Seeking advice Furnished Rental SJ metro area

Member since 25 June 2015

positivemaMember25 June 2015 12:40:33

Hello, looking for a recommendation on area as well as a real estate agent helpful to new comers to the island. We have been combing through CL and Classificados looking for a place to live which connected us with a few realtors yesterday to view a few properties, and will be viewing more today. We just arrived to PR with bare essentials, would like furnished if possible to avoid purchasing all new household items... makes me miss the thrift stores back home. I have never expierenced living in an area where everything and everyone is behind bars, layers of bars in fact! Very different from the surrounding open farm grounds of Illinois where we left our keys in the car and the house unlocked. One agent wanted all our credit and finance history before we could even view a rental. They where very pushy on the fact we need to be pre-qualified for a mortgage to purchase and want us to sign a rent to buy agreement.... no thank you. Is this normal, can someone recommend an expat agent???

Thank you all

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Gary ViP

Member since 09 April 2006

GaryViP25 June 2015 13:16:26

1845

positivema wrote:
One agent wanted all our credit and finance history before we could even view a rental. They where very pushy on the fact we need to be pre-qualified for a mortgage to purchase and want us to sign a rent to buy agreement.

Definitely not the agent that you need. In Classificados Online you should be able to find places that you can rent directly from the owner, that would be what I'd recommend.It's normal to pay one month rent in advance as security which you get back (or not) when you move out.

Anolis Contributor

Member since 07 April 2014

AnolisContributor25 June 2015 14:29:35

114

Vida Urbana (vidaurbanapr.com) manages a bunch of furnished rentals (select 'long term rentals' for rentals 6 mo. or longer). You could probably pay less by following Gary's advice & renting directly from the owner, but this company is trustworthy & the agents are not pushy at all.

trekrider520 Serial expat

Member since 26 December 2013

trekrider520Serial expat25 June 2015 15:19:28

257

We used TIRI real estate and they were fantastic. They picked us up from the hotel we were staying at and drove us around to many different places in metro SJ. We filled out the generic form on their website and within hours they responded to us. Our agents eventually found us an apartment in the exact building we were looking at in OSJ. Best of luck in your search!!

positivema Member

Member since 25 June 2015

positivemaMember25 June 2015 16:15:01

Thank you all for repling!

positivema Member

Member since 25 June 2015

positivemaMember27 June 2015 13:04:22

Hello All, We found a nice, clean, secure furnished condo and leased it for two years starting July 13 in Guaynabo last night. Looked at numerous rentals and was very happy to finally find this unit. It was on clasificados, agent was stellar and owners are fantastic. Nicest thing about the unit is it has been their home and just are moving to a new home and leaving most of the items we dont have. There is a big positive difference when moving into someones personal home versus moving into someones rental property, at least from the units we viewed. Now we just need to find temporary arrangements till mid July and find a good car. Looked at several that have been much less than advertised.... i have always worked on cars, so am comfortable with used. Sorry for the rant, the coffee here is great!!!

Schuttzie Serial expat

Member since 22 April 2014

SchuttzieSerial expat27 June 2015 16:28:49

824

Yeah, good for you that you found a place so quickly! Hopefully, the car seller link that some posted will work out for you, too!

trekrider520 Serial expat

Member since 26 December 2013

trekrider520Serial expat27 June 2015 17:31:11

257

Congrats on finding a place! For coffee, Gustos Coffee (Mario Julia Industrial Park) and Cuatro Sombras (in OSJ) are my favorites!!

ReyP ViP

Member since 09 May 2015

ReyPViP27 June 2015 22:08:20

5509

positivema wrote:
Hello All, We found a nice, clean, secure furnished condo and leased it for two years starting July 13 in Guaynabo last night. Looked at numerous rentals and was very happy to finally find this unit. It was on clasificados, agent was stellar and owners are fantastic. Nicest thing about the unit is it has been their home and just are moving to a new home and leaving most of the items we dont have. There is a big positive difference when moving into someones personal home versus moving into someones rental property, at least from the units we viewed. Now we just need to find temporary arrangements till mid July and find a good car. Looked at several that have been much less than advertised.... i have always worked on cars, so am comfortable with used. Sorry for the rant, the coffee here is great!!!

How many bedrooms in the condo, what are you paying for the place and does it include utilities?