickers. Concerned, I asked the exchangers directly "exactly which town are you in?" I never heard back.
Next time: nail it down.
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