Funda and Marktplaats in English on iPhone: How to Read Dutch Listings, Housing Costs and Seller Chats

You find a flat on a canal, two bedrooms, a price that almost fits the budget. Then the listing says k.k., erfpacht afgekocht tot 2060, and bijdrage VvE € 150 per maand, and the budget question gets harder. People searching for Funda English or Marktplaats English are usually stuck on exactly that kind of screen: the menus make sense, the parts that cost money don’t.

Here is the honest status. Funda has offered an English version of its interface, so start there. Marktplaats is Dutch-first, and we’re not aware of an English mode at the time of writing. On both, the text that matters most, the agent’s description and the seller’s message, is written by people, and it is mostly Dutch.

Funda English: what the switch covers

Check these before installing anything:

• Funda’s own language option. Look in the app’s settings or menu, or the footer of the website. Where it sits has moved over time, so look rather than assume.
• The iOS per-app language. Open Settings, find the app in the Apps list, and check for a Language row. It only shows up when the app ships more than one language and your iPhone has more than one preferred language.
• The website in Safari. Safari’s built-in page translation handles Dutch reasonably well on plain text pages.

With Funda in English, the filters, buttons and headings are fine. What stays Dutch is the description the makelaar (estate agent) wrote, and many of the cost labels, because they are Dutch legal concepts without a tidy English equivalent. Machine translation renders them literally, which is where people misread a price.

When the English runs out: a floating translation window

For the rest there is screen translation. PiP Translate (App Store name: PiP Screen Translate) works like this: you start an iOS screen broadcast from the app, switch to Funda or Marktplaats, and a Picture in Picture window floats over it showing the same screen with the text in English. It follows as you scroll, a second or two behind.

Drag the window to a corner, pinch to resize it, or swipe it off the edge when it covers a button. The app underneath is untouched, so the buttons you tap are still Dutch. Set Dutch as the source language rather than Auto: a wrong guess comes back untranslated. The longer explanation is in translate your iPhone screen live.

Text recognition runs on the phone, and only the recognized text is sent for translation. It reads; it doesn’t write. It won’t fill in a viewing request or reply to a seller for you.

Reading a Funda listing: the costs behind the price

The headline number is rarely the whole story. Take the example above: € 525.000 k.k., 68 m², two bedrooms, energy label C, built in 1920. Here is what each part tells you.

k.k. or v.o.n. Kosten koper means the buyer pays the transfer costs on top of the price: transfer tax, the notary and registration. Vrij op naam means the seller covers them, which you mostly see on new builds. Two homes at the same asking price can differ by a meaningful sum on this alone.

Erfpacht. A ground lease: you own the building, but the land belongs to someone else, often the municipality in Amsterdam. The listing tells you whether the ground rent (canon) is still paid yearly or has been bought off (afgekocht), and until when. “Afgekocht tot 2060” means prepaid until 2060, after which new terms apply. That date affects your mortgage and resale value, so read the actual conditions.

VvE and servicekosten. A flat usually comes with a Vereniging van Eigenaren, the owners’ association that maintains the building. The monthly contribution, often shown as servicekosten or bijdrage VvE, sits outside the price. Ask whether the VvE is active and keeps a reserve fund for maintenance.

Energielabel. A letter scale, A (efficient) to G. An old canal house on C is not unusual, but it hints at heating bills and future insulation work.

Bezichtiging. A viewing. The button books one through the agent.

This is where a translation earns its keep and where it has to stop. It helps you understand what the listing says. Before you bid on a home, confirm the costs, the ground lease conditions and the VvE documents with the makelaar, a notary or a qualified adviser. Translation is for understanding, not for deciding.

Marktplaats in English: bidding, pickup and messages

Marktplaats is where the Netherlands sells its bikes, sofas and baby gear. Run the same checks as above, then plan on translating: titles, descriptions and chat are whatever the seller typed.

A few conventions worth recognizing:

• Bieden. Many listings take bids instead of a fixed price. Your bid is an offer; the seller can accept, counter or ignore it.
• Ophalen. Pickup only. You go to the seller’s address.
• Verzenden. The seller will ship.
• Messaging. The thread is where the real deal happens: condition, times, whether the price moves. With the floating window open you can read a long conversation without screenshotting every bubble. You still type your replies yourself.

On paying, keep it simple. The Dutch phrase “gelijk oversteken” (crossing at the same time) captures the principle: money and item change hands together, ideally in person. Be cautious with payment links sent in chat and with anyone pushing you off the platform. If the app offers its own protected payment or shipping option, read its terms in the app rather than trusting a translated summary.

The Dutch terms you will see most

Dutch	What it means
k.k. (kosten koper)	Buyer pays transfer tax, notary and registry costs
v.o.n. (vrij op naam)	Seller pays those transfer costs
erfpacht	Ground lease; the land is rented, not owned
VvE	Owners’ association of a building with flats
servicekosten	Monthly service costs, often the VvE contribution
bezichtiging	A viewing of the property
bieden	To bid or make an offer
ophalen	Pickup by the buyer

Honest limits

• The window trails the screen by a second or two. Scroll, pause, read.
• Small print in floor plans or scanned documents reads better if you zoom in first.
• DigiD and Dutch banking screens may block screen capture, and the window can’t log in or sign anything for you.
• The app is free to download; unlimited translation needs a Pro subscription.

For other Dutch apps in English, such as your energy supplier, the municipality’s app or a rental platform, the same session covers them: check the settings first, then translate the screen. Moving on from the Netherlands? See German apps in English or Swedish apps in English.

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PiP Translate is on the App Store. Open Funda, read the costs in English, then ask the makelaar the right questions.

FAQ

Does Funda have an English version?

Funda has offered an English version of its interface, so look for a language option in the app's settings or menu, or on the website, before anything else. The catch is the listings themselves: descriptions are written by estate agents (makelaars), mostly in Dutch, and cost terms such as k.k., erfpacht and VvE usually stay in Dutch even when the menus are English.

Is there a Marktplaats English mode?

We're not aware of an English mode in the Marktplaats app at the time of writing, but apps change, so check its settings and the iOS per-app language option first. Either way, listings and messages are whatever the seller typed, which is almost always Dutch.

Can I use Funda and Marktplaats as a foreigner?

Generally you can browse both without living in the Netherlands. Arranging viewings, making an offer on a home, or paying and collecting on Marktplaats can involve Dutch phone numbers, bank accounts or verification steps, so check what each step asks for before you rely on it.

How do I translate Funda or Marktplaats on iPhone?

Start a screen broadcast from PiP Translate with Dutch set as the source language, then open Funda or Marktplaats. A floating Picture in Picture window shows the same screen in English while you scroll listings and messages. The original app stays in Dutch underneath.