Safer buying and renting

Most people on a marketplace are ordinary buyers, tenants, owners or advertisers. A smaller number of listings are dishonest. These checks will not catch every problem, but they reduce risk.

Before you visit

• Compare the asking rent or sale price with similar properties in the same area. A price that is far too low is a warning sign.
• Be cautious if someone refuses a viewing or asks for a deposit or advance before you have seen the property.
• Search the phone number and title text if something feels off.
• Report duplicate, fake, already-rented or already-sold listings so other people are not misled.

At the property

• Walk through every room. Check water, electricity, gas, drainage and the roof if you can.
• Ask who legally owns the property and who is authorised to rent or sell it. Ask to see documents.
• Meet the person in a place you are comfortable with. Tell someone where you are going.

Money

• Do not transfer large amounts to an unknown personal account solely because a listing looks professional.
• Get a written record of price, deposit, advance, who pays utilities, and when you can move in or complete the transfer.
• Keep receipts. A marketplace listing is not a receipt or a contract.

What Apna Ghar does and does not do

We give advertisers a place to publish listings and people a place to search homes for rent or sale. We review reports and can remove or pause listings. We do not inspect every home, we do not guarantee title, and a “Google account on file” badge only means the advertiser signed in with Google.