Living long term in an airbnb instead of renting an apartment?

14POSTS

4 years ago

Hi! I currently live at my parent's house but would now like to move out & live on my own. I've been wanting to move out for several months but because of the covid pandemic I decided not to.

Anyway I've been thinking about living in an airbnb instead of in an apartment for several reasons:

1/ It's cheaper! I don't have to pay any deposit fee, admin fee or any upfront rent. For example if I was to rent an apartment with a monthly rent of 拢300, I'd have to pay around 拢900 just to move in! ( Rent:拢300 + deposit 拢300 + 拢200 admin fee)

Also I won't have to pay any bills i.e electricity, water, gas, internet, cable TV,etc at an airbnb vs an apartment

2/ I can find an airbnb in the woods, mountains, in the countryside. Most apartments in big cities or big towns in the town centre.

I'm not a city boy. I'm more of a country type of person. I prefer the countryside as it's more peaceful, calm, tranquil, quiet, less busy & less stressful compared to the city where it's stressful, busy, overcrowded & noisy

The thing that worries me though is that every airbnb host has a spare key. I don't think they should have one because they could easily steal something or one of my belongings i.e one of my clothes, cash, a piece of jewellery or any other random object. Even though it's unlikely, if the host was steal one of my things I wouldn't notice it since I have so many clothes, jewellery,etc

Afterall the host is a stranger so I don't know him personally so if I was to live there long term i.e 3-6 months, I can't keep track of every object that belongs to me.

Having a spare key, the host could come in behind my back, everytime I go out for example & snoop around my private stuff which is an intrusion of my privacy!

So the pros of living in an airbnb are that it's cheaper & I could find a place in the countryside or in the mountains but the cons is the intrusion of privacy & the fat that the host ( no matter how unlikely) could steal one of my belongings.

Has anyone lived in an airbnb long term instead of renting an apartment? Should I chose an airbnb or rent an apartment? What can I do to prevent getting one of my things stolen by a host?

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Knkeliba Member

17POSTS

4 years ago

Sa c鈥檈st le probl猫me de personne

DrHKidman Member

2POSTS

4 years ago

If you have something that is extremely valuable maybe leave it at your parents, get a lock box or use a bank.聽 I have traveled International for over 40 years and never had anything stolen i 114 countries around the world. [link moderated]

GuestPoster491 Guest

0POSTS

4 years ago

So an AirBNB host is a thieving stranger, but a typical landlord isn't? How does that logic work?聽 How does the AirBNB host know YOU'RE not going to steal their furniture or appliances or wreck the place?聽 That's why you pay a deposit when you rent.聽 Either way, you're paying a stranger, who has the right to enter and inspect their property which they allow you to use.

You have some learning to do yet in life.聽 Maybe your parents can fill you in.

1 member reacted to this post

twostep Serial expat

466POSTS

4 years ago

You may want to educate yourself a bit about air bnb and applicable charges.
Why are you posting this in a USA forum?

travelbuddy69 Member

14POSTS

4 years ago

SimCityAT wrote:
travelbuddy69 wrote:
The thing that worries me though is that every airbnb host has a spare key. I don't think they should have one because they could easily steal something or one of my belongings i.e one of my clothes, cash, a piece of jewellery or any other random object. Even though it's unlikely, if the host was steal one of my things I wouldn't notice it since I have so many clothes, jewellery,etc

Are you joking? You don't think they should have a key to their property?

No I don't think they NEED a spare key tbh. Of course they should have ONE key but not two. One is enough. When the tenant signs in, the host hands over the key.

Why should a host have 2 keys? A landlord of an apartment doesn't have 2 keys so why should a host have 2?

Also not all airbnb's are the main property of the hosts. Some of the airbnb properties are secondary homes in which the host has the main residence elsewhere.

SimCityAT Expert

14009POSTS

4 years ago

I am sorry but you have a lot to learn how things are done in the world.

travelbuddy69 Member

14POSTS

4 years ago

romaniac wrote:
So an AirBNB host is a thieving stranger, but a typical landlord isn't? How does that logic work?聽 How does the AirBNB host know YOU'RE not going to steal their furniture or appliances or wreck the place?聽 That's why you pay a deposit when you rent.聽 Either way, you're paying a stranger, who has the right to enter and inspect their property which they allow you to use.

You have some learning to do yet in life.聽 Maybe your parents can fill you in.

Well I've lived in 8 apartments in 2 different coutries ( France & the UK) and in none of them did the landlord come in when I was out. I never got anything stolen.

Infact it's forbidden for landlords to enter their tenant's apartment. If they do they have to pay a 15,000鈧� fine & 1 year imprisonment! At least here in France, like explained in this article. It states I quote:

"In which cases can a landlord enter his tenant's home? How should he proceed? Update on the issue.

In principle, it is forbidden for the owner to enter the tenant's accommodation without his permission. This behavior may constitute a violation of domicile, a criminal offense punishable by one year's imprisonment and a fine of 15,000 euros (article 226-4 of the Criminal Code).聽 "

So the landlord has to ask permission to enter the tenant's apartment unliike an the host of an airbnb who can enter without notice/permission whenever he likes!

I've stayed at 3 Airbnbs. Twice with my parents & twice on my own. And each time the host entered the property!

How do I know? Well at the first airbnb, I found a hair on the floor which definitely wasn't mine. It was the host's because it was a brown hair ( the host was a brunette)

At the 2nd airbnb, the host came in when me & my parents went out but my brother was still at the property. When my parents asked why she came in, she came up with a dumb reason that " she had forgotten something" which of course was bullshit. She came in to snoop around!

At the 3rd airbnb, I was staying at a property with my dad. We both went out. I returned home early but my dad had the key. So my host opened the door with a spare key as I was locked out. So I'm pretty sure the host ( who lived next door) would come in & snoop around everytime we went out.

Also it's ridiculous & highly unlikely that a guest would steal furniture or kitchen appliances 馃槀

Not to mention he'd get caught since some airbnb's have surveillance cameras ( which is another intrusion of privacy. Landlords don't put cameras in apartments) & there's always someone keeping an eye on the guest i.e the host, one of his family relatives or one of his friends

And as for my parents filling me in LOL. I'm smarter than my mum & most people on here including you & "SimCityAT". Thanks for the joke though!

GuestPoster491 Guest

0POSTS

4 years ago

#10

You posted in the USA forum.聽 Whatever happened to you in France or UK makes no difference in the USA.聽 USA laws and norms don't apply in France or UK either.

If you know so much more than everybody else (you don't), then you need not ask questions here, though it certainly is amusing to those more experienced than you.

You asked questions of those more experienced and you don't like the answers, that's your problem.聽 Carry on as you see fit as see what happens.

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