Getting estate agent in to value air bnb property

[Boussa]

For various reasons my partner and I have had to move into an air bnb close to our home.

I absolutely adore the house we've moved to (via air bnb). It needs updating here and there but I still consider it my dream house.

I've looked up the house on one of those websites that share house values but tbh it seems very low. My partner thinks it's acceptable to get an acquaintance in to value the property. In my opinion, this is extremely inappropriate and invasive. Is partner BU? Would it be cheeky to get someone in to see if we should even approach the owner? I would be willing to pay above asking.

How do you think renting works, exactly? When a renter has dinner guests do you imagine the landlord gets to do a background check first before the canapes?

No, you can't get someone to value an air bnb you are renting.

Ask the owner if they have any intention to sell, and if they say yes then you start to think about value.

@SafelySoftly ? You think landlords get to vet all visitors to a property whilst it is rented? And are able to kick people for that?

It's just grabby, entitled and wrong. Stinks of jealousy.

I see what somebody else has. I like. I covet. I want. I'm going to see if I can take.

Same way OW/M move in on a married person, really. No thought for anyone else, just what will please them.

If she has a thriving property portfolio someojr will tell her you've had the house valued and she'd surely ask you to leave? What's the point. Just message her and ask her don't go behind her back

The website valuation and my gut estimation are hundreds of thousands of pounds apart. Reason the idea of the EA came up

If you have an actual friend who would be happy to pop over and give an informal indication of marketing price, you could use that as back pocket information and then approach the owner and say ‘really enjoyed our stay and your property, is there any chance you might be interested in selling? We love it and are in a position to buy’.

But you absolutely cannot get an EA round as if you had any right to sell it.

You are way overstepping though. You like the house - so ask your landlord the question.

Going behind their back to get valuations is not going to make them feel disposed to sell to you.

I am jealous!

It would be an absolute cheek to do this. But you could ask the owner if they would be interested in selling. If they are then ask them if you can get your valuer in.

The owner isn't going to use the OP's valuer, who just so happens to be the OP's mate.

Unless the owner is stupid, that is.

I am a bit bemused by these posts. We live in a distinctive period property and twice with the last 12 -16 months have had letters from estate agents saying that they have clients interested in our house with reasoned valuations/purchase price offers. I responded to one to find out how they had arrived at their valuation and it was a combination of data analysis and a visits to view exterior of the house! So where is the CF line drawn?

Okay gair enough. It is overstepping the mark. Clearly it feels weird for a reason.

Not necessarily.

People looking to buy often knock on doors or post notes asking if the owner has any plans to sell. The OP seems to be looking to buy somewhere. No harm at all in asking if the AirBnB owner might be interested in selling. All they have to do is say no, they aren’t.

Surely you don't need to actually get the estate agent round to the property in person anyway? If they're an acquaintance you could send them the airbnb listing and ask them what sort of price a house like that would fetch, as you're interested in buying in the area. They should be able to give you a ballpark figure.

To be honest I don't see what's wrong with a chat, plus asking the buyer if they want to sell.

Legally there is nothing to stop you.

Hey we could all start paying estate agents to value holiday houses we stay in if we really wanted. It's not going to take you anywhere, a lot of estate agents even do desk top valuations. But if you want an idea of what it's worth why not.

The other way could be equally as annoying for landlord.

Could I please buy your house?

Eh, ok yes, let's get it valued.

Oh, I can't afford it.

Landlord then wastes time, money and knows you are looking to buy

The seller would (and should) want their own valuation, or already have an idea of what they would accept (if that's based on projected future earnings it might exceed current value).
I don't see a problem in the buyer asking a friendly expert for an indicative price so they don't overpay- it seems common sense to me to enter a negotiation knowing what a reasonable outcome would be.

Be careful what you wish for…we rented a house out as a stop gap before selling, our tenants wanted to buy it, we put it on the open market and they didn’t offer enough so didn’t get it (Scotland offers over system). They’d been good tenants but we owed them no loyalty

Just. Slow. Down. The website valuation probably is underestimating the potential selling price. Prepare yourself for it not being for sale or being affordable but send a message to the owner saying you really like the property and wondered if they would ever think about selling. Do not start fannying around with getting EA involved.

No.

The OP wants to get a valuer in to evaluate a property that they do not own. They have absolutely no business to do so. If it was mine and I found out, they would be out fairly quickly.

There is absolutely no issue in asking the owner if they are looking to sell and taking things forward from there if they are. That is when you can start talking about values.

Those leaflets are not instigated by strangers asking the EA to value your specific house! They are bog standard marketing materials from EAs, instigated by the EAs touting for business. The EA will have potential buyers who say "We're interested in this area/these streets", and they'll do a generic leaflet drop to those streets to see if anyone bites.

They haven't actually come round and peeked through your windows to value it - they've just used generic data.

So it's a massive difference.

You need to take a step back and think about this a bit more.

This house isn’t just worth its sale value to the owner - whatever you offer would need to also compensate them for the loss of the business they are currently getting from it. Presumably as an air b&b they are able to make much more out of it than they would just having regular tenants in the place, which is why they have chosen to let it out this way - it’s a lot more faff, so it must be financially worthwhile to them.

That being the case, unless you have a socking great deposit, you’re unlikely to find a lender who will offer you a mortgage at the LTV you’d need (as you would be offering over 100% of the property value). So you are likely setting yourself up for disappointment from the off.

Much better to give feedback when you leave about how much you love it, and if they are thinking of selling in future, perhaps they’d let you know.

"Getting the property valued" is obviously out of order, and would probably come back to bite you in the arse because all the details would be on the estate agents' files and they'd keep sending pushy follow up letters.

Informally asking an acquaintance who happens to be in the business whether they think the valuation you've found on line is realistic so you can decide whether to drop the owner a line is fine.

I would. There's no reason why you shouldn't make an offer to the owner, when you have established its market value. DON'T tell them you had it valued, for the love of God though.

Although to be honest, you should be able to make a pretty accurate stab at its value by comparing it to houses sold on the same street in the last 12 months. Our Zoopla value is demented, but I can still make a pretty intelligent guess at what it would sell for if I put it on the market on Monday, based on an awareness of the local market.

But if she has a successful business with 40+ houses (!), it's less likely, than if it's a one-off property that she might be quietly thinking is more hassle than it's worth.

Think showing the air bnb listing is a good shout. However, the air bnb pics do not do the home justice. Rooms are much lighter and larger than depicted. Haven't been able to find an actual foorplan.