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How to find good rental deals from Mexican landlords


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Actually and I have witnessed this several time, you simply walk in to local businesses in the area you are interested in and ask if there is any rentals. I live in the North/West side of Chapala and was surprised by the number of rentals going for 2,000.00 and some times less. Yes you need to be able to communicate in Spanish.

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2 hours ago, HoneyBee said:

Actually and I have witnessed this several time, you simply walk in to local businesses in the area you are interested in and ask if there is any rentals. I live in the North/West side of Chapala and was surprised by the number of rentals going for 2,000.00 and some times less. Yes you need to be able to communicate in Spanish.

Good to know, thank you. Is 2000 pesos the price for Mexicans?

Did you ever check out any of these 2000 peso rentals? I'm curious to know just what you'd get for that price.

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Don't expect to get cheap rent from a Mexican landlord and then get any maintenance with it.  Look very carefully at the place, and beyond any fresh paint, to determine if it has serious maintenance issues.  If so, that rent may not be nearly as cheap as it looks.  

Also expect to pay only in cash.  You can bet they aren't paying that ridiculous 16 percent tax on the rental.  

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On 1/4/2020 at 7:06 AM, Mainecoons said:

Don't expect to get cheap rent from a Mexican landlord and then get any maintenance with it.  Look very carefully at the place, and beyond any fresh paint, to determine if it has serious maintenance issues.  If so, that rent may not be nearly as cheap as it looks.  

Also expect to pay only in cash.  You can bet they aren't paying that ridiculous 16 percent tax on the rental.  

So you're just renting the structure, it seems. Everything in it (plumbing, electrical, appliances, etc.) are yours to maintain? If so, it completely defeats the intended purpose of renting. Not so?

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16 minutes ago, blankletmusic said:

So you're just renting the structure, it seems. Everything in it (plumbing, electrical, appliances, etc.) are yours to maintain? If so, it completely defeats the intended purpose of renting. Not so?

He's not a renter. I agree that renting from Mexicans is usually preferable to renting from foreigners. I am not a renter either but i know several people that rent very successfully from Mexicans and have no problems as well as paying far less. One person was given a 10 year lease on a furnished house by the landlord with no annual increase.

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2 hours ago, happyjillin said:

He's not a renter. I agree that renting from Mexicans is usually preferable to renting from foreigners. I am not a renter either but i know several people that rent very successfully from Mexicans and have no problems as well as paying far less. One person was given a 10 year lease on a furnished house by the landlord with no annual increase.

I understand, but you are really renting just the structure, not so? Any problems with the house/apt. is on you to sort out. So you'd be responsible for organizing repairs to someone else's property. Am I correct with these assumptions?

Am I correct that this would not be the case in every rental? (Where some landlords would do repairs on their properties)?

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38 minutes ago, blankletmusic said:

I understand, but you are really renting just the structure, not so? Any problems with the house/apt. is on you to sort out. So you'd be responsible for organizing repairs to someone else's property. Am I correct with these assumptions?

Am I correct that this would not be the case in every rental? (Where some landlords would do repairs on their properties)?

Of course it depends on the landlord and the lease.  

Often there is a set peso amount for which the tenant is responsible, as in:  any repairs under xxx or x,xxx pesos the tenant pays for. 

FYI, knew someone who had this sort of lease that also stated the lessee had to use the owner's service people/contractors for any repairs.  Whenever there was an issue, the owner's contractors would come out and they would issue multiple separate bills for any sort of repair/replacement....and of course all those individual bills were just under the 500 pesos that were the tenant's responsibility.  Some of the scenarios were quite funny (but not to the tenant)....as in, Looked at problem...499p; Trip to buy the part....499p; Cost of part....499p; Installed part....499p.  

Tener cuidado!

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14 minutes ago, blankletmusic said:

I understand, but you are really renting just the structure, not so? Any problems with the house/apt. is on you to sort out. So you'd be responsible for organizing repairs to someone else's property. Am I correct with these assumptions?

Am I correct that this would not be the case in every rental? (Where some landlords would do repairs on their properties)?

You are correct. There is no one size fits all. You can not establish rules and say this is how renting property lakeside works for everyone. There are an infinite number of ways to rent here. The longer you live here the more options you have if you build a network. I pay a very low rent for a beautiful property. In January I lend my landlady the money to pay taxes and water. I pay 500 pesos less a month in rent until the loan is paid back. I have twice written off the last few payments for the year to help her with family issues. When the roof was leaking badly she and I talked it over. I paid for some of the materials, she paid the rest and had her son’s do the work. When the electric gate opener failed, she paid to have it repaired. She consulted with my handyman and they handled the whole thing. When a toilet won’t flush on a Sunday morning, I call my guy and he comes to fix it and I pay him 200 pesos. When my landlady was going to have her sons do inside painting I chose to hire and pay my preferred painter. It is not a hardship to “organize repairs.” I have two go to guys who I call and tell what needs doing. If they can’t do the work they bring someone who can. We have all worked together for years. I see a lot of newcomers trying to figure exactly how everything is going to work before they move down. But your life here evolves and grows if you let it. 

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In Paris, France after the war,  my parents rented a one bedroon apartement with rent control in 1950 ,a few years later the  2bed apartmen next door , became available so they rented it and ask the landlord to let them pull down a wall  to make one living room out of 2 and build a bathroom in the second kitchen.. They ended up with a large apartment for Paris with 3 bedrooms and rent controlled and had it until 1985 , ,, For them it was worth it, paying the remodelling and the Pas  de Porte which is a kickback to the manager to get those two apartments..They were responsible to fix everything inside the apartemnt but as the rent stayed very low for that many years they came  ahead.. It all depends on the situation of the people who are renting  and that of the landlord..

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23 hours ago, blankletmusic said:

So you're just renting the structure, it seems. Everything in it (plumbing, electrical, appliances, etc.) are yours to maintain? If so, it completely defeats the intended purpose of renting. Not so?

There have been plenty of reports here of landlords not willing to do the repairs and maintenance normally expected NOB.  I'm just pointing out you need to take a hard look at the rental and make sure it doesn't have any costly issues that could cause you problems later on.    No I don't rent, neither does Happy, but I have friends who have encountered exactly that which I am warning about.  Buyer beware also includes renter beware.  

We don't regret at all having bought as we've known too many people having to move repeatedly because houses are being sold, because landlords didn't do critical maintenance or repairs or because landlords hit them with ridiculous rent increases.  Renting can be more cost effective in the shorter term but it comes with some significant risk of displacement or other issues over which you have no control.  There is essentially zero consumer protection here for renters.

We have a thread entitled "Rent" currently running here on Mexico General which is an example of that which I write.

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The rules here are different for renting. The owner is responsible for structure and tenants for the maintenance as a rule or it is up to your negociations skills when signing the contract. If you plan to rent for a very long time ,it is a different situation than a year or two , so it is up to both parties to negociate.. 

The problem is that it is different NOB and people coming  from another place assume it is the same here.. well it is a different country , different culture and the rules  are different. Big surprise..

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I rent for a low price and do ALL the maintenance and repairs.  This is a common arrangement in predominately Mexican areas where the rent is in pesos.  If the rent is in USD then the arrangement is more like in the US where the owner pays for all repairs.   

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