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is a multi-year house lease now illegal?


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I lived in a gringo owned casita where the lease said the rent was $550 Usd per month paid in pesos at the month's current rate of exchange. When I lived there that was around 6,000 pesos per month and did not fluctuate much. Luckily, I got smarter. For my next rental I said I wanted the rent stated in pesos. Period. The landlord wanted 400 usd and at that time it was 5,000 pesos. By the time I left there my rent would have been 8,000 pesos if I had the terms of my previous lease. I have seen many people argue that it does not matter because you are still paying the same dollar amount. IT DOES MATTER. I had an extra 3,000 pesos to spend each month instead of giving them to my landlord. 

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8 hours ago, ezpz said:

I rent, but without a lease in the last few years by mutual agreement with the landlady whom I get along well with for the last 8 years.  I really like the house (except for the noise issues) and for her, I'm the ideal tenant.

Question:  How does the peso exchange rate apply to the issue of the OP?  If you renew every year and have income from the US, can the owner adjust your rent according to the peso exchange rate?  I used to be able to pay with a check but the last few years no one will take US checks anymore.  I was never notified of any desire for change and kept paying the exchange rate (13) that was in effect when I moved in, when I had to switch to paying in pesos.  Through this board, I learned that the rent to a foreigner can't be pegged to the exchange rate.  Any comments?

Without a contract there are no rules to follow, only what you agree to with your landlord each month and that only if both of you do what you agree to.  Things like "rent to a foreigner can't be pegged to the exchange rate" has no meaning, no legality or force without a contract.

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7 hours ago, Xena said:

I lived in a gringo owned casita where the lease said the rent was $550 Usd per month paid in pesos at the month's current rate of exchange. When I lived there that was around 6,000 pesos per month and did not fluctuate much. Luckily, I got smarter. For my next rental I said I wanted the rent stated in pesos. Period. The landlord wanted 400 usd and at that time it was 5,000 pesos. By the time I left there my rent would have been 8,000 pesos if I had the terms of my previous lease. I have seen many people argue that it does not matter because you are still paying the same dollar amount. IT DOES MATTER. I had an extra 3,000 pesos to spend each month instead of giving them to my landlord. 

Right, but if you`re answering ezpz`s post, remember that she has no contract with her landlord.

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8 hours ago, Xena said:

I lived in a gringo owned casita where the lease said the rent was $550 Usd per month paid in pesos at the month's current rate of exchange. When I lived there that was around 6,000 pesos per month and did not fluctuate much. Luckily, I got smarter. For my next rental I said I wanted the rent stated in pesos. Period. The landlord wanted 400 usd and at that time it was 5,000 pesos. By the time I left there my rent would have been 8,000 pesos if I had the terms of my previous lease. I have seen many people argue that it does not matter because you are still paying the same dollar amount. IT DOES MATTER. I had an extra 3,000 pesos to spend each month instead of giving them to my landlord. 

Oh, Xena--Been there! People who believe it doesn't matter as they're still paying the same amount in dollars as the exchange rate goes up and up just don't get the fact that their dollars have become more valuable each month--and they're giving it to their landlords.
   There's no law that ties the rent to the usd/mxn exchange rate. Only some landlords and realtors like that notion and have gotten away with it.

Lexy

 

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As long as the dollar continues to get stronger vs. the peso you reap the benefits by having a lease in pesos.If things ever change and the peso strengthens vs the dollar the opposite will be true.

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3 hours ago, pappysmarket said:

As long as the dollar continues to get stronger vs. the peso you reap the benefits by having a lease in pesos.If things ever change and the peso strengthens vs the dollar the opposite will be true.

When I moved here in 2008, the exchange rate was 10 pesos to the dollar. That is what I based  my rental budget upon. No matter the changes since then, I have not rented a place that I could not afford if the dollar weakened to that point again. With the way things are going in the US a complete economic meltdown grows increasingly more likely. If that happens the extras I have added to my life will go away. However, I will continue to live very comfortably in my lovely home and pay my $4,000 pesos a month rent.

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Exactly.       Unless the dollar should drop to 1 to 1 then all of us whose income is in dollars will be hurting. Just for discussion sake, pretend the rate drops to 5 to 1 based on the exact conditions you noted. Would you think that your rent had increased? You would have to exchange $800 to get those 4000 pesos that today only cost you around $225 but the landlord would be getting the same amount. If I were convinced the dollar will weaken vs. the peso I would want a lease in dollars and not in pesos. Since none of us know for sure what will happen ( or we could get rich if we did) it just makes for good discussions.

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"None of us knows for sure what will happen" and the scenario you propose is so unlikely (though not impossible), that it seems a waste of time to speculate upon it. I have more real and more likely fears. But if the dollar were to drop to 1:1 with the peso most of us would be royally screwed. I choose not to torment myself with such scenarios.

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15 hours ago, pappysmarket said:

As long as the dollar continues to get stronger vs. the peso you reap the benefits by having a lease in pesos.If things ever change and the peso strengthens vs the dollar the opposite will be true.

Got it, Pappysmarket. Totally correct. But that's not the issue.

The issue has to do with landlords quoting a rental in dollars. If a tenant says he/she wants to pay in pesos the landlord says, ok, but you have to pay the pesos equivalent to the current usd/mxn exchange rate. See how a tenant who agrees to this would be paying more each month? The value of the dollar for the past two years has done nothing but go up.

Truly I think you love this topic and just like to fool around with it.

Lexy

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OK, so I enjoy the topic and the various ways people look at it. Hopefully that doesn't make me the bad guy. If you look at the long range trend you are certainly correct. It was almost 21 a couple of months ago and now 18.7 today. Who knows if that is significant. If the US and N. Korea trade nukes will the dollar get stronger or weaker? I don' know the answer. I'll try not to touch any more nerves. Have a great day.

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No nerves touched, at least mine by you.

But if you're a renter and dealing with the not-Kosher stuff going on it's more than a little upsetting when ya can't fight the system.

Cheers,

Lexy

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8 hours ago, pappysmarket said:

OK, so I enjoy the topic and the various ways people look at it. Hopefully that doesn't make me the bad guy. If you look at the long range trend you are certainly correct. It was almost 21 a couple of months ago and now 18.7 today. Who knows if that is significant. If the US and N. Korea trade nukes will the dollar get stronger or weaker? I don' know the answer. I'll try not to touch any more nerves. Have a great day.

Meanwhile, the rainy season inches closer and cooler, wetter weather will soon be here. Enjoy it all before nuclear bombs explode and currency tumbles and/or soars and life as we know it ends. In the meantime try not to be such a gloomy fellow. 

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Thank you doctor, all advice is greatly appreciated.

It's cool and breezy here in PV and our thermometer has not been above 81 F all year. Very unusual but we're loving it. .01 of rain this morning and overcast all day. Our rainy season usually begins about a week after yours. No sign of it yet no real rain clouds just drizzle.

Always a pleasure.

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I am envious. Around 80 is my favorite temperature. Our only signs are that slight shift in the air that seems mostly imagination and the brooding clouds that show up to tease us but deliver nothing, not even drizzle. 

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Right now at 9:30 it is 72, feels like 75.  Our humidity this time of year is much higher than at Lakeside but nothing even close to uncomfortable. Haven't turned on even a fan since November. Sea breeze daytime and a nice land breeze at night comes in the bedroom window.

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