Move to Playa del Carmen Mexico

Say the word immigration in Mexico and you might get a similar reaction as you would saying Internal Revenue Service in the United States. It seems everyone has a bad word for immigration, generally in the context of immigration being slow and ineffiecient. Perhaps we need to take a step back and reconsider our opinion.

After I spent eight hours in the US Passport office getting my US Passport renewed, I’m not too quick to judge Mexico’s immigration office with regard to speed or efficiency. After all  I’m an American who has had a passport since 1979, but it took a special trip to Miami and a day out of my life to get it renewed in less than four months. I spent about an hour at the Mexican consulate in Miami to get my FM3 Rentista. Not bad by comparison.

The real test was getting my FM3 registered at the Playa del Carmen immigration office. My wife and I started with an attitude that it would be a process. Our comforting thought was that if we stand in line long enough, we would get our FM3s validated. Yes it seemed tedious, but I have never applied for a Visa in the United States. I bet it’s just as tedious for Mexican’s applying there.

Our first step was to take all the documentation to the local immigration office that we took to the Miami consulate. The first objective was to get past the document checker at the door of the immigration office. We didn’t make it. My wife and I both needed to complete a form and write a letter in Spanish requesting our FM3 status. The Immigration Officer was courteous and attempted to speak to us in English since we couldn’t communicate with her in the native language of the country we were seeking to live in. We suspect that the Immigration Officers seemed a little aggravated by our poor Spanish skills, but we were determined to get through the process.

After our first visit we reminded ourselves….if we stand in line long enough we will get our FM3s registered.

With our second visit a week later, we came armed with our completed immigration forms, all our documentation, and our letters of request typed in Spanish. Again we failed to pass the document check. Our forms were fine, but our letters were inappropriate even though we had paid $20 USD to have them translated. But we were close and the Immigration officer took it upon herself to scratch through and correct our letters to such an extent that the copy and passport photo vendor down the hall was able to determine the letter we needed. We paid him another $200 pesos to provide the correct letters for us. We walked back to the head of the line at the document desk – as instructed by the Immigration Officer on duty there – and we were directed to take a seat in the waiting area. We made progress. After about an hour, we were called by name to Mesa II. It’s really not a table, but a section of the service counter. Now another Immigration Officer examined all our documents individually then began to stamp, stamp, stamp…rubber stamping each document. It felt like progress. He then created a file folder for both of us, took our FM3s we were given in Miami, and asked us to return in two weeks with one form that he gave us that had our file number written on it. He informed us that the file numbers were important and we should not lose them. He spoke to us in English and was very understandable.

After our second visit we reminded ourselves….if we stand in line long enough we will get our FM3s back.

Two weeks later we again returned. We checked in at the document desk and we were given a yellow tag with a number on it for Mesa I. Again, Mesa I is not a table, but the left end of the service counter when facing it. After a good hour wait, we were called to the counter. We gave the Immigration Officer our forms with our file numbers and we were asked to take a seat. We waited another hour. We were then called back to the counter and the Immigration Officer began talking to us in Spanish. We were clueless. I informed him that we did not speak Spanish well. He told us that he didn’t speak English well – then just stared at us for what seemed like a long while. Then he started over in very good English explaining that our files had been reviewed but needed to be approved by the supervisor. He then made an appointment for us to return in two weeks with passport photos. The appointment was for a specific date…not a date and time.

After our third visit we reminded ourselves….if we stand in line long enough we will get our FM3s back.

We returned in two weeks on the day of our appointment. We visited the passport photo vendor who had helped us with our letter. It took him about 20 minutes to take our photos and print them. We then checked in at the document desk. We were given another yellow call tag for Mesa I. We waited again. The Immigration Officer a Mesa I – the one who claimed not to speak English – was backed up. We had number 14 and he was on number 20 when we first arrived. That meant we would have to wait until number 30 was called, then wait for next 13 ahead of us. I took a nap. To our suprise, another Immigration Officer began working Mesa I along with the Mesa I Officer and the line began to move more quickly. After about an hour and fifteen minutes we were called by the assisting Immigration Officer. She took our form with our file numbers and our passport photos and returned quickly with our files. While she spoke Spanish, she was asking questions that we understand…such as mothers name, our age, etc. She kindly helped us out in English when we stumbled. In a matter of a few minutes, she began to fingerprint us and glue our passport photos on forms signed by the supervisor. We were asked to sign the documents attesting to their accuracy. She then handed us our complete and registered FM3s.

Remember, if you wait in line long enough, you will get your FM3s.

Looking back on the process, we were out much less time getting our FM3s registered in Playa than we were getting our US Passports renewed. While the immigration process took patience, I suspect that there was a method to the process. Afterall, providing a foreigner permission to live in your country for year should not be as easy as ordering a burger. Perhaps the Mexican government is testing our resolve to complete the process.

Are you going to rent or buy in Playa del Carmen? This will be one of the first questions you will have to answer when you make the decision to move to Playa. Of course, your financial resources will be a major factor in that decision. For some of us, buying is simply not a good option. However, no matter your financial strength, it might be wise to live here for six months or a year before you make the decision to buy. God forbid, but you may simply hate it here.

I strongly recommend that you come to Playa before renting. While you can find photos and descriptions on the Internet, there are many factors to consider that will require your presence. Number one is location. When leasing, location is just as important as it is when buying. You will find pictures of lovely condos on the Internet, but you will want to observe the location firsthand. What if the condo is at the end of an unpaved road that turns into a muddy mess when it rains? What if there is new construction next door that generates annoying construction noise 10 to 12  hours a day? Perhaps the condo or apartment that looks so great on the Internet has common areas that are not maintained. What about security? What about access to cable and high speed Internet? These are the kind of things you’ll want to check out first hand.

Here are my suggestions for finding a long term rental in Playa del Carmen.

 1) A month or two before you arrive, begin to monitor the rental ads online at www.Andale.com.mx. They’re in Spanish. You can use an online translator to help in your understanding, but if your Spanish is weak you may still find it difficult. Nevertheless, you will get some idea of availability and price.

2) A couple weeks before arriving, make contact with the advertisers of properties that interest you. Explain exactly what you’re looking for, when you want to move in, and how long you want to lease for. I recommend that you make contact by email if possible. It will be easier to keep your options sorted out.

3) Make a post on yucatan.craigslist.org detailing what you’re looking for. This is not a very active resource at the time of this writing, but you never know what may come from your post. It’s free, and only takes a moment.

4) Prior to your arrival, make appointments to see any properties that are interesting to you. This will give you a quick introduction to the type of properties available and their location – but don’t skip the next step.

5) Once you decide on the area of Playa where you want to live, put on your walking shoes and look for ‘Se Renta’ signs on doors, gates, and balconies. This is important because many properties in Playa are not advertised in any other way. You are also more likely to find a place that you can rent directly, without a property manager or agent, and therefore save yourself some money. Also check the bulletin board at Walmart.

6) Double check any statements regarding the availability of phone service, cable, and Internet. By double checking, I mean go to Cablemas and TelMex to check availability of service at the specific address. Failure to do this may lead to an unpleasant suprise. Of course, if the home, apartment, or condo is occupied, you might be able to check the service personally if currently installed. It’s also very important to find out what’s included and what is not. All inclusive leases will seem very high, but electricity can easily run $300.00 a month. If electricity is included, the a higher rent may be justified. Propane gas and water will not be a big factor in your cost of living here.

7) Consider the noise environment. Apartments along 5th Avenue can be quite noisy. Complexes that rent primarily to tourists on a weekly basis can be noisy. Consider traffic noise if the property is along a major street or avenue.

8) Do you have a language barrier with your landlord or property manager? If you can’t communicate well with your landlord, then any problems that may arise during your lease will be difficult to resolve.

9) Negotiate your lease. It was our experience in almost every case that the rent went up if we showed any interest in the property. Usually it was a maintenance or security fee that was not included in the original price quotation. I recommend that you ask for a detailed breakdown of the rent before you look at the property. Additionally, if you’re serious about a property, I would try to negotiate a lower price. It never hurts to ask. We were able to negotiate a $100.00 USD reduction in our monthly rent in return for a one year lease.

10) You’ll no doubt meet locals who have the ideal place for you or will want to assist you in finding a place. That can be helpful, but be careful and don’t be hustled. One man saw us copying the phone number from a ’Se Renta’ sign. He introduced himself and wanted to assist us with the property as if that was his business. He quoted us a price that turned out to be $200.00 USD higher than the price the owner quoted us. On another ocassion, a waiter at a restaurant offered to show us an apartment in his complex when he learned we were looking for place to live. The apartment turned out to be quite nice, fairly priced, well maintained, and one we seriously considered. You never know, but be cautious about turning your search over to a well intentioned third party who may not really know the market or be in the business.

Long term rentals are available in Playa del Carmen. (You might want to check here – great folks.) Don’t feel pressured to rent something long term over the Internet because it may not be available when you arrive.  If you’re arriving in the summer months, it’s a renter’s market. Even during the high season, there will be properties available for long term lease.

 Good luck with your search!