This is a guest post by Ignacio Cabbera. When not exploring the treasures of Mexico, you’ll find him working on his Texas-based car buying business Motors On Wheels – Houston’s number one car buyer. Or coding at Manna Systems.
I recently moved to Puerto Vallarta and the first item on my to-do list was to find a long-term lease on an apartment. I booked an Airbnb for exactly 30 days so time was of the essence.
Fast forward 30 days after my arrival and I had gone through 28 apartments! Yes, I’m writing this from apartment number 28. Watching the sunrise in the east over the mountains with the river’s breeze blowing on my face :).
I will go through the plan that I put in place that helped me find EXACTLY the place that I wanted. I’ll also list a few tips at the end that you should take into consideration as you settle into this beautiful town.
Picking a Neighborhood in Puerto Vallarta
You’re new in the city and you hear people throwing out neighborhood names like tech jargon: 5D (a.k.a Cinco de Diciembre), Centro, Cerro (Centro & Cerro are not the same things, but one is in the other), Romantica, Emiliano Zapata, and your mind is about to explode.
It gets worse if you ask people where THEY think YOU should live. Everyone has an opinion.
I booked a city tour with Memo, a local guide and owner of Vallarta101. He’s simply one of the most well-informed locals.
Read More: Street Food Tour in Puerto Vallarta
As he’s conducting his tour and divulging the city’s history to you, what you’ll be doing is taking notes of the streets and neighborhoods that you think you can enjoy living in.
In my tour, I noted down 5D and The Flea Market area (because there’s a cigar AND chocolate shop there. Two things that I LOVE).
One of the tricks that Memo taught me in his tour was that each of the east/west streets ends with a sculpture at the boardwalk. Now, whenever you’re on the Malecon, you can easily tell which street and block you’re crossing by observing which statue it has.
Wonderful!
Spec’ing Your Apartment in Puerto Vallarta
Now that you know which neighborhood YOU want to live in and not the most opinionated person in a random Facebook group, it’s time to iron out the apartment specs.
Write down the top 5 items that you’d like your place to have.
I really like top-5 lists because they force you into thinking about what’s important. I usually spend much more time building a top-5 list than a comprehensive list because I have to think about how much each item means to me. All my preferences are fighting for the top spots.
Here’s my top-5 list for the apartment that I wanted:
- Monthly rent: under $1,000 USD
- 5 blocks from the beach and from grocery stores
- Two bedrooms
- High-speed internet
- Air conditioning
Not only does this help you focus and filter out the hundreds of apartments listed, but it’s also an essential part of the next step.
Read More: How to Live Abroad and Travel the World as an Online English Teacher
Needle in a Haystack
Now that you know which neighborhood you want to live in and what kind of apartment you want, you’re ready to collect some listings. The trick here is to filter through the noise and only get quality listings for long-term rentals in Puerto Vallarta. I used three sources to collect listings and then filtered them using the steps in the Shortlist section below.
Source One
Get a realtor. But a good one. I worked with several at first but quickly settled on Juan C Rodrigez. He is extremely helpful and one of his apartments made my shortlist. I would have gone for that one had I not found the one I’m in right now.
The reason I suggested a good realtor as a first step is that even if you don’t end up getting an apartment from them, you’ll learn a lot from a good one. That information will help you in your search in general.
But, the thing with realtors in Puerto Vallarta is many of them just throw their listings to you in a zombie-like fashion. Most don’t take your top-5 list into consideration. Basically, offloading the work to you.
Whenever a realtor starts spamming me, I immediately spam back with my top-5 list. Another reason to have your list ready. If they keep spamming, I tell them to stop contacting me because they’re not paying attention to my list. They usually pay attention after that.
Source Two
Go on Airbnb and adjust the following two settings:
- Set your map on the neighborhood that you’re interested in.
- Set your date range for at least 2 months.
This will show you the long-term rate (usually 30-40% off). It will also give you a hint about the landlord’s interest in long-term rentals.
Now sort by price and open each of the apartments that you like in a new tab. Once you’re done, go to each tab and contact the host by following these instructions, but be sure that each tab is on the listing’s page and not the result page.
From the listing’s page:
- Click Contact Host on the listing page.
- Enter any random date that is available on the calendar.
- Write your message and click Send Message.
My response rate was about 30%, so keep that in mind as you decide on how many landlords you’d like to contact.
A gorgeous apartment with a huge terrace and an amazing landlord made my shortlist by using this method.
Here is the message I was sending:
Un, Dos, Tres
Join the Puerto Vallarta Facebook groups that specialize in rentals including the Puerto Vallarta Everything you need to know groups (admin allows owners to list their own listings sometimes).
Here are some links to the ones I found the most useful:
- Rentals In Puerto Vallarta for Locals and Long Term Visitors
- Puerto Vallarta: Everything You Need Or Want To Know
- Rentas en Puerto Vallarta
- PV bay snowbird rentals
These could easily become a time sink, so what I did was save the posts that fit my top-5 list, and once a day, usually after work, I would contact the landlords one by one asking for more details. If all checks out, I would set up an appointment, otherwise, I would delete it from the list.
Here are the steps on how to create a list on Facebook and save posts in it:
- Click on the arrow in the top right section of the listing you like (see image)
- Next, click on the Save link.
- Click on Add to collection.
- Scroll down and click on the Create new collection.
- Name your collection something like “PV-Rentals”
Shortlist
After viewing apartment number five, I found myself confusing apartments. Which one had the neighbor with the barking dogs, but an amazing view?
Things can get mixed up very quickly.
What helped me keep track of all the apartments was starting a list (I used excel) that rated the apartments based on my top-5 list. So each criterium had a ranking and then an average. Sort by average, pick the top 3, and voila! You’ve got yourself a top-3 list.
I think a shortlist is extremely important because not only does it give you options, but it also helps you with negotiations. You can stand firmer with your demands because you know that you have real options.
And Now the Tips
First, have a pre-written email template ready to send to realtors when they ask you about your budget.
Everyone will ask you “what’s your budget?”. Simply cut and paste your template and save yourself some typing. Whenever a lazy realtor starts spamming you with listings, tell them that it doesn’t match your description and resend them your template. They’ll usually adjust and start to get more serious.
Second, consider unfurnished apartments if you’re set on PV for more than one year.
I calculated the cost of furnishing an apartment at a mid-level quality and it came out to about $3,000. That comes out to about $250/month over one year. If you find an unfurnished apartment that’s to your liking that’s more than $250 under your budget, AND you can secure a 2-year lease, then you should consider that option.
Finally, there’s free legal help provided by OAATRE to foreign nationals.
It’s located on Calle Venustiano Carranza at the corner of Pino Suarez Street. Attorneys there can help you go over your contract to make sure there isn’t anything out of the ordinary. I highly recommend that you do so. It could help you avoid being stuck in a bad lease.
Good luck in your search for long-term rentals in Puerto Vallarta and I hope you enjoy this amazing place as much as I have! Feel free to drop me a line at [email protected].
Thank you to Ignacio for this post! Many of our readers have reached out asking for advice on how to find a place in Puerto Vallarta. We were fortunate to find something on the first try so we’ve never done an extensive apartment hunt.
Here are other posts to give you more information about life in Puerto Vallarta:
- Cost of Living in Puerto Vallarta
- 31 Kickass Things to do in Puerto Vallarta
- The Perfect Puerto Vallarta Vacation
- Best Cafes and Coworking Spaces for Digital Nomads in Puerto Vallarta
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I enjoyed your information,could you send me Juan Rodrigues information as I will be in PV in October.Thank you,Marita Furman
Hi! I’m glad you enjoyed the post. Here is a link to Juna’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=718027586
That’s the best way I know to reach him. You can also find his posts in any of the Facebook groups listed in this blog post. Hope this helps 🙂
Hello Rachel and Sasha,
We’ve been watching a few of you vids on Youtube as we are attempting to move to PV in November from Ontario, Canada. We’ve been looking through the (seemingly endless) options/websites of rentals in the area and it is quite overwhelming. Have you any suggestions on who we could connect with in order to facilitate a rental?
Thanks, Mike and Chris
Hi, Michael! Sorry it’s taken me some time to get back to you! I would recommend contacting Juan Rodriguez. He is very helpful and has a great reputation around PV. I believe his contact information is above in the post. Otherwise, definitely join the Facebook groups mentioned here. They are our go-to for finding a place. Good luck and let me know if you have other questions!
Cheers 🙂
I am 12 yrs fulltime in PV Emiliano Zapata – I am looking for a reasonable studio under or around 5000p
we are moving to PV in July and looking for a rental for 28 months, ideally in El Tigre community, any suggestions? nothing on Airbnb listed for that area
Hi, Margaret! El Tigre is in Nuevo Vallarta and we’re not so familiar with that area. I think the best thing to do is book a hotel or another Airbnb for a week or two and find a place once you arrive. You’ll be able to see it and get a feel for the area this way. Good luck! Sorry, I can’t be more helpful. Come back and let us know if you find a place 🙂
Thank you Sasha for a very helpful article on “How to Find Longterm Rental”.
Have you done any update to this Article since August 2019 ?
Thank you,
Lance Pool
Hi, Lance! No, we haven’t updated this article but the tips here are still the best for finding a long-term rental. Let me know if you have other questions 🙂
Thank you Rachael for al this great information. Got my homework cut out for me.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Pablo! Thanks so much for reading the post. Let me know if you have other questions 🙂
This is a wonderful article with clear and organized, down to earth advice. I love it. Thank you so much!
This makes me so happy to hear 😀
Thank you. My experience of living in San Miguel de Allende for 6 months last year was very enjoyable. May all burdens be light and journeys be in lighting.
Hi, Mark! We had an amazing time when we visited San Miguel de Allende. I’m sure living there was really awesome. Thank you for checking out the post 🙂
Rachel, I have been considering 4-6 months to live in Puerto Vallarta with two small children since all this social distancing learning will be taking place, what would you recommend with children ages 6 & 9. Areas (safe neighborhoods) , schooling, activities for kids, etc.. am so new to all this I have never lived out side of USA
Hi, Rosio! I’m honestly not sure about the best areas for kids. The best thing to do would be to join one of the Facebook groups and ask there. You’ll likely get some negative comments but just ignore them and respond to the people who give you real advice. I’m sorry I can’t offer more assistance as far as things for kids go, but moving out of the USA isn’t as hard it might feel like sometimes. Especially if you’re moving somewhere like Puerto Vallarta that has a large white immigrant population. Feel free to let me know if you have other questions. I’m happy to help 🙂
Have put your site on my favorite list, great info! Wanting to live in Puerta Vallarta part of the year, so would have to rent new place each year . So challenging.
Hi, Katie!
Thank you so much for adding the site to your favorites 😀 That much made my day! Yes, finding a place in PV can be tough year after year but It gives you the chance to try out different parts of the city. Feel free to reach out if you have other questions!
Cheers,
Rachel
Looking to Snow Bird from Chicago to Puerto Vallarta . Jan. – May. Vacationed there in Dec. like the Hotel Zone. ?? Any recommendations . Was going the New Orleans Jazz Fest for the Dead & Company. Cancelled ?
Hi, Thomas! Bummer about Jazz Fest. It seems 2020 is going to be canceled. I’ve seen news reports saying we may not get concerts back until Fall 2021. I’m not really sure how I’ll live without live music for that long. I guess we’ll see! Hopefully that isn’t the case. Our favorite neighborhoods are 5 de Diciembre, Zona Romantica, and Versailles. Unfortunately, I don’t have any advice other than what’s in this blog post. We were supposed to be arriving back in Puerto Vallarta two days from now. Sadly, I don’t know when we’ll be able to come back. Maybe we can meet up for a cerveza when we finally do! Stay safe out there 🙂
Great information, thank you
You’re welcome! I’m glad it was helpful ?