Can a buyer create and activate a listing prior to closing?

[Tiffany1001]

Can a buyer create a listing and activate prior to closing indicating 'NEW ownership as XX-XX-XXX' and open calendar for dates after closing? The seller listing would also have in the description 'Accepting bookings thru XX-XX-XXX' and mentioning the pending sale.  I am purchasing a STR with a closing date of April 1, 2025.  The busy season is summer and don't want to miss out on summer bookings, which can often take place mid-winter.

[Paula]

Hello @Tiffany1001 😊

Thank you for bringing your question to our community.

I’m reaching out to a few experienced hosts to gather their insights on this: @Patricia2526 @Karen114 @Karen4131 @Lorina14 and @Shelley159 

Best regards, and thanks to everyone in advance! 😎

[Patricia2526]

Hello @Tiffany1001  Hi and thanks @Paula 

Generally a good idea to wait until you’ve closed on the property before creating your own Airbnb listing until the deal is finalized, you don’t officially own the property. Listing it early could lead to legal complications if the sale falls through or if the current owner objects.  You may discover during the closing process that certain aspects of the property (amenities, furnishings, condition) differ from what you expected. 

What you can do is prepare your listing draft, use photos or descriptions provided by the seller? (if they agree) then draft your Airbnb listing offline. Once the sale closes, you can quickly finalize and publish it.

Hope this helps

Best regards and good lucks!

[Karen114]

@Patricia2526  This is great advice too!

[Karen114]

@Tiffany1001  I appreciate your grind 😁.. I did the same for my very first listing.  However, I am sure you know that anything can happen up to the closing date.. 

It is risky but sounds like a calculated risk as long as the seller is on board with it.   In the event something did go awry, seller would be honoring the booking as she would still own it.  If that's all good, then I say go for it and best of luck!

[Joan2709]

@Tiffany1001 

Great advice from @Patricia2526! You might also find the listing has not met local regulations for Short Term Rentals. They can include building code requirements, safety and fire inspections, and other licensing requirements.

[Tiffany1001]

Thank you for your insight. 

[Paula]

Hello @Tiffany1001, I hope everything is going well with you.

I am glad to see all the excellent suggestions from our experienced hosts, if you find any of their answers particularly useful, please don’t hesitate to mark it as the top answer. You can do this by clicking the button below the comment, as shown in the following image:

This will help future Hosts with similar questions easily find this conversation.

All the best.

[Shelley159]

Hi @Tiffany1001 

Your main reason for getting in early, seems to be that you want high season bookings. While getting booked early for high season can feel good, it's usually much better from a financial perspective to get booked very late 😀

I would rather worry about the issues the other hosts have raised here, about the place not being up to your standard on day one, and about the possibility of being flagged as a duplicate listing (although you're not trying to circumvent Airbnb's policy here, if you get unjustly flagged it sounds to me like it could be a real headache to resolve).