To rent or not to rent...

 Hmm

So I have been thinking of buying another house.. to rent out for income.  But, is that really the smartest thing to do? 

Barbara picked me up in her car in the morning.  I made my way along the cobblestone road in front of my gated community.  It was flowing with the overflow from the overwhelmed, most likely broken, sewage system.  It has been getting continually worse since I got here.  

It has been a long rainy season here.  The amount of water falling has been exceptional this year, add to that a water spout, too much new construction and a developer that decided to reroute the river, and you are asking for trouble.  Just a couple of weeks ago a big rainstorm added to an already overloaded eco system and there was a huge mud slide.. well, a lot of mudslides.  They took out homes and businesses all in West Ajijic. People were left without homes, but thankfully, no lives were lost. 

The manhole cover just outside my gate is almost sideways.  The water is boiling out of it and someone has put a tire there, on its side, marking the gaping hole hidden by the whole mess.  There are loose stones and a bit of orange tape attempting to mark it, yet still there are drivers that drop down and grab more of the stones, dragging them along with their undercarriage.  I have to step lightly, past another tire, held up with sticks and also surrounded by the overflow.  I make my way carefully, on foot (wearing my boots) toward where Barbara is parked.  

She is showing me a place in an older gated community.  They want $75,000 for a one bedroom.  We walk through gorgeous grounds and a lovely swimming pool, checking the numbers on the two story older complex.  We finally find #25 against the back wall.  It looks, rustic.. interesting.  But it is the lower apartment that is for rent.  The keys don't fit.  The window is grimy.. but I can look in and see how dark it actually is, and suspect that there is no actual bedroom, just a bed in the back.  

I decide that won't work.  We don't need to go inside. 

The next place is a gorgeous, three year old place also inside a gated community.  It has been meticulously kept up with new appliances, three bathrooms, two bedrooms. There is a big deck on the upper level and lots of light.   It is so clean and gorgeous, but there is no pool, no yard and .. well, it is right in the area where the mud slides came down. 

They have been cleaning up the mud for the last few weeks.  A bike path was put in while I was in Canada.. it stretches from Chapala almost all the way to Jojotepec.. Pieces were wiped out with the slides.  There are dozers, backhoes and people still working to clean it off, and repair it.  A nursery was wiped out across the road, a few of the smaller businesses in Palapas, and larger ones in actual businesses..  A few homes on the lakeside of the road.  It didn't damage any of the units here.. but, there is a great pile of dirt being hauled away as we pass by, in front of the wall that surrounds the complex.  Yes.. I would worry about the next time. 

We looked at a few more places.. a really old, musty smelling one, also in West Ajijic, but closer to town away from the slides.  It is surrounded by a lovely rock wall - one of those places that doesn't look like much until the gates open and reveal the small complex, the pool and the lovely ground.  But inside the apartment nothing had been upgraded.. which is rather cool until I thought about the electrical.. and plumbing.. and the narrow walkway up to the laundry on the roof top.  Cool, but, it would need a lot of love, and I was looking for a rental.  

The next one was on the other side of where I live.. toward Chapala.. behind Mirasol.  It was newer - Karen and I visited this five unit complex four or five years ago, when it was just being constructed.  

The builder, the owner, had been living in the unit that was for sale, and had done nothing with it but live in it.  It was dirty and unfinished.  He smoked.  The pool was lovely, but, it wasn't for me either.  

Then we were up on the Libremento checking out an older condo complex that was probably what I should be looking at.  A community of tourists, largely Canadian snowbirds.  It was nice, with a pool and common areas.  It could work, but is small and.. worn.. 

Well, by now I am not so sure.  

Do I want to deal with new government regulations.  Should I be buying in Canada rather than Mexico?  Should I be buying at all? or.. should I just chill and take it slowly slowly.. 

Damn life can be .. a fine balance of so many things.  I have No idea what to do. 

And now.. there is a place in this complex for sale.. tempting me.  It is in wonderful shape, lots of renos done.   It could be a good move or it could just mean more things to stress me out.  Hmmm - HELP!