<prompt> Human: As far as I know, the house is owned by a person who rents it through a real estate agency. I have no contact with the landlord, only the agency. I have no indications the owner is interested in selling. Is this sort of thing ever done, or would it be taboo for some reason to send out feelers to see if this is a possibility?  <response>: Its definitely something you can do, but it requires a willingness of the current owner to sell. Go ahead and ask, as the worst they will say is no. 