NEW DELHI: When Shivani Mittal, 20, from Himachal Pradesh landed in Delhi to pursue a course in law, she went to a real estate broker to find her a PG accommodation. She thought that was the best way to find a place to stay without much hassle. But the experience left her bitter.
“He found me a PG in Gurgaon and told me that the locality was clean and there’s 24x7 water supply. But when I started living there, I realised that whatever he had said was not true. He even charged extra money from me. I have to shift to another place. Apart from the trouble of shifting again, this is affecting my studies,” said Shivani.
Same is the story of Ankita Agrawal, 21, from Chennai. “Though I found a furnished room, I had to pay commission.”
Experiences like these are driving more and more outside students to go house hunting online. Since most students are dependent on their parents for expenses and are on a tight budget, spending every extra penny pinches. The brokers not only charge high commissions, they also often dupe students with false promises and provide wrong information.
Looking for rooms online is much more convenient, say students. Besides, there’s no commission to be paid and no risk of being cheated. “I got a PG in Dwarka through a website. They did not charge extra money. You just search the place, call the owner and visit the place to ensure it’s up to your satisfaction. You can find the contact number on the website. They also send photographs of the house if you ask them, making it easy to compare the rooms and take a decision,” said Kaushiki Tiwari, 19, from Bihar who came to study journalism.
The online search has its drawbacks, too. Sometimes, the photographs are misleading. Also, there are times when students are unable to find PGs through these websites either because they are not good or are far from their college. Ankita said she, too, had first searched for PG rooms on websites, but could not find any near my college and so, went to a real estate broker.
However, compared to the trouble that they have to face with brokers and property dealers, students mostly prefer online search. And this has started affecting the business of real estate brokers.
But, brokers find a way
The tech-savvy brokers are taking packages from online portals. Sanjay Kathuria, a broker in Baljeet Nagar, said, “I realised that my business was going down. So, I took the package of Magicbricks long ago and started getting 20-25 calls per day from students.”