Looking for long-term dog-friendly house rental (Ajijic - SAT preferred)

I'm looking for a house (2 bedroom min., 3 preferred), preferably near Ajijic/La Floresta/SAT, that has a fenced/walled yard. I'd like long-term (a year) and I do have 2 dogs (quite the common deal-breaker, I'm discovering!) I'm going to be in Ajijic from April 20 - 27 if anyone knows of anything available that isn't also listed on the usual websites (I've scoured some 11 or 12 Lakeside rental sites in the past few weeks, and have some queries out, though I thought I'd check here in case there are properties 'under the radar.')

Gracias!

- Jack

Jack, if you are hoping to hear of a rental through a web board, it's best to specify how much you are willing to pay; do you need off street parking and what kind of dogs you have. It's one thing to have a couple of older small guys and quite another if you have a couple of dobermans.
Good luck.

Boots on the ground, best way to find a good place to live. Talk to everyone you see, ask all of them. At least you've narrowed it down, good start. Suerte.

Jack, I too think you will have better luck with boots on the ground. I have lived here nine years and always had at least one dog and one cat (what I came down with). Have never had a problem finding a rental happy to have us.

That's been my experience too!
Have had nothing but great houses and great landlords. ALL Mexican. All have been found through friends or word of mouth. Never a problem with pets either.

Don't lead with the animals. Keep them close to your vest so to speak. Do your tour of places, establish a relationship with the management person or the landlord. Then after you get excited about eachother and all the terms have been decided ask how much they will want for an animal deposit. Don't ask if you can have the animals assume that there certainly couldn't be any problem. Most landlords say "no" because they don't know your character and animals can easily make a nice place a hovel. Once they know a bit about you and like you they will be more amenable to the animals.

Very good advice from everyone - muchas gracias!

- Jack

solajijic wrote:Don't lead with the animals.  Keep them close to your vest so to speak.  Do your tour of places, establish a relationship with the management person or the landlord.  Then after you get excited about eachother and all the terms have been decided ask how much they will want for an animal deposit.  Don't ask if you can have the animals assume that there certainly couldn't be any problem.  Most landlords say "no" because they don't know your character and animals can easily make a nice place a hovel.  Once they know a bit about you and like you they will be more amenable to the animals.

On the other hand, why waste the potential landlord's time as well as your own? Admit it up front and ask about deposit. Animals are a definite deal breaker with any of us who have had a bad experience, no matter how nice the applicant may be.

My instinct has been to do what gringal suggests, and is what I've been doing so far despite the urging of my good friend in Ajijic, who counsels the same course of action solajijic does. I should mention that I don't just "have a couple of dogs" -- I have a couple of Newfoundlands. They're both very highly trained -- each has multiple titles in competitive obedience -- but that is a *lot* of dog by most folks' standards. And though I've seen some rentals that say "one small pet OK" I'm inclined to think it's too much of a stretch for most owners to go from "one small pet" to "two giant-breed dogs." Even with the non-refundable deposit I'm willing to put down.

Having said all this, I'm also finding, based on some responses from agents, that there's an even more immediate issue: rental agency websites not always being up-to-date. Several properties I've asked about show as "available" but the agents tell me they're rented.

If anyone has any particular suggestions as to what "boots on the ground" house-hunting looks like Ajijic, I'd be most appreciate. Thanks again.

It is almost guaranteed that if you say right out of the gate "Do you accept dogs/cats?" you will get a "NO" answer. This is becoming more and more the standard for personally managed properties as well as management companies. The rental market as tight for 2 bed plus and having no pets is an advantage s is having a rental history here in town. Newbies are being closed out becaue of the animals so you have to find a way to negate the objection. The best way to do that is friendly relationship building and the asumption that animals will not be a problem. Unless "No pets" is an owners absolute directive to the manager the manager can make a decision for whomever they thnk will be thebest tenant out of the avialable pool of tenants. There are a lot of tenant possibilities looking right now.

" The best way to do that is friendly relationship building and the asumption that animals will not be a problem."

 I can imagine doing some chatting with the man and finally discovering that two Newfoundlands are part of the equation.  I'm afraid that making the assumption that "animals will not be a problem" is an unrealistic approach.    "You have WHAT???"

It's tough be both a pet owner and a renter.  That's one big advantage of home ownership.

Just remember, Jack, that in Mexico all things are possible -- even renting a house when you have two Newfies. Connections and relationships are everything here. Make as many as you can as fast as you can, with foreigners and nationals alike. You sound gregarious and well spoken. That will go a long way. I have never house hunted in Ajijic but I think it is the same as SAT and Chapala. Walk around. Look for signs. Check bulletin boards at LCS, Wallmart and anywhere else that has them. Stop at cafes and restaurants. Order a little something and talk to everyone. The cafe at LCS is great.

Jack,

What is your price range? Furnished/Unfurnished? Do you have a car? Need a garage? Up on the hill with a view and drive everywhere or down in a village and walk everywhere? Do you speak Spanish? Gated community?

There are gringo houses - houses more like what you're used to and owned by a foreigner. There are Mexican houses - houses either like you're used to or different and owned by a Mexican.

Gringos Houses:
More likely to have a yard
More likely to be expensive and charge dollars
Only English needed
More likely furnished
More likely to have a persnickety landlord
More likely to deny dogs (btw, I've seen a couple of other Newfies around here and even a Great Pyrenees)

Mexican Houses
More likely to have a patio or garden than a yard - tho they do exist
More likely to be very affordable
More likely to be Spanish only
More likely be unfurnished down to the light bulbs
More likely to have a good natured easy going landlord
More likely to not care if you have a herd of elephants for pets as long as you pay the rent on time and don't cause 'problems'.

BTW:
# Where are you moving from?
# Everything costs more in Ajijic.
# There is a place up on the Libramiento called El Perico that might be a great place to stay until you get your bearings or settled. Inexpensive cabin like places, really nice people, they love dogs and have a big space where your dogs (depending) could romp and run with other doggies, they have a pool, only drawback might be transportation but they'd probably help you with that. They advertise here, look at the banner ads and click on them. Nice little community up there.
# Remember the peso is not likely to stay at 18/19 forever, when I moved here it was at 12.

Are you renting up north? It would be a bonus if you could get a letter of reference for your Newfies. They are big, beautiful, gentle, and generally non barkers. They don't need to bark... they just have to show up. Anyway, they'd probably just pin someone by the shoulders and spit mop their faces.
I envy you your dogs and I really wish I knew of a place to rent. Best of luck.

Just a thought - it's more realistic to look for an unfurnished place with two heavy shredders like Nufies. Even covering the furniture wouldn't keep the hair off and a landlord is not likely to want to deal with that.

I'm going to make an assumption that you WILL have a vehicle as to transport your 'kids' by taxi to the vet will be difficult, so why not look outside your stated preferences perhaps in Chapala, Chapala Haciendas or Brisas; mostly large lots, quiet, lots of places to walk the 'kids' or let them run, should be a little cheaper too. The Haciendas & Brisas have fibre optic service so internet is pretty good (if that's a concern). Don't expect internet speeds like you do NOB. You could also ask agents if any of their clients, whose houses have been on the market for a LONG time, would be willing to rent. It's easy to find used furniture down here that is in fairly good condition and if the 'kids' don't approve of the style you can always have something made at considerably less than NOB.

Many excellent suggestions again; thanks to everyone for sharing their thoughts. (I especially appreciate Trailrunner's breakdown of gringo/Mexican houses :) I do have a car (minivan, ideal for Newfies if not Mexican streets), speak a little Spanish poorly (so far), will consider unfurnished though I'm not going to spend $$ to bring what little furniture I have with me (lost all the good stuff in the divorce and now have the old basement-quality stuff which, aesthetically speaking, doesn't belong in MX anyway ;) I'm currently renting a house in Cincinnati (a good place to move *from*) but did not think of getting a letter of rec. from the landlord (which is a national property-rental company; they scooped up thousands of homes in the Great Recession and thus own everything they rent. I can't get them to replace cracked windows or malfunctioning refrigerators so getting a letter of rec. might well be impossible). I have scouted a couple of properties in Chapala but could be more rigorous in that regard; I've been Lakeside 2x now (3rd time starts tomorrow) and find I prefer Ajijic - La Floresta - SAT, but I guess Newfie owners can't be quite so choosy. Price range is up to $1300/mo US. I do have a good friend (and fellow Newfie owner!) in Ajijic and she's put out some feelers on my behalf. That's the quick summary :) Thanks again to all.

Hi jackv, It's been nearly two years. How did this work out for you? I'm asking because I'll be coming next year wth 4 dogs.

Hello from one Newbie to another. I just returned from Ajijic two days ago, during which visit I indeed did find a house to rent & will be moving in June. Not only a dog-friendly house, but one with a very large yard as well, and as most houses I looked at had very small yards, I got lucky. (Or, at least, my dogs did. Thank goodness the house comes w/ a gardener :) The house I found was represented by an agency, though was not listed on their website. (Many real-estate websites I looked at turned out not to be particularly up-to-date.) I found the house only because I stopped into the office to ask about some properties that *were* listed on their website. (See the "boots on the ground" comments earlier in this thread. Very accurate.) Having dogs, especially more than one small dog, certainly limits the options and may well require some compromise -- I didn't get the lake view I was hoping for :( though I do get an avocado tree :) -- but it can be done. Best of luck!

I don't miss the avocado tree in the place we were renting. Most dogs LOVE avocados so it became a ritual that I went out in the morning and scouted for the avocados that had fallen before the dogs were let out... usually with a flashlight. They would have been pretty broad across the beam if they had had free reign.

Uh-oh ... Thanks for the warning! :)