Safely renting a house in Ghana

ItsMac Active member

29POSTS

10 years ago

Okay. I visited Ghana and decided to move here from the U.S. I've been here for 4 days and staying at a hotel while searching for a single family detached house for rent. I've primarily been looking on Lamudi website and what I notice is that agents seem to put properties on the website that aren't available. They always say that property is no longer available, but we have some more properties (that are more expensive). Then I've heard about people renting properties (and even selling properties) that don't belong to them or people robbing you if you meet them with money on your person. So, my question is what is the best way to find a home rental in Ghana? Should I have an attorney to complete the transaction? How do you check to ensure that someone is a real agent or the real owner of a property for rent?

There is an agent pitching me a 3 br, 2 bath home with generator, electric wire fence, two AC units, and fitted kitchen in West Trassaco for $600 per month. This just seems very inexpensive from comparisons, so it naturally makes me skeptical. Again, I just want to take precautions before agreeing to meet with him.

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hkann Ghana Expert

1191POSTS

10 years ago

I think the only advice I can give is don't give money to the agent, only the landlord. Go to the property and view it with the agent then ask for a copy of the rental agreement and check the small print. You can get the agreement changed if there are things you don't like and then only pay money to the landlord. The agent will also need a commission which is a percentage of the rent. Make sure you agree upfront what that is. There is good advice on accraexpat.com on renting property in Ghana. The further out of Accra you are the cheaper the property so the rent you quote is probably OK for West Trassaco

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hkann Ghana Expert

1191POSTS

10 years ago

The only way you can check that someone is the owner of the property is to ask to see a copy of their title.

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M.Safwat New member

9POSTS

10 years ago

Hi there.
As I have seen, as soon as the foreigner show out for Ghanaian people, you might expect聽 the price jump 5-6 times more, therefor, it's聽 advisable聽 don't show out yourself聽 in the scene at the begging,聽 just send Ganian guy to ask instead, as soon as you know the initial price , you can go ahead of negotiation by yourself.
Unfortunately, this is the truth here, moreover don't forget to ask about the electrical power, water supply with pumping machine, and sewage tank.
Regrads

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M.Safwat New member

9POSTS

10 years ago

I want to recommend some of groups on Facebook could help in this field such as Ghana expat intl.

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ItsMac Active member

29POSTS

10 years ago

Thanks for the advice M.Safwat. I used the advice from you and hkann, and was able to rent the home in West Trassaco without an issue.

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hkann Ghana Expert

1191POSTS

10 years ago

Glad everything has worked out and hope you will enjoy your life in Ghana.

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brightonbrighton Member

3POSTS

9 years ago

you mean the 'land title' or documents covering the property.

and this also needs to be checked against a photo ID of the person claiming to be the landlord, to make sure he is surely the owner of the property.

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