Finding Your Ideal Home in Mexico: A Traveler’s Guide

Where you live means a lot! It’s where you make meals and lay your head to sleep. It’s important that you’re comfortable, feel secure, and hopefully love where you live!

The good news about finding housing as a traveler or expat in Mexico is that there are a lot of choices, and a lot of availability and variety!

The bad news is that I don’t have any secret method so if you’re accustomed to finding short term rentals in other countries, it’s similar here. Personally, I enjoy looking at housing wherever I go so it’s not such a slog for me.

Whether you’re looking for a beachside condo, or a casita by the lake (like mine!) there are some great choices out there. Like most places in the world Mexico has a variety of accommodations:

Detached houses are colonial-style or modern family homes sometimes shared by a few other people.

Apartments and condominiums (condos) are very popular among expats. Many are brand-new and decked out in modern appliances.

Shared housing or Room Rental cater to young professionals who prefer to rent a room in these to meet new people while saving money.

Countryside are bigger houses (sometimes old haciendas!) with extensive gardens in the countryside. They are often located near a lake, beach, or mountainside, and there are some really gorgeous ones here in Mexico!

Should I Rent Furnished or Unfurnished Accommodation?

If you’re moving to Mexico from another country and plan to stay for a long time, there is an option to bring your own household goods and furniture. This can be very costly though, and the rules and tariffs on it depend on what kind of residency visa you get here. For instance, I have a temporary residency visa and I believe that would allow me to import my household things without a tax. Personally, I didn’t bring anything like furniture with me. The cost seems highly prohibitive.

The availability of furnished rooms, apartments and houses in Mexico is much larger than in the United States. I’ve had no problem finding short and long term rentals furnished with everything you need, even with two big dogs.

In Mexico, furnished accommodations usually require no extra deposit. Though they might be slightly more expensive, you won’t need to buy any appliances or furniture. As a result, many travelers and expats staying short-term prefer furnished apartments. Having said that, affordable furniture, both new and used, is easy to find in many places here. I have not investigated, but have heard that having custom furniture built here can be a good option and is affordable.

Negotiation: Try it!

Negotiation and Short Term Rentals

Types of Rental Contracts

Below are common types of rental contracts in Mexico.

Short term: meaning a night or two up to a month or two. I’ve found the best variety of short term rentals on airbnb and facebook marketplace. If you can manage to stay in one place for 28 days you could get a big discount on airbnb. I’ve also used booking.com for just a few nights and it’s never given me a problem

Long term in Mexico means 4-6 months and longer, up to years.

There is nothing that replaces looking through housing platforms yourself. Airbnb or Booking.com are great for short-term stay options, and I’ve used airbnb quite a lot.

For longer rentals, check out websites like Vivanuncios, InMuebles24, Homie, propiedades.com and MetrosCubicos, which can give you a better idea about prices and neighborhoods. Craigslist is used in some cities. There are many websites you can view to make contact with agents and owners.

MercadoLibre

Also see my site: MoraMargaret.com/rentals for some referrals to rentals I’ve used and can recommend.

I found my current long term rental on a facebook group for expats in Morelia, and facebook marketplace (and groups) should be one of the first places you look!

You can also rent accommodations through real estate agencies. Agents’ fees come from landlords paying them a commission; tenants do not pay any fees directly to the agent.

An example of a more localized real estate and rental website in Patzcuaro: housespatzcuaro.com/rentals

There are lots of different companies offering furnished, and unfurnished apartments and homes. To find these, go online and search for ‘casa en renta’ and the location where in Mexico you want to stay.

If you are already in the area, it’s a good idea to walk around your preferred neighborhoods to scout out “for rental” (se renta) signs by agencies or individuals.

Since my Spanish is not fluent, using an app like What’s App with translation available via text has worked for me. Every real estate professional I’ve met so far in Mexico has spoken English.

Keep in mind that landlords all over the world may show and talk about their rentals in a positive light, and may exaggerate the good while neglecting to tell you about the bad. That’s why it’s always advisable to visit a property before you agree to rent it, especially with a longer term contract. Let’s say you need to rely on quality consistent internet, but when you arrive you find that it’s spotty at best. Or you don’t really like the location of the place, it doesn’t fit the description like you thought.

So, if you can, you should rent a place for a few days first before committing to a long term agreement. The only disadvantage of this is that the landlord might rent the place to someone else. But the positive is that you’ll know what you’re getting and it’s possible to deal directly with the owner and possibly make a better deal than you would if using an intermediary like airbnb.

Documents You Need to Rent a House in Mexico

Sometimes you might be asked for these, but I’ve rented without needing any of them. During the rental process, you may need to provide certain documents to your landlord. These documents will vary. However, below are the most common ones:

Proof of identity refers to your passport or identification card. Along with your visa to remain in the country, this is usually what you need during your stay to rent a Long-term accommodation.
Proof of residency are documents issued by the Mexican authorities if you are a foreigner to show your right to remain in the country.
Proof of employment includes your offer of employment letter. Some landlords could ask for your most recent tax records

Beware of over-paying for rent, which can lead to gentrification. A common mistake made by incoming foreigners renting in Mexico for the first time, is to overpay for rents based on what they are used to in their home country.

Mexico’s rental prices are more aligned to the earnings of local people, and local people would like it to stay that way. Try to get a gauge for average prices for a rental by talking to people and searching online.

Many landlords require tenants to provide a third party guarantor (fiador – sometimes referred to as an aval) or an insurance policy (fianza) to pay the rent if the tenant becomes a deadbeat. This is unfortunate and makes it much harder and more expensive and complicated for the tenant, but it covers the owner if you default on your rent payments. You might be able to negotiate a larger deposit in place of these policies, or in rural areas such as mine, that is not done as much. (I gave a one month deposit with no fiador or fianza.)

Where you live means a lot! It’s where you make meals and lay your head to sleep. It’s important that you’re comfortable, feel secure, and hopefully love where you live!