Contract, Contravery, Change

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Well, the contract finally came to us. Apparently, the retired lawyer/manager of the place was having internet issues. (Does not bode well for us if we are uploading freelance design from that location...) But, we finally got it. I opened it immediately and read every line. I found two things wrong with it. The first was that the rent stated in the contract was for $650 when the owner said the price was $625. The second issue was that there was a whole section about how utilities will be split at the end of each month with the manager...we were under the impression that everything was included for that $625 price. So I sent a kind email reply stating my confusion. Sadly, the owner is either very old, not good at typing or English is not her first language...so her emails are like this ( water garbage kitchen complete. beautiful, casa, many amenities. Internet included but separate.) So needless to say there was some confusion. When she replied saying utilities were NOT included...I asked the manager what the average guess at monthly total utilities run. His reply (a few days later) was the average is $150 a month. Eep!!! So our inexpensive casita for $625 has suddenly become $775 per month. So since the price has gone up and since communication has been so bad and awkward...we are going to have to let that one go. It is too bad as it had fireplaces, a bath and a view...but Ronnie and I both feel it is just not right.

So we went back to our original plan. The first place we found and fell in love with was a small one bedroom casita a bit outside of town above a retired gringa's casa. There is a private patio, bedroom, private entrance, rooftop terrace, sala (living room) and kitchen. All utilities are truly included at a monthly rental of $500. The lady who owns and lives there is named Eleanor and we have had a great email connection. ( I also like that she is also reading A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle) So we were ready to put a deposit on this place but someone came in before us and took it from under us. Luckily, Eleanor still really likes us and wants us to come down. So the man staying there now is supposed to leave on July 1st. She is going to make sure this is in his plan before offering it to us as it is first come first serve...but she is pretty sure he is going to leave. This one feels right. It is in a smaller suburb of San Miguel, but the bus ride is only about 5 minutes to the center of town and it costs 4 pesos (35 cents) to ride.

If you want to see a tour of this apartment, here is the link. We will be in the "Guest Casita."

http://ts.tvpix.com/tour.display.php?utl=RS-0219-WRXHAK-01

So now we wait to hear from Eleanor. I still have not told the expensive place no...just to have a back-up plan.

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Photos

Guest Casita Patio
the other rental option