Is it trustworthy to live in an airbnb long term?

Hi!

I would like to move out of my parents house & get my own place. I'd like to go on holiday to some European countries that are considered "dodgy" : Moscow in Russia, Serbia & Bosnia

There are other countries where I would like to go and live temporarily (short term) 1-3 months: Romania, Moldova & Slovakia

There are other countries/cities in Europe where I would like to live not permanently but long term (1-2 years): Moscow in Russia, Belgrade in Serbia & Prague in Czechia

As you know Central /Eastern European countries are known to be "dodgy" countries as they are lots of tourist scams i.e pickpocketting, taxi drivers overcharging,etc

I decided to go live in these countries not in an apartment through a real estate agency or a landlord but rather to go live in these countries in an Airbnb

For several reasons :

1/ I like living in the countryside, in a mountain cabin or a cabin in the woods. Most apartments that you rent from estate agencies are in public housing, right in the town centre or in a multi-storey building

While unlike through an estate agent, you can find an airbnb in the countryside or in the mountains which is why I'd rather live in an airbnb long term than in a flat through an estate agent

2/ In an apartment that belongs to a landlord (or the estate agency) you have to pay the security deposit, the 1st month's rent & other fees. So if the rent is 500€, I will have to pay around 1000€ or more to move into the apartment!

With an airbnb, you don't have to pay any fees or deposit to move in so it works out way cheaper!

3/And then also each month renting a flat, I will have to pay monthly bills/expenses: the rent, electricty/gas/water bills, internet monthly bill, phone bill, monthly IPTV subscription bill, car costs (petrol, highway tolls, car insurance, repairs), housing taxes/council tax, TV licences, food, purchase of furniture if the apartment is empty, etc.

At an airbnb all you have to pay for is the rent, food & car expenses so it does work out cheaper living in airbnb vs renting a flat

4 / Going through a real estate agency ( at least here in France), you have to do an EDLE (état des lieux d'entrée) and a "contradictory" EDLS ( état des lieux de sortie) and during the EDLS the agent (if she is dishonest) can invent damages ( even if there aren't any) in order to keep the deposit fee

Also during the EDLS, there may be a disagreement where one of the parties refuses to sign

So in my opinion renting an apartment through an agency or a landlord is not worth it. There's always trouble

The last apartment I rented, the agency refused to give me back my security deposit even though they had to according to the law

The lfat I rented before that, the CAF ( in Ireland it's the jobcentre) they claimed an overpayment of APL ( housing benefit in English) when it was not the case

So due to all this it doesn't make me want to rent a flat in France ever again!

By choosing an airbnb, I will just have to pay the rent, the food, my mobile phone bill and the car expenses (gas, insurance)

So financially it is much more advantageous to live in an airbnb than in an apartment through an estate agent

The problem though is that Airbnb hosts have a SPARE key and that's what bothers me and makes me uncomfortable.

Let me explain.

When you are the owner of your house YOU and only you has the key to the house (no one outside of your household has a spare key)

When you rent an apartment YOU alone have the keys to the apartment (the landlord and the estate agency do not have a spare key)

And even if they do have a spare key, they will never enter the apartment during your rental because it is forbidden and against the law

But if I decide to live in an airbnb, whether short-term (temporarily) or long-term (permanently) in a "dodgy" country like Russia or Czech Republic for example ( for 9-12 months ) which are poor countries. How can I trust airbnb hosts from these countries since I don't know them?

I've read lots of articles & lots of stories of rich tourists from Western Europe or the USA who got scammed & pickpocketted at hotels, by taxi drivers,etc

Central/Eastern Europeans are known to perform "tourist scams" as Central/Eastern European countries are "dodgy" whether it's in Ukraine ( Odessa, Kiev), Russia ( Moscow or St Petersburg), Czechia, Slovakia, Bosnia, Serbia,etc

And what I fear the most, no matter how unlikely, my airbnb host might steal one of my expensive valuables.

I don't understand why airbnb hosts have a spare key when landlords and apartment realtors don't have one and never come into a tenants' apartment?

But airbnb hosts can came in my airbnb whenever they want to ( for example everytime I go out)  steal one of my valuables that cost me hundreds of dollars: my MP3, my GPS or my iphone for example

The last shoes I bought were Nikes which cost me 99€! So how can I trust that an airbnb host from a dody Eastern european country isn't gonna steal it since I don't know him so I can't trust him?

I have about thirty t-shirts (not just one) so if I live in an airbnb in a "dodgy" country like Russia or Bosnia for 1-2 years. I'm not going to check EVERY day if a t-shirt is missing. The host can very easily steal 1 of my t-shirts and I won't even notice it because how will I tell the difference? It's hard to tell if 1 tee shirt is missing if you have 30!

Then I have about fifteen hoodies from the USA which cost me dearly with the delivery, most of them cost me 45-55$

So it's the same, the host can steal one since I can't put them in the safe (it's too big. You can only put small items in the safe)

I also bought thermal jackets which cost 25€ each. I have about ten so if they steal one, I'll only realize this after leaving the airbnb & returning home but then it will be too late to go to the police station since I'll be back in France.

And it's not even sure that police officers can do anything, if the host steals my jewellery i.e one of my cartier diamond watches, one of my diamond rings, one of my gold necklaces ( I have several like 5 or 6 so I won't notice it)

I'm not spend my time checking is something is missing. If one of my valuables if missing am I?

Also I have filing boxes (about 8) one of which contains all my bank details, bank statements, my bank details, identification numbers and other bank documents from 4 different banks (I changed banks over the 14 last years)

So if I leave it on a shelf as it's the case here at my parents' house, the host can easily steal and have access to my bank details if he digs into it (it's unlikely but you never know)

The solution for this is to buy a filing cabinet with keys (or padlock) where I could keep all my bank documents but I will have to keep the key (as well as the key to the safe) in my pocket when I am awake

But when I sleep, I can't leave the keys (from the safe and the filing cabinet) lying around on the table or on the wall key ring because the host can steal the keys

It's not unprecedented or unheard of because I read a testimonial on the aibnb forum in 2018 a Dutch woman said on another topic that her host entered her airbnb while she was sleeping and her wallet was on the table so the host could have stolen some of her bank notes without the woman realizing!

And also in the airbnbs that I have rented, each host entered the accommodation everytime I went out (she was waiting for me to go out in order to enter the accommodation to snoop around in my belongings which I find uncomfortable and unacceptable)

It's an intrusion of privacy!

I know she came in because I saw one of her brown hair on the floor and she wasa brunette so it was definitely her who came in . This was in Poland in Eastern Europe which is considered "dodgy"

I'm not comfortable with the idea that every airbnb host has a spare key because the host can enter my accommodation anytime (when I go out or when I'm asleep, or even when I'm taking a nap in the afternoon!)

Every time I go out nothing prevents him from entering my accommodation any day during the 6-9 months that I'm living there

So how can I live in an airbnb with the peace of mind that the host is not gonna steal one my valuables? Whether it's a piece of jewellery ( for example one of my diamond rings which cost me hundreds of euros btw!) especially if it's a corrupt and "dodgy" country like Russia or Serbia

How can I trust that the host isn't going to steal anything from me since I don't know him & I'll be living in a "dodgy" Central/Eastern European country, whether it's one of my jewels, one of my clothes/shoes, one of my bank statements, my bank card/wallet, my mp3, my GPS, etc?

Also, the last airbnb I rented, I was buying a lot of stuff online that I needed and wanted so if I move to an airbnb, I will necessarily have to buy items such as kitchen appliances but more expensive stuff too

I will have to have it delivered to the airbnb host's mailbox

But if I buy an item that is too big for the mailbox, the delivery person will give it to the host

Usually the host lives next door or below the airbnb that you're renting. The last 3 airbnbs I rented, the hosts lived either next door or below me

But the host can lie & pretend they didn't receive anything (when in reality they did) and keep the expensive item I ordered.

So that's another problem with airbnbs because when you live in your house the delivery guy posts it to your house or if you live in an apartment/HLM the delivery guy rings your doorbell or drops it in YOUR mailbox

But in the airbnb, it depends if the host lives next door or not.

I know this because the last airbnb I rented, the host lived right next to the airbnb he rented (where I was there) so every time I ordered an item too big to fit in the mailbox the delivery person gave the package to the host.

And also there was only one mailbox (it was the host's unlike a residential apartment where you have your own mailbox)

I was lucky that the host was not dishonest but in other countries like Russia, Slovakia or Serbia, the host can very well claim not to have received anything from the package (when really he did) so he can steal the packages I orderded using his address since he lives right next door (it's his airbnb after all!)

So if that happens, the thing to do is go to the police station but if it's in Russia, the police are corrupt so they won't be able to recover the parcel that the host stole from

The last problem that bothers me and that bothers me living in an airbnb is when I'm awake I can keep the keys to the safe in my pocket 24/7 so no one can steal my valuables, my gold jewelery, my credit/debit cards , my money, cash, etc in my safe

But at night when I sleep, if the host (no matter how unlikely) comes in while I'm sleeping he could steal the keys to the safe (if I leave it lying around the keys on the table for example or on the hooks on the wall he can steal it then steal my valuables, my jewellery, my money & all the other expensive stuff in my safe) since he'll have the keys to my safe

Also another problem is if I meet a woman ( at a bar for example) and I invite her to spend the night at my house in my bed, I can't leave the keys to my safe under my pillow because we'll be having sex on it!

So if afterwards. she decides to spend the night together with me in my bed, she can easily find the keys to the safe under my pillow and open the safe to steal my expensive items that cost me hundreds of euros, my money, my bank cards, my jewelry while I'm asleep!

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And then after all how can I trust a woman I just met since I barely know her?

So for ALL of these reasons I think the airbnb host should not have a spare key.

Since like I said previously when you rent a flat through an estate agency or a landlord of an apartment, they do not have a spare key of your flat and it is forbidden for them to enter the accommodation of the tenant so why not apply the same law for airbnb hosts?

What's the point of having a duplicate/spare key as an airbnb host? Seriously?

I think airbnbs hosts shouldn't have duplicate keys because he can snoop through my stuff. I find this to be a lack of privacy and an intrusion of privacy for the tenant! And it annoys me and I find it a little uncomfortable

At least landlordsreal estate agents never enter the tenant's apartment

So what solutions can you give me in order to live peacefully in an airbnb without worrying that the host (or a woman I invite to my home) will steal one of my valuables?

Is it a good idea to live in an airbnb long term for 1-2 years ( vs renting flat through a landlord) even though the airbnb host has a spare key?