mpayne101 has left 14 comments

mpayne101 comments on Colombian Peso Breaks 1,800 Per Dollar for 1st Time Since 1999

this is gonne be the death of me

mpayne101 comments on My Own Bogota Apartment Horror Story

UPDATE!!! Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. I wish I would have known about c2's place before I signed a 1 year here. Well, I ended up moving to an apartment that the "Travelers" hotel group owns. It's not inside of a hotel, and it's a nice 2 bedroom located in "la carolina" in front of Unicentro. I really like the area. It includes all services including daily maid service, water, gas, lights, agua de botellon, fully furnished (and i do mean FULLY down to the sandwich grill and gas BBQ with accessories), huge private terraze with tables and chairs, and 24 hour security and 2 parkings. The only thing not included is cable and internet which i have already had installed. It's not huge, about 1200 sq. ft., but its very nicely furnished. They required no deposit, only the first months rent-----which is------$3,300,000.00 A bit more than i wanted to pay, but... here i am. Thanks again for all your help. MDP

mpayne101 comments on My Own Bogota Apartment Horror Story

bickerss says on Tuesday February 12th, 2008 7:05: "there are aparthotels you can rent with no problems. There are two near zona rosa which cost 840,000 pesos a month - not the nicest but ok. They have little tiny kitchens in them. There are also aparthotels in Chapinero for similar prices. I am in rodadero at the moment and have been pleasently surprised - you can rent apartments here as a foreighner with two months advance payment - no stupid paperwork involved." ----------- The apartahotels won't work for me for the long term, but until I can get an apatment it might be an option. Where can I get a list of places at that price. I haven't seen ANYTHING on the net at those prices you mentioned. I thought about moving to Santo Marta where you are, because a friend told me I wouldn't have problems there, but I mentioned in a post above why I didn't. I was actually about to buy the plane ticket last week.

mpayne101 comments on My Own Bogota Apartment Horror Story

Robert Jorge says on Monday February 11th, 2008 20:46: I rented an apartment in Villavo without too much problem. It took us almost 3 weeks to find it and sign a contract. The mother in law did co-sign. Later, as I kind of learned the "ins and outs", the way to do it is to deal directly with the apartment owner. And to do that, you need to walk the streets, talk to guards / doormen, respond to for rent signs posted in windows and guard shacks, etc. --------- I tried going out with my driver for two straight days. Talking to doormen, etc.etc... no luck.... 90% of apartments are rented through agencies.... I saw over 20 apartments this way. And THAT is alot of apartment shopping. Regarding living in a estrato 2-3-4 area; I don't really feel safe in those areas because I don't know the city yet. I'm sure I will know where to feel safe and where not to feel safe in the future, but as of right now, I'll stick with the estrato 5-6 areas. Thanks for the advice on not paying alot of rent in advance, it makes since and i'll remember it.

mpayne101 comments on My Own Bogota Apartment Horror Story

gringoloid says on Tuesday February 12th, 2008 13:08: mpayne.....my offer still stands for an awesome apartment in Rosales, with no paperwork, and no lease, as well as a reasonable price. ------ Thanks Gringoloid, but I didn't see anything form you on an apartment in Rosales. I saw something on a "not so nice" apartment in Cedritos.... I would be interested in seeing it. Do you have an email? If you have one in Rosales... better yet....

mpayne101 comments on My Own Bogota Apartment Horror Story

LostGringo--- "If all else fails my girlfriend may have a vacancy when you need it. The apartment has wifi. Good luck with your apartment hunting." ------ I checked out the website for your girlfriend's apartment, and although the area isn't exactly where I'd like to be, I'm open to almost anything right now. I think the US$1650/month price is reasonable for a 3 bedroom -- however I'm not looking for a three bedroom so its somewhat out of my budget. If you have any other ideas for a 1-2 bedroom furnished... please do let me know.

mpayne101 comments on My Own Bogota Apartment Horror Story

webmanco says on Monday February 11th, 2008 18:56: "It looks like you are looking for an aparment office at the same time, is that the way you had approach the real state people? I seems also you don´t have enough contacts in Colombia, the higher the price of the property you want to rent the more the requirenments to qualify." ----- In a perfect world, I would rent both the office and apartment from the same agency, however the way it looks, IF i am able to get an apartment, and thats a big IF, I will probably be renting from an owner, and getting the office through someone else. I have found that you are correct, the higher the price, the harder to rent.

mpayne101 comments on My Own Bogota Apartment Horror Story

Jonas, "Or try to find a gringo who will rent to you, like arthur´s offer for Cali." ----- There are a couple of gringos who have or know of spaces available and willing to rent, but neither are at the calibre of apartment I am looking for, although I did appreciate their willingness/efforts.

mpayne101 comments on My Own Bogota Apartment Horror Story

pedro says on Monday February 11th, 2008 18:32: I don't suppose you have your visa and cedula (ID card) organised yet? If you have a cedula you can sometimes open up a term deposit account at the bank and use that as security for the lease. ---- Pedro, I entered on a tourist visa choosing to go the "buy a residency" route that I have done in other countries. I have not tried to do this yet because I'm not convinced I will stay here with the current delemna. I know that Agricula de Seguros will serve as a guarantor if I deposit 6 months of rent with them plus paying the first month rent on the apartment, however I'm not happy about tying up US6-10,000 for a year given the large investment I must make here to a high tech operations center running. For the office, I don't have a problem doing this, but for my apartment, that was definitally NOT in the budget.

mpayne101 comments on My Own Bogota Apartment Horror Story

arthur brode --- I have considered relocating to another city here such as Santa Marta, because having lived 10 years in the Caribbean, I am absolutely a beach baby at heart.... however opening our offices in a smaller city would probably not be a good idea, as for my business we require highly specialized technical resources that are even difficult to find in the United States. We are the first operation of our kind in this country, and we realize that we will have to train everyone we hire, but at least we are trying to find candidates with as specialized a background as possible to give us a running start.

mpayne101 comments on My Own Bogota Apartment Horror Story

CatGirl --- Very Cute!

mpayne101 comments on My Own Bogota Apartment Horror Story

RAAY----- Thanks for the tips... and don't take this the wrong way... But have you been to Atlanta lately? If you have 1 month rent and 1 month deposit, they will give you 6 months FREE RENT! Half of the apartments in Atlanta have been rented by illegal Mexicans (of which I know many of them). They can't GIVE apartments away. They are willing to rent to anyone who will fill the apartment up. I have seen this same thing in Orlando and Miami as well. I have tried dealing with owners and agencies, and I thought the same thing, that dealing direct with the owners would be easier. I have found a few people will to rent to me with 3 months up front, but those are the ones that are charging triple what the property is worth.

mpayne101 comments on Need a luxury apt in Bogota for 1 year rental & have jobs openings in Bogota also

no, i will hire whomever is qualified.

mpayne101 comments on Need a luxury apt in Bogota for 1 year rental & have jobs openings in Bogota also

mpayne at profitbridgeinc.com Thanks