Rental nightmares in Panama

@Cheryl

In a new location I would suggest finding a short term rental first before renting a place for the longer term. Often you will have to take care of certain issues yourself instead of counting on the landlord. This should be reflected in the amount of rent you will be paying. I would rent an unfurnished place and buy my own furniture which in the long run turns out to be less expensive and you will have nicer stuff.  In my own case I drove down here in a motorhome and parked it on some land I bought. I lived in the motorhome while I was building my house. That was 26 years ago. Actually it will be 27 years this December. If you can swing it and plan on staying in Panama permanently I think it is better to own your own place. Of course you might want to rent for the first year or two.

Planning on making the move and renting first next year so I'll be keeping an eye on this thread

i’m gonna make this short and sweet because I have to go to work soon. So I lived in Panama for one year and that was around 13 years ago. I rented a house in Pedro Miguel next to the canal for $250 a month. It was supposed to be all utilities paid, but then the landlord tried to renege on the deal and so I just moved out after a month. I also rented a house in Volcan for $200 a month. I had to fix half of everything there. I am a building mechanic so it wasn’t really a big Deal. That was a long time ago so I’m sure that’s not very helpful. Also, my wife is Panamanian so that gives me an upper hand. Remember, there are two prices in Panama. One for the natives and one for the gringo. I lived many other places also, but most of them were with friends or family members. if any of you are thinking about moving to Penonomé, you are be welcome to chat with me. I have a house there that I might rent or sell. it is about 30 minutes north of the city.

Thank you for the information Jim. We would be more interested in buying a home rather than renting but will certainly keep your experiences in mind. We plan to make several visits to western Panama  before any move to make sure we have a good understanding of the area and circumstances.

Al

@Cheryl

Donna and I are thinking of a vacation to the Boquete area in a few weeks to look over the area and see if we might be interested in moving there. We would appreciate recommendations on hotels, real estate brokers, and housing developers/builders that have good reputations in the area and would be good to talk to while we're there as well as any nearby areas like Volcan that are also good areas for Expats to settle.

Thanks: Al

@gandalfwz

i highly recommend renting for a while before buying here, especially if this is your first expat experience!

Even after extensive research, there are many who take the leap, buy a house, then determine that expat life is not for them. Buying a home is easy, selling is not!

Even within Alto Boquete, where I live, there are many microclimates and the temperatures can vary greatly depending on your elevation. There are also other aspects to a specific location, like noise, stray animals, road quality, infrastructure, etc.

Renting short term (Airbnb, VRBO) for a month or so gives you time to find a longer term rental with boots on the ground exploration. If after experiencing both raining and windy season, experiencing daily life here - medical and dental care, shopping, social activities, differences in culture and customer service, etc., for 6 months or more, you’ll be better positioned to choose a home to purchase.