Tennis Bum

Can someone tell me why the spread is so great between what Google says is the exchange rate, and what the various banks give me when I use my US debit card to withdraw money? For example today the "official" rate should convert 8000 pesos to $403, but Scotia Bank charged me $453 to withdraw that amount. The other banks are no better.

It looks like it's necessary to create a post in order to turn off the Follow topic option? Here's hoping it works.

Update to my original post: I have put a security deposit down on a two bedroom apartment in Tlaquepaque Center after waiting 4 months for it to become available. That and the first month´s rent is all that the owner required, after using a law firm to conduct a credit investigation and background check for which I paid 850 pesos. The contract is lengthy and was prepared by the same law firm. The first few pages set out the terms of the Instituto de Justicia Alternativa's involvement should arbitration be needed to settle a dispute. I will have to pay 3,000 pesos to the firm when we sign the contract in their office, and this fee includes their service for filing it with the IJA.

It would seem the subject of paying with dollars in Mexico is worthy of discussion. I've been on forums where when posts started to veer off topic the moderator put them under a new one. I know I'm a newbie here, so just sayin'.

Nope, I did not know about that place. Then again I only just found out about a club with 3 practically brand new clay courts, that is just a few clicks from where I live. My coach told me about it last week. I think he had been holding out because he didn't want to lose my business.

It's not about what I think, it's about what the owners of the properties I'm looking at are insisting on, as explained in my original post.

I believe that's achieved with the sentencia ejecutoriada obtained at the Institute de Justicia Alternative, and at no or minimal cost.

Thanks, the lake sounds great and I look forward to my first visit to Aiijic. But unlike many here I'm not retired, and much of my potential business is in GDL, and so are most of the nice professional Tapatia ladies I've been meeting on Tinder. Also, I'm an avid tennis player and like to drill several times a week with a good coach and look forward to playing in some local tournaments. Tlaquepaque, where I've been living well for a year, is about as far away from GDL as I want to be.

I very recently visited for the first time, a small tennis and swim club in GDL that was built from scratch last year by a local family. They included a large steam room as part of the facilities. This is not a posh facility and I am fairly certain they spent their money very carefully in constructing it. Not making any promises, but I will likely be joining the club for at least a month, and if you like I can try to get the contact info for whoever built the steam room.

Not sure what you mean by "he produced a fiador." Normally the renter is required to produce the fiador. I've been told that an "arrangement" can be made with a property owning third party and that strictly speaking there is nothing illegal about finding a guarantor in that way, but that sounds dodgy to me and I was advised against it by legal counsel. Is that what you mean by "he produced a fiador"? Been here a year now and I've never paid for anything in US dollars, or been asked to.

This reminds me of one of Steve Martin's early routines, in which he explained how to get a million dollars and not pay any taxes on it. "First" he said with a huge silly grin, "get a million dollars!" I wouldn't say almost anyone will do. To qualify as a guarantor (fiador) for someone renting in Jalisco you have to own property in the state and as guarantor you are putting it up as collateral in the event the renter skips out. That's something I would only ask my own family members (none of whom live in Mexico let alone Jalisco) to do. Interestingly those moving to GDL from another state in Mexico face the same challenge. Alternatively if I could just put down one month's security to rent one of the places I've liked, that would be dandy. I'm looking in some of GDL's better neighborhoods, and I haven't met a realtor or a landlord yet who in the absence of a guarantor would accept less than 3 months in advance as security. And although I'm okay with that, have excellent credit and proof of both savings and income, a recent investigación put me in the "risky" category. The lawyer at the firm that conducted it on behalf of the landlord explained the 30 points deducted from my score were all because I lacked a fiador. I've been told by various local acquaintances that the Tapatios are considered by other Mexicans to be amongst the most cautious and conservative people in the country. But maybe things are different at "the lake."

As an addendum to what I wrote above, the local law firm who investigated me on behalf of the owners of an apartment I was thinking of renting, have told me that residency is not a requirement for obtaining a sentencia ejecutoriada. In any case, I'd be interested in hearing about the experience of others who have rented in the GDL municipality.

For the past year I've been renting in Tlaquepaque from landlords who let me move in with nothing but the first month's rent. Now I'm apartment hunting in Guadalajara, and getting an education. I'm willing to sign a one year lease and can meet all the standard requirements except for one: I do not have a local fiador (guarantor). Where owners are willing to make an exception to this it seems the sentencia ejecutoriada obtained at the Instituto Justicia Alternativa becomes part of the expanded requisitos. Apparently this guarantees that any dispute about the rental will be handled through arbitration by this court. In the absence of the fiador, owners are also asking for a sum paid in advance equal to several month's rent (returned upon departure.) I understand the logic behind all this, my question is: Has anyone here who has obtained a one year lease without a fiador done so by signing the sentencia ejecutoriada at the IJA, and if so was a residency visa part of the requirements?

Nicely done!

Thank you!