Being a rental property owner is never easy, but it becomes even more difficult when you don’t live in the same country as the buildings you own. Many new problems will arise that you’ve likely never dealt with before. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of common new landlord mistakes to avoid when renting out your property in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
Not Being As Honest as Possible
An untrustworthy landlord is something you never want to be. Having an untrustworthy property manager who skims or takes your rental income is even worse. The problem is way worse when renting homes in another country. Many people who will rent from you won’t be able to visit the property before signing the lease. If you said something about the apartment that wasn’t true, unintentionally or not, or if you did something in the rental process that conflicts with local laws, your new tenants will look for a way out of your agreement. That means you’ll be back to finding a new one with no source of income on the property.
Failing To Have a Local Maintenance Team
We know there’s a good chance you won’t live near your property in Puerto Vallarta. That means you won’t be around to take care of the yard or fix something when it breaks down. Properties in a hot, humid environment located near a jungle need a lot more maintenance and upkeep than properties in non-humid jungle environments. You’ll need an outside company to help you with these issues. Fortunately, full-service property management is one of the many things we offer here at Mexpat Realtors. We’ll help you make sure your property is in tip-top shape.
Only Offering Year-Long Leases
In America, most rentals only offer year-long leases. There are obviously some exceptions, but this is the primary option. In Mexico, that’s not the case. A good number of potential tenants only want to stay in Puerto Vallarta for a week, two weeks, or just a few months. It could be for an extended summer vacation, or they may want to experience the culture before fully moving here. Regardless of the reason, if you only offer year-long options, you’ll be severely limiting your options. Vacation rental, short term leases are a standard option for many places down here.
Discriminating Against Certain Groups or Cultures
This mistake that you should avoid when becoming a new landlord in Puerto Vallarta should be an obvious one, but we’ve seen too many people do this. You should never discriminate against a potential tenant based on race, gender, religion, or, most importantly, language. This area of Mexico is quite the melting pot, so you need to keep an open mind with your tenants.
This is especially true when it comes to knowing Spanish. You certainly don’t need to know the language to rent property down here, but it couldn’t hurt to have a basic grasp. At the very least, you should hire someone who can accurately translate conversations and documents for you because the day will come when you’ll have an interested party that only speaks Spanish.
Misunderstanding Mexican Rental Laws
Finally, before putting up your “for rent” sign, you must make sure you have a firm grasp of Mexican rental laws. While parts of them will be similar to those in America, not all of them are, so if you make assumptions about what you can and can’t do, it might cost you dearly in legal fees. It’s not worth the risk, so look into them extensively beforehand.
For matters pertaining to real estate in Puerto Vallarta, or real estate in Bahia de Banderas, property management, buying houses in Puerto Vallarta, buying condos in Puerto Vallarta or the surrounding areas Mexpat Realtors in Puerto Vallarta is a great resource call them or go to their website www.mexpatrealtors.com for more information
Source: Mexpat Realtors www.mexpatrealtors.com
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