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I'm planning to retire to Mexico in early 2013. I'm planning to live in Ensenada a year or two before heading further south, perhaps to Oaxaca.

How do I find a rental? I think I prefer to live among the Mexican population and absorb the culture, rather than stay in a gringo enclave.

Craigslist has hardly anything for Ensenada -- everything they have is TJ or Rosarito.

Really don't even know where to begin to find a nice rental. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

Your best bet for finding such a rental property would be to spend a week in Ensenada and travel to different parts of town that interest you.

Buy a Telcel pay as you go phone - Plan Amigo. They are cheap and you can add money to the phone at any of the countless Oxxo mini-markets. With phone in hand, cruise the neighborhoods that interest you, talk to the locals at the corner market, gas station and taco stand. There are many, many options available but don't jump at the first one you like. Take some time, do your homework, ask questions about the neighborhoods here on the forum and you will find several good options to choose from.

Happy hunting and welcome to the forum!

Just get in your car and drive around the areas that appeal to you.......or, go to a realtor and take your chances.
I would suggest a rental in what you call a gringo enclave for a month or two while you get to know the area. There are desirable as well as undesirable locations which may not be evident to the newcomer. A mistake in your judgement while looking for a place to live could be costly.

good advice Dennis. First impressions are rarely accurate down here.

Yes, Craigslist is mostly for gringos. Locals tend to use OLX and Vivastreet. Ensenada is blessed with its own classified system, InstanTIPS, available both as a dot-com and as a printed magazine, highly recommended. The most traditional form of advertising rentals is to post 3x5 cards in the neighborhood market and handwritten signs on utility poles.

Renting sight-unseen is not a good idea. Not even at first-sight, as don Queso mentioned. The older buildings especially were built by people who didn't take into account things like drainage and modern three-phase electricity. And some tenants have had difficulties with the personal quirks of their landlords (and vice versa). It's always good to ask around the neighborhood of a place you're considering to rent -- and even then don't take all the chisme at face value.

The more upscale locals tend to live in Chapultepec (the hill north of town), Bahía (the section south of the hotels and north of Sanginés), and the central part of town between Ámbar and Reforma. There's a golf-course development south of town called San Carlos … or at least that's what it was called when they built it. Most of the recent construction has been for the working class, 'way into the hinterlands to the east.

Most rentals come without stove or refrigerator. You can buy those very cheaply at second-hand stores or very expensively new. You will also need a tank or two for the natural gas, along with a regulator. The tanks are also available second-hand for about US$40 and the regulators can be bought from hardware stores for about US$15 new. The guys who drive the gas trucks will hook things up for you.

Anything else? There's an ex-pat site worth checking out, Ensenada.com . And start learning Spanish. There are some schools for that in Ensenada, but you may as well get a head start now.

Originally Posted by arturo

Most rentals come without stove or refrigerator.

And...........make sure there's a water heater. Some rentals won't have one.

Originally Posted by DENNIS

And...........make sure there's a water heater. Some rentals won't have one.

Really? I haven't seen one yet without one but maybe I didn't look hard enough...

Originally Posted by BajaGringo

Really? I haven't seen one yet without one but maybe I didn't look hard enough...

Yeah, Dennis is right. It used to be that rentals were just the walls and doors and windows. Water heaters ("boilas") have become common these days but still ... I know one landlord who rented his place with a broken water heater to tenant after tenant, finally one tenant complained and he took it out!

Also don't expect to find curtains or light bulbs in the house. Sometimes yes, but mostly no.

Originally Posted by BajaGringo

Really? I haven't seen one yet without one but maybe I didn't look hard enough...

Houses in better neighborhoods will probably have one, but I, once upon a time, rented a house way out by the cemetary in Ensenada and it didn't have one. That didn't surprise any of my new neighbors.
I bought one and when I moved out, I took it with me so it was again a rental without a boiler.

Originally Posted by DENNIS

...I bought one and when I moved out, I took it with me so it was again a rental without a boiler.

And that is probably how it all begins. One renter figured for whatever reason he wasn't going to get his deposit back and found a way to cut his losses. The landlord, not wanting to buy a boiler again just rented the place without one...

Originally Posted by BajaGringo

And that is probably how it all begins. One renter figured for whatever reason he wasn't going to get his deposit back and found a way to cut his losses. The landlord, not wanting to buy a boiler again just rented the place without one...

You have a negative view of the human condition, don Queso. Rental contracts specify what amenities are present and in what condition they were received; taking a water heater would mean jail time.

It's not that ominous. In the old days, rentals were simply bare-bones. Tenants were expected to make their own repairs, like if the roof leaked. That bare-bones attitude still survives for commercial real estate, even in the United States.

Originally Posted by TacosDePescado

I'm planning to retire to Mexico in early 2013. I'm planning to live in Ensenada a year or two before heading further south, perhaps to Oaxaca.

How do I find a rental? I think I prefer to live among the Mexican population and absorb the culture, rather than stay in a gringo enclave.

Craigslist has hardly anything for Ensenada -- everything they have is TJ or Rosarito.

Really don't even know where to begin to find a nice rental. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

Various rentals listed in the Punta Banda Newsletter:

puntabandanewsletter-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

or Ensenada.net: Ensenada.Net :: El Portal de la Ciudad

Originally Posted by arturo

You have a negative view of the human condition, don Queso. Rental contracts specify what amenities are present and in what condition they were received; taking a water heater would mean jail time.

I took my water heater. Had it been necessary for me to put on a roof, I'd have taken that as well. The landlord wasn't about to be a decent owner so I did what I had to do. He didn't mind.

Originally Posted by DENNIS

I took my water heater.

If you bought the water heater, then take it with you by all means. Take everything that's yours when you leave. It's when you take your landlord's water heater that the Código Penal kicks in.

Actually, I once had a neighbor who was late on her rent and her landlord decided to do some debt-collection by taking her gas tank. She called the cops and they slapped the landlord with a thousand-peso fine. "But she owes me rent!" he complained. "Do that again and we take you to the Ministerio Público" the cop said.

So there's something else to offer TacosDePescado: Watch out! Not all landlords are sane! (That's why I suggested asking around the neighborhood first.)

Originally Posted by arturo

You have a negative view of the human condition, don Queso.

No, just realistic. Been around that block more than a couple of times...

i need to find a home to rent close to schools and shopping centers !!i would like to see where can i find affordable decent homes !!!?

Originally Posted by eljo232002

i need to find a home to rent close to schools and shopping centers !!i would like to see where can i find affordable decent homes !!!?

'

Well for starters, what area are you looking for? And welcome to the forum...

Originally Posted by eljo232002

i need to find a home to rent close to schools and shopping centers !!i would like to see where can i find affordable decent homes !!!?

You need to explain these terms:

Close to.......................

affordable.........................

decent..............................

Ensenada covers a fairly large area. Are you looking to live in town / north / south???

We , my wife & I have just spent 5 days looking for rentals in Ensenada , my wife is Mexican & I´ve lived in Spain for the last 19 years , so both our Spanish is good.
1) in some cases the Mexicans up the prices to NON speaking Spanish.
2) many houses are NOT advertised in the web or papers, ONLY by a notice on the gate or in local filling stations, farmacias, or buy word of mouth.
3) Some of the photos in vivastreet are FALSE , We can speak from exsperience!!!!!
if you UNDERSTAND Spanish try the web site InstanTIPS or you can buy this from many OXXO shops. Try contacting Baja Bungalows . Mainly American house rentals on PUNTA BANDA .

Ask around , word & recomendationes are far better than any advert.

A word of advice ENSENADA is a lot bigger than it looks on a map , there are places to rent from VERY de-lux to normal and to meet all price ranges.

We contacted EVERY eastate agente listed in Ensenada , SOME never even bothered replying to our emails or phone calls !!!!! including 1 very much advertised in the US market place , upon visiting their website " IT WAS A RESTRAUNTE "!!!!!

Estate agents are NOT the same as Europe or the US , be carerfull.
We found 2 very very good ones , who showed us around , took us to houses that they had for rent , I am not aware that they speak English, if you contact me I´ll gladly send you their information