The Gold Book -  The Merida Area Directory of Business and Services for English Language Residents
           

 To Rent or To Buy  ???

Renting Is A Good Thing

Living in Merida, Yucatan and

Living at the Beach

by Jan Morgan

When people travel to a new vacation spot they often investigate buying property. The real estate offices are bombarded with requests for showings of properties around the whole region, and sometimes it gives the visitor a free (or low cost) tour of the local flavor. People have always done this, and always will! It is just a natural curiosity to see how the locals live, and an attempt to see if they could fit in to the area themselves, perhaps at retirement. They are lured by the low prices, the sunny weather, the culture, and the sea. Where can you find a beach property for less than $150,000 anymore? Or, where can you live in a clean, safe city of almost a million people and find a home for under $70,000? Here.

I have been working with local realtors fielding requests from people who read about this region and write to me. My husband and I started a website 6 years ago which helps people learn how to move to Mexico, so it has been a natural place for people to start when looking into buying, renting, or vacationing here. (www.mexicoanswers.com) I have inadvertently built a following of sincere people looking to invest in the economy of Mexico by buying properties, and I am glad to help. I am a buyer's representative that searches out the best properties according to what they want from all the realtors in the area. I save people time and frustration. I work with a team of legal professionals who make sure their purchases are legally sound as well.

These buyers wonder, however, why my husband and I rent 2 properties here, instead of buying! That's a good question, and one that deserves an answer.

We came to Mexico 6 years ago as an adventure, wanting to learn Spanish, wanting to experience a new culture and a new country. We thought we would breeze through the language thing, thought we would be fluent within that year...after all ....we lived here! Well, like the first sentence says...it is 6 years later, and here we still are. We're not fluent, but doing fine.

What has happened is that we have fallen in love with the Yucatan, with the people, the culture, the food and the closeness of the people that has inspired our own family life, in a way. And in that process, we have found that living in a rental house has given us a freedom that we wouldn't have found if we had purchased when we first came. And when we first came we surely weren't sure we were going to stay for a long time! We have been lucky to have the families that rented to us take us under their wings and make us a part of their families!

We have lived in 3 beach houses and 2 city houses. We have had the freedom of choosing a neighborhood to live in, and have discovered wonderful areas in the process. We wouldn't have ever found these houses if we had purchased right off the bat!

Everyone is different, and people invest for different reasons as well. Some of us want to live in a neighborhood that is populated by other English-speaking people, and some of us want to live in an area that has no guarantee of other English-speakers. We have chosen to live in a neighborhood where we are the minority, and it helps us in our quest to speak Spanish every day.

Many people want to buy a 'diamond in the rough', fix it up and re-sell. Many people realize that the cost of living here in Mexico is much lower than it is in the U.S., Canada or Europe, and are building from scratch. They will plan to vacation here, perhaps rent out their property for a while, and eventually have a retirement place that is paid for! With the cost of labor being very low, it makes sense for them to do this and make a handsome profit if they sell.

We invest our money each month in our freedom, so to speak, investing in the fact that we have no worries when it comes time to move on......either within the area, or even to another country! We don't have to sell. We don't need to invest in a house,(but we may invest anyway, since we really love the house we are in now.) And, like I said, this is the 2nd city house. We still will keep a beach rental, because that allows us the best of both worlds.

So, you say, do I think that everyone should rent before they buy? Yes, if they have the time...but most people don't have that luxury. They need to invest now to hedge against inflation, or to re-invest money they have made on a house sale in the U.S., Canada or Europe.

I'm sure this is not an issue only faced in Mexico. People leave their countries of origin all the time and move somewhere else. Perhaps their jobs take them overseas,or, like us, they want an adventure, a vacation spot or an investment.

I'm glad we rent. I'm glad I help people buy properties and become part of this wonderful place. I'm here to help you, too, if you wish!

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