I have written before about the use of the expats different forums. The are very handy places for information. Anyone thinking about moving to Mexico or any foreign country should get onto that countries forums to ask questions and get a feel about the country. Again I used the forum and wrote out my situation about the water and found out something new. Here is a reply to my question.
Donna, I assume that you’re aware that city water doesn’t run to your house 24/7? They direct the water to different streets on different days, and for only a portion of the day. The black tank on the roof (tinaco), typically holds about 1,100 liters but could be as small as 450 liters. It’s your buffer against the times there’s no city water coming in. Others homes have an underground cistern (aljibe) that is much larger, typically 4,000 liters or more, and a pump to pressurize the house.
If a person averages more water usage than what comes in during the intermittent fill cycles from the city, eventually either type of storage will run dry and you’re out of water. Another possibility is that the automatic float valve that’s supposed to control filling the tinaco or aljibe may be mal-functioning, and you’re not filling up properly.
Well now that is interesting news to hear after I have lived here for a year.
Now all I have to do is figure out how to solve the problem in getting enough water in the aljibe and still use water and keep enough water in there. Ya I will just do that - tonight. Right.
That was not the only new thing I discovered today.
The Owner of this house was not present when I rented it. I rented the house through her brother in law and her sister. Questioned then about a contract - no contract. The sister said that her sister is not like that. Want to bet on that?
So that you understand the emotions that are going on with us, go back to the post dated 10/12 titled; "We moved, well maybe we did not move?" Read that post and then come back to this post.
I have yet to met with this lady but now she wants a deposit and a contract. She sent the terms of the contract to me in an email and this below.
I would like to clarify some things about the house and the terms of rent.
All the instalations like water heather, pump, all wires were working well when you arrive to the house. In the future if you have any problem you will have to pay someone to fix it. Every apartment of the house has the gas and electricity services separatly, then you only pay what you consume. The water of the house is all together, that`s why I will always pay for this service. Because the actual conditions of the house the rent is $4000.00 pesos, very accesible price for the space and the furniture. Any improve or fixing to the house will be totally cover for you. As you know the property is on sale, when we have a possible client Patricia or I will make and appointment with you and with the agreement of date and time we will show the house to the client. The contract of rent will be for 6 months. The -one month rent in deposit- is a requirement and will be return to you at the end of the contract. If the house sold of course we will respect the time of the contract. If the house doesn`t sold during this time, we can renovate the contract if we both agree with the terms of rent. Please let me know what you think.
I found out that this is a normal Mexican rental contracts are and that if you do not have a Mexican contract then the courts would not honor any other kind of contract. So, in he states, the owner is responsible for all repairs in Mexico the renter is responsible and if you happen to own rental property in the states and rent in Mexico you will have to repair two homes. Hay, all is fair in love and renting homes.
Well this house that I live in is very old. Had I known about the contract for rent I would not have rented it. To be responsible for all repairs to a house this age is asking for trouble and a way to spend money. That is not what coming to Mexico for us is about. We are now looking at different rentals - with a contract up front and a newer building that will not hopefully require few if any repairs. Boy am I tired of moving. Sometimes I look at the lovely home that I have in the states and wonder what the heck I am doing in Mexico. Then I see the freedom and learning that is taking place with my son and I am alright again. Living in Mexico has many different ways to it. Many come here with the equity from homes sold in the U.S. and purchase a home here. They live well and they live on the money from the equity and their social security checks very nicely. Others, like myself, come here with no money, rent and usually help their income from the social security checks by getting a job or have other money coming in. You can live in Mexico for a thousand a month but you will live like a Mexican and very few people from the states want to live that way. Housing is Mexican housing - may have caulking around pains of glass in the windows or may have just a hole with a drape over it. You can find housing here for just 100.00 dollars a month but you may not want to live there. It is all a mind set. Just how Mexican do you wish to go? Or, just how much money do you wish to live on? They seem to be in a direct relationship to each other. The one thing that I really believe is necessary before moving to a foreign country is to learn their language, the cultural differences, the weather and conditions in different parts of that country and of course the currency. It has cost me a lot of money because I did not know the language. |
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