rent or buy etc

The rule of thumb that is circulated in Mexico is to rent for a year before buying. You might not like the location, town, etc. When buying, you never know what your neighbors are like.

I agree. The weather, the neighborhood, the noise. Where in Mexico? All your questions only get answers after you have been there a while.

Hi Mexicali,

Both Joquinxa and MelO1 are correct. What I can add goes a step further. Real estate is not the investment it used to be.

In Mexico, you would quickly find out that getting a qualified repairman or a housekeeper is a process totally unlike the U.S.  You also don't call animal control to deal with those barking dogs you didn't know about. Hope your Spanish is pretty good for calling and dealing with repairmen for your house. There is no official place where you can get certified qualified repairmen. It's more a word of mouth reputation thing for all of those repairs.Of course you could move to a gated English speaking expat community where fellow English speaking expats can advise you. It's much more expensive, and less authentic but people do that.  Sort of like China town in the U.S.

You don't just call the electric company to come fix a problem, it's your house not their problem. You repair or arrange repair of things in the house.

If it's not your house you can arrange with the owner about who pays for what and have a contract. Not only that but the owner can arrange repairs or suggest who to call. That takes quite a lot of responsibility off of your back, and gives you support you wouldn't have if it were your house.   

I never plan on buying because with political instability and environmental instability I want to be able to pack up and move. The house sales are not very quick and if the environment changes or the neighborhood changes, that house could take years to sell. The British lady a street up had her house for sale for over a year, and she worked in real estate. First figure out what you are looking for then visit with these thoughts in mind.

i know about dominicn republic similar to mexico also as i have lived in both countrys a lot about 30 years or so off and . so here goes i know a eureopean couple built a house in dominican republic 20 years ago 1million us dollars now try to sell for 6 years no luc they rent it out for 900 us a month its 150 feet to water tehy trying to sell now for 450 thousand us and no luck so you see you can loode a liot money bouyin .and you rent as i have done in past for from 0 to 250 us and you can move any time you wish i rent a 2 bedroom house in the dr for 165.us a month by the yaer and also rent a1 bed room house in mexico for 75. dollars per month on a yearly basis  and hve been doing so for 6 years now and no problem .iam flunt in spanish as i have been giong to mexico all my life and i know the scams .they see gringo or foreign person raise prices double or triple.i am lookig at going to colombia this winter and will see whet happens there

What part of Mexico Bobbyr ? The cheapest I have seen is about $300 U.S. and I wouldn't choose to live there.  I'm more comfortable in a house I pay about the same as I did for a 2 bdr, condo in the U.S.. I have a lot more for the same cost living here , and can actually save money.

If your looking for clean and quiet your most likely to find that in a non Mexican gated community.Or on top of some Mountain somewhere.As was mentioned,rent first.

It occurred to me that clean and quiet are terms that may not mean the same thing to everyone,

This is still a fairly poor country. Where ever I have been the poor areas tend to have a certain amount of frustration demonstrated by disregard for the perceived norm. The poorer the neighborhood the more anger and frustration you will see. Pride, respect and community change that. Here that frustration is seen in discarded trash. When I first moved here there was a fair amount of coke bottles and wrappers cluttering the street. I made a point of picking up what I saw in front of the house. Then I noticed people were making an effort to do the same. When the trash was picked up often the stuff that would have been in the street was on top of my trash. The city is paying for recyclable plastic, so a man comes to my street to collect that plastic. I put the good plastic in a white plastic bag so he doesn't have to pick through the regular trash. The people themselves are not dirty, They make an effort to look and be clean.


The noise is everywhere in the world . In the U.S. The neighbors dogs were a problem where ever I went, in 3 states. In many places here dogs can be a big problem. I decided that was something I needed to work on, so I bought a dog bark suppression device from Amazon, it works from 50 feet away which was perfect for my neighbors dogs. I also bought a dog whistle for other longer range issues. It takes some time and persistence, but the dogs no longer bark all night. they are calmer, I sleep better and my neighbor sleeps better. As far as other noise, look at your neighborhood and neighbors closely before signing a contract. A heavy party crowd is pretty easy to identify if you look for the signs. Unfortunately loud party people do not come with a noise suppression device anywhere.

stinkyboy1 wrote:

If your looking for clean and quiet your most likely to find that in a non Mexican gated community.Or on top of some Mountain somewhere.As was mentioned,rent first.

I must be living in the dead zone. My street has a kindergarten, a primary school, and a centro de salud, yet it is quiet and clean. Most of the noise on my street comes from the trucks selling gas tanks, some vendors of bananas and pan de leño. On the weekends it seems like everyone left for the beach. I live just outside of el centro a few blocks away from a very busy main street. The bottom line is that you don't have to live in a gated community nor a mountain to find peace and quiet.

I think this is a question that you need to answer for yourself. Like everyone else, I strongly recommend that you rent first and take time to get to know the community you are targeting. Living here is different than what you are used to in the U.S. And you may end up moving around a bit to find a place that suits your personal needs.

In the long-term, renting or buying is a decision to be made based upon your own economic situation, desires and expectations. Personally, my wife and I chose to buy. We can afford it, we like having an abode that we have control of. We have not found it difficult to find the services we need and enjoy the personal interaction required to obtain them. While many expats in our area use bill paying services we go to CFE and the water service and pay our own. We go to the municipal offices to pay our property taxes. We moved to Mexico to be in and interact with the culture.

Rent for awhile. Get out in the community and explore. Decide if this is where you want to be. If so, weigh the pros and cons of the buying or renting on your experiences and the do what is right for you!

Viva Mexico,

Mike

This is true of cities which are very close to the border Mike. Pretty much everyone speaks English and services are more like the U.S. Because many of the Mexicans living there once lived in the U.S. and you can't live that close without mixing cultures.

My friend here was raised in that area and he said most of his childhood friends were American. He was raised with both languages, so he speaks very good English. Some of my friends who never lived beyond southern Mexico speak no English at all, but their children may have learned in school. Each city has it's own level of understanding and sophistication.

  Further from the U.S. it is different. Of course people can and do live close to the U.S. so that is an option.

acapulco

with all the recent expats and more coming, cost of rentals will only continue to rise. Real Estate rentals and sales are still relatively low/affordable around Merida and it's beach towns.

beachseeker wrote:

with all the recent expats and more coming, cost of rentals will only continue to rise. Real Estate rentals and sales are still relatively low/affordable around Merida and it's beach towns.

I'm not sure this is so Beachseeker,

Major climate shifts have not gone away, nor will they in the future, so sinking money into a house as people have always done traditionally may not be a good plan. The problems with houses here and the cost of houses here is much different than the U.S., but I would not want to own a house in either place. Houses are not the investment they were thought to be, I have seen a number of abandoned houses, some on beaches, and My rent has not gone up in 6 years.

If you have a hurricane come through Merida  ( they do) and it destroys that house you built then what? ? It becomes your problem, and your cost. insurance ? yeah well in a hit or miss fashion perhaps.   

If you are renting you pack up and leave, looking for somewhere perhaps on higher ground and safer.
Merida by the way does not have beach. There are towns 30 or more km. away that are beach towns, but they do not belong to Merida, they are separate towns, Progresso does not consider itself a Merida suburb.

Thank you, I live in Merida and the beach is 20 min to Progreso.

beachseeker wrote:

with all the recent expats and more coming, cost of rentals will only continue to rise. Real Estate rentals and sales are still relatively low/affordable around Merida and it's beach towns.

Well from my perspective, the more I search the more reasonnable and cheap (nice, cosy, near beach but not owned by foreigners or rch mexican that's looking for payment in USD or CND dollarsbut pesos.

My wife and I rent because it helps the locals and we don't have any maintenance to do, also foreigners then not to pay taxes on the income they make.

Our rent for 2bdrm, 1bth, fully furnished with pool, backyard and rooftop terraces, 2 block away from ocean, internet, megacable, electricity and gas included, washer/dryer, dead end street....9000$ pesos/month year-round rental (new 2015/11).

Got offers as low as 3500$ pesos/month but on the other side of the highway (remodeled 2016/05).

In the gringo gulch, rents are the lowest 750$ USD/month studio = >13500$ pesos (new 2017/09). A block away from where we live a Canadian is asking 1000$ CND/month 1bdrm = >14000$ pesos and no rebate for long term rental!!!

Adios y buen dia a todos, GyC.