The truth about living in Mauritius

What do you mean by "how estate agents work", DSMurray? I intend to move to Mauritius in July/August and wish to rent a bungalow (preferably "pieds dans l'eau", on the beach) in Grand Baie or Pereybere. Any advice about how to proceed, things to avoid? Thanks in advance.

As for your post, hmmm, I would say that much of what you say applies to other countries. To caricature, I would say that some people in Mauritius (or elsewhere, for that matter) see the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, hear about Saint-Laurent, Dior, etc. and believe that France or Paris is a fantastic place to live in (I'm talking about France because this is where I happen to live, but this would be true of the US too, the famous 'American dream'). It indeed is for many, but for some others, it's just a nightmare.

Welcome on Expat.com!

If you chose a bungalow close to the beach, make sure it's a secure one (some of them get "visited")

You'll have to pay 2 or 3 month deposit.

Pointe aux Cannonier is a very nice area too

Estate Agents have a different way of operating. Renting a house here is very different. An estate agent is really nothing more than a landlord-tenant matchmaking service. They don't have any involvement in the property after you sign the lease agreement.

You will be expected to pay a one or two month deposit, PLUS an 'agency fee' equivalent to one months' rent.

Also bear in mind that the deposit goes straight to the landlord, NOT into an interest bearing account as it is supposed to.

As such, the deposit is normally spent by the landlord very early on, and most people realise that they will never get it back.

In VERY rare cases, you might find a landlord that will give it back, but I've never heard of that.

It's true that each and every person has his way of doing this. This doesn't make Mauritius something special. You could also be unhappy in France and UK..like many Mauritians who moved over there.

I think every person has to make sure what he wants and how he wants to achieve it. Mauritius is not special (I repeat). In every country, you have the Gods and the crooks...so? I totally adhere to what Neel says.

As for deposits going into a security account 'as it is supposed to' hmmm, let me frown at that. The principle is correct, but we need to check whether this is LAW in Mauritius. What's legal elsewhere doesn't necessary means legal in Mauritius also..

I run my consultancy, specialised in business set-ups and immigration, and Murray I can agree with you. Just know one thing though, an immigration consultant might cheat or lie, but the client has the immigration office and the police to report to. In such complaints the swindler loses his permits.

Agreed, Nadeem, but if the 'swindler' has relatives in the police or immigration office?

Come on, man - you know how it works here. You know that a single contact or relative in government is all it takes to 'get things done'

Are you going to say that you've never called in a favour or a friend in a government department to get something done that would normally be difficult to do?

@ Julien: Thank you! And thank you also for the advice you on this blog. Pointe-aux-Cannoniers is indeed another nice area. I've made a (albeit, rapid) search on the web, and there are a few nice options (though I find the rent VERY expensive). And, upon visiting a governmental website this morning, I was stunned to see explicitly written that people visiting Mauritius "should be especially careful in Grand Baie and Pereybere because of thefts."

@ DSMurray: I'm surprised by what you say with respect to deposits. Irrespective of whether the landlord spends the money immediately or not, I would expect him to refund the deposit at the end of the stay.

I used to live in the Uk, Landlord are as bad and
are as good in both Mauritius and UK. Some do return the
deposit some dont. So as the government and everything
else. Still I dont mind Mauritius

100% of the people I know here got their deposit back

... of course there are crooks as everywhere else in the world, just be careful and sign a rent contract!

Julien wrote:

100% of the people I know here got their deposit back

... of course there are crooks as everywhere else in the world, just be careful and sign a rent contract!

I'm relieved to read this, Julien!

Hi there, I've just registered in this forum.
I'm reading some discussions about living in Mauritius with a lot of interest because me and my family are planning to come and visit the place and present to the government a project that (if will be approved) will make us move over there.
I think, as the other guys said, that everywhere you could find honest and dis-honest people, is up to you to make things go in a certain way (and up to fortune too, sometimes!).
Just a qestion ... do you think our idea (an internet cafè with a bar-corner and after some time a little training center IT based) will be a good idea?
Thanks in advance for your reply
Rain

rain wrote:

Just a qestion ... do you think our idea (an internet cafè with a bar-corner and after some time a little training center IT based) will be a good idea?
Rain

Why not? But note that your location is VERY important. By the way, ADSL is now cheaper (since March 5th)

Julien wrote:

rain wrote:

Just a qestion ... do you think our idea (an internet cafè with a bar-corner and after some time a little training center IT based) will be a good idea?
Rain

Why not? But note that your location is VERY important. By the way, ADSL is now cheaper (since March 5th)

My family maybe relocating to Mauritius within the next 2 months.

Just wanted to know, how much is ADSL and what other options are there (i.e. 3G)?

There are details on this page but it's writtn in french http://orange.mu/kinews/dossiers/techno … ieure.html
(I guess you'll understand the prices)

We'll be staying for two weeks in trou aux biches and probably will be the place to base opur internet cafè.
What about this place? A friend of us suggested it as touristic and the good place to base a business like this.
Just another question, maybe you can help me: how much could cost to rent a the place tro work and live? I explain better: we thought to choose a place to base the internet cafè, maybe in the same building as a litlle flat. We were thinking 50 mq + 50 mq (we have a child, so the flat must have 2 bedrooms, bath and dining+kitchen).
Thanks a lot,
Rain
P.S.: thanks God ADSL is cheaper!!!

I don't think there is enough people in Trou aux biches for an internet cafe

For your second question, it is very specific: it depends of your location. A basic house costs 20,000 rs per month but it don't know how much it would cost in a commercial area.