Every year 600000 newbies come to Germany. Our mission is to become the world’s most trusted marketplace for personal services. MyHelpBuddy is for expats, newbies, international students, erasmus students, working professionals, expats, homemakers or anyone who is willing to offer services for those in need.

Anyone who can support others in simple or complicated tasks can offer their services and get connected with those who require them. One of the most important things that a newcomer must be aware of is the scams prevalent in real estate/accommodation search. We have listed down some of the top scams in this domain

Mail from Landlord living in another country

This is a typical scam that most of us have encountered. Once you send a message to a potential accommodation option through any website, you might receive a detailed mail stating that the landlord is living in UK, Poland or any other country and all the processes can be completed through mails. The landlord will send beautiful pics, detailed information about the house and how he/she can send the room keys. You can find statements like “Since I am abroad, I cannot arrange an appointment for you. You can send me the deposit through money transfer and I will post you the keys”. Predominantly, this type of scam is aimed at newbies who do not know German, as these mails are sent in English.

Brokers asking for money to arrange appointments

Some people might message you in social media or through E-Mails asking for money to arrange appointments to visit houses. Most of them are identified as scam. Any agency who maintains apartments do not ask for money for visits. The message will be always from the registered agency mails.

Spooky websites and comments

Some websites where you can just see a landing page without credible information or listings is potentially a scam.

Make sure that you do not transfer money without seeing the room by yourself, speaking to the landlord or the company and verifying its credentials. Usually, only after signing a contract in many cases, the first transfer shall be initiated.

We are also giving free accommodation search guides for international people or newcomers to Germany. If you need one, signup here and download it from your user dashboard.