Just arrived and our property manager informs us that they are about to sell the place and our future looks uncertain.
I have had a fear of this since we first moved in last year. There was a for sale sign up all last year and through the summer. People tell us it’s been for sale for years. The sign was taken down this spring.
The thing is, I don’t trust the property manager. She seems to come up with too many different scenarios. She has given Gerry and Elaine next door a run around when they are trying to rent year-round Also her body language tells me to beware.
So we have been out looking. I put an ad on facebook and received several replies. The first one we looked at was very small but had a Jacuzzi tub outside. They wanted $13,000 pesos ($892) which was way too high for what they were offering. Next, we looked at a brand new place just off the square. It was nice but again, a bit pricey at $15,000 pesos ($1030). Also, with it being so close to the square, we were sure it would be noisy.
On to the next one. We were told that the rent would be $8,500 pesos (about $580) so we weren’t expecting too much. It was a surprise to find that it was really nice. It is only one bedroom but otherwise is comparable to where we are now, but much cosier. Also, we would save $2,500 pesos ($170) per month.
The thing with this one is that we would pay rent for six months but have access year-round. This would mean that we could leave all our stuff there and not have to pay storage, another saving of $2,500 pesos. And also, it’s close to a lot of our friends.
We had one more to look at. Wow! What a nice place.
Doctor Eduardo Woo is one of the dentists here and he has a small “ranch” for rent for $9,000 pesos ($618). We called for an appointment and his wife Raquel picked us up and drove us out there.
The property is about 1/2 an acre and surrounded by an eight-foot wall. Well, that takes care of any privacy issues. The place is mostly lawn surrounded by many different fruit trees. There is a large swimming pool that we would share with another tenant in the same compound. Although there are two residences they are far apart and very private. Also, the other tenant is only here for four months.
The far wall is the end of the property with the neighbour’s private entrance. You can just see the other house on the right. The mound in front of the house is the swimming pool.
The house itself is nice but not quite as nice as one of the other ones that we saw but there is a huge outdoor area where we would live most of the time.
All the gardening, pool and maintenance are included in the rent as is the gas and electricity. The only thing we have to provide is propane for the BBQ.
All this is for $2,000 pesos less than we are paying now. Oh! And we can also leave our stuff there year-round
The problem is that we have to make a decision soon, as these places go quickly. We discussed it all evening and then slept on it. We decided to take it and are all set for ranch life for next year. It’s a bit out of town but we may be able to buy a cheap car to get about in.