To Buy or Not, that is the Question

Ask anyone who owns a timeshare – it is VERY difficult to resist the urge to buy when you are surrounded by beautiful views, sea breezes, romantic sunsets, and happy people. Who doesn’t want to own a piece of paradise? I myself have purchased over 90 time share weeks, a house on a Caribbean island, and an ocean front lot with 80 feet of white sandy beach – also in the Caribbean. Each of these purchases is s a long story and worthy of its own post, so I will spare you the details for now. I will leave time share purchases out of the discussion (though I know you are dying to know how I got 90 weeks), as well as new construction.

There are obvious pros and cons to buying and renting, so I will stick to the not so obvious considerations…the things you might not think of until you have spent a significant amount of time living in the tropics.

Renting is always much cheaper long term. So even if you only want a place for 6 months – it is often way more economical to rent a place for the whole year. I will give you a real example from here in Puerto Vallarta. We have been looking at 2 bedroom condos with a nice view of the water, close to downtown and walking distance to the beach. If we rented for one week through VRBO or some such rental agency, we would pay $2500 US a week. If we rented the same place for 6 months it would cost about $2500/month. Rent for an entire year and it will cost you about $1000/month. The advantage to taking a place for the whole year is you can leave your stuff here all year and do not have to try to fit a beach umbrella in your suitcase! (Not to mention those unwieldy pots and pans!)

Having your own stuff is nice. Quality cooking utensils, nice towels and sheets, and sharp knives are all things that you never get in a rental down here and they are very expensive to buy here. I always bring my own saran wrap, ziplock bags and dried herbs, which for some reason, are of particularly poor quality down here. Oh, and don’t forget your pillow!

If you rent – beware that there is no such thing as soft or even medium mattresses in Mexico. ALL mattresses should be compared to concrete slabs. So, having your own quality things here is the one big advantage of buying over renting. However, when you buy a house here – even if it is a resale – it almost always comes fully furnished. So, either way, you are stuck with bad pots and pans, and a stiff bed. Negotiating to have the furniture removed is possible – but often times the furniture is built out of concrete and is quite permanent – so that is easier said than done.

Whether renting or buying, it is important to know if the electricity is included. Short term rentals usually include it, long term rentals do not. This is an important cost factor as electricity can be very expensive here – especially if you run your air conditioner a lot. I had a bill last year that was over $700 US dollars for two months!

Maid service is another expense you will have whether you rent or own. Now you may say, “I don’t need a maid” but consider this…will you be prepared to wipe down every surface with bleach every day? Pick up the never ending falling leaves and blossoms? Hunt down the scorpions and tarantulas? Because if you are not, you will need a maid to do it – otherwise the bugs will overtake your condo. Besides, the average maid makes $6/day here – so helping the local economy by providing a job for someone – and paying them more than $6/day - is just a nice thing to do. Everybody wins! If you buy a house, you will need a gardener. "But I LOVE gardening," you say. Yeah, try pruning a coconut tree!

If you decide you want to buy, it is a pretty good idea to rent in the area first – because only at night will you be able to determine just how noisy it is. In many modern condos here – there are also nightclubs and bars all around – that means noise until 2 am! And God help you if you end up next door to the karaoke bar. Many people I have met start off near the beach or downtown, and quickly end up further away where they can avoid the endlessly intoxicated tourists.

We have decided for ourselves that is it far more economical to rent, and renting has the added advantage of giving us the flexibility to “try on” different locations. This year we have spent 5 weeks in Conchas Chinas, and are now heading to Bucerias, where we have rented a house in the country – 2 kilometers out of town, in a small housing development called Los Arroyos Verdes.

It is pet friendly, has a gorgeous heated pool, beautiful gardens,

including an herb garden, a yoga studio and spa, electricity and daily maid service, and a shuttle service into town, the beach and the local “Mega” grocery store. After that we will go to Playa del Carmen on the east coast and try on a small loft near the beach, right downtown.

Then, we may be off to Utila – a small Caribbean Island - to manage a lovely beach front vacation rental…more on that later...so stay tuned!