We built a housing platform for foreigners after seeing too many get scammed
Hey Indie Hackers 👋
We’re a small founder team based in Korea building FOHO, a rental platform that helps foreigners find safe long-term housing — without scams, confusion, or language barriers.
None of us personally got scammed, but we kept hearing the same stories:
Foreign friends wiring deposits and getting ghosted
Not understanding Korean-only contracts
Getting rejected just for being foreign
Feeling totally lost after move-in (e.g. bills, repairs, landlord talks)
So we started interviewing people — over 120 foreign tenants and 50+ landlords — and what we found was eye-opening. Foreigners are 3x more likely to face fraud, and landlords often avoid them due to communication issues or fear of late payments.
What we built:
Curated listings verified for long-term foreign renters
Contracts explained in multiple languages
Onboarding support: rent reminders, maintenance issues, utility help
Tools for landlords to manage foreign tenants more easily
We launched 6 months ago, have ~1,500 monthly users, and are already seeing 50%+ of traffic from organic channels (Reddit, SEO, referrals). We’re now preparing to test in Boston.
Looking for feedback on:
Trust-building in real estate marketplaces
Balancing automation vs. human ops
Messaging for international expansion
If you're working on anything in proptech, marketplaces, or global SaaS, let’s connect!
