When we chose our Spanish Teacher & School, we also discovered a new friend.  Katya was instrumental in connecting us with one of her wonderful realtor friends.  Through this friend, we were able to find a great beach rental property for a fraction of the cost, given our length of stay. We will be staying at this property for 3 months.  It sits walking distance from the beach and has three bedrooms, a lovely kitchen, and even a community pool. Thankfully it offers Wifi, which we will need, and is close enough to the school, that our teachers will have no problems getting to us.  

The next two months, we were able to secure a fantastic rate at another beach property as well by contacting the owner directly and explaining our plans. We discovered the owner lives in Lancaster, PA, just 45 minutes from where we used to live!  She was willing to negotiate the price significantly, since we’d be staying during hurricane season (Sept-Oct), her slowest time of year.  This place has a 4th bedroom, so the girls will have a little extra room to spread out. It also allows us to have visitors, so that will be a treat (hint, hint…friends & family).  When we arrive in Playa del Carmen, we will be visiting this property first, to determine if it would be a good fit for our family.

A few lessons we learned:

1. It’s best to have a local help you negotiate rates, otherwise you could end up paying more than double. (Thank you, Katya, Jan, & Sylvia).

2. The longer you stay, the better chance you have of negotiating a lower price.

3. If you’re renting long term, make sure you realize the price often does not include utilities (water, gas, electric), and factor those costs in.  Electricity can be very expensive in places like Playa del Carmen!