Frequently given answers to those frequently asked questions
All prices shown on our web site are per month, unless specified! Currently there are only one or two that have weekly rental amounts.
In 99.9% of the cases, utilities are EXTRA. The average cost for a family of 3 or 4 should be around $100.00 a month, more or less.
We can’t reserve a house several months in advance for a 2, 3, or 4 week rental.
The reason is that the owners normally need the rental income, and if they were to reserve that far in advance, they may have a renter that wants it for a year or so, and they would have to lose a long term rental to satisfy a short term customer 2 or 3 months in the future.
We can book you into an available rental around 30 days in advance of your arrival.
We require a deposit normally equal to the months rent. This deposit is returned once all of the utility bills have been received and paid that are the renters responsibility. It may take 30+ days to receive the bills once the property has been vacated. We don’t run the telephone, cable or electricity company, so we have to wait for their bills. We do send a copy with the refund so you can verify that we are charging exactly what we were billed on your behalf.
If you break it or “borrow it”, then you pay for it!
If you need internet connection at the rental home, be sure to check with us, as most homes don’t have the service.
The reason is that the home owner needs to sign a 2 year contract with the provider, and if the home is vacant, they still need to pay the monthly charge (currently $50.00 a month). Our office does have a few wireless “loaner” units that you can request, but we expect the user to pay the monthly charge. We need to know in advance if you want the service, as we are limited as to the number of loaners we have on hand.
We can provide airport shuttle service. Depending on the time of day, it won’t be more than $30.00 (as of April, 07). If gas prices continue to rise, it may be a little more, but that depends on how the gas prices go.
We don’t have maids or cooks or gardeners in our labor pool. Generally we can get them for you, but we are not an employment agency. Some houses do have people, but mostly part time. Let us know if you require staff, and we will try to make arrangements for you in advance.
If your renting a home under $750.00 a month, please remember that “you only get what you pay for”. Too many people expect a palace for a pittance. That is not the case in Antigua. A nice home that would be considered comfortable by North American standards is generally not something that rents for $300.00 a month.
Getting money here can be done by Instant Tellers. As a rule, you can get around $250.00 a day from the machines. Cashing a personal check here can’t be done.
Travelers checks work fine. Use of a debit card is recommended.
Paying your rent by a personal check. We will accept personal checks drawn on US banks, but we must have the check no less than 7 working days prior to month end.
Our clearing time here is slower than the US, and we need the extra time to receive the funds in our account to pay the owner.
Sending reserve deposits for rental property. We have a US bank located in Miami Fl. We will send you the banking details via internet once you have selected the property and we have confirmed its availability. All the information is contained in the instruction sheet. If you follow it to the letter, there will be no problem. It takes about 2 to 3 days to appear in our Miami account. Once it arrives, we will confirm by Email.
We don’t accept Credit or Debit cards for rental payments.
All rental payments will be made at our main office by the renter. A receipt will be issued by or office for your records. We don’t make house calls to collect rents.
If by chance, the house that you will be renting may also be for sale, we may need access from time to time to show it to prospective purchasers. We will make an appointment prior to showing the house as not to inconvenience you. This is not a common occurrence, but it may happen, and we would appreciate your cooperation.
Arrival time and check in. We understand that a lot of flights arrive late in the evening, and our office is generally closed around 6:00 pm Monday to Friday, and 4:00 pm on weekends. If you choose to use our shuttle service, the driver will have the house keys, and the exact location of the home, and he will deliver you directly to the home.
You can pass by the office the following day to make payments and other arrangements as required.
Telephone service. Most homes have telephones, but the LD charges may be quite high to call outside of the country. We highly recommend that you purchase a cell phone when you arrive, as they are very inexpensive. You LD calls are remarkably cheap due to the competition from local providers. Your current cell phone can’t be set up to interact with the local providers system. If you set you current cell phone to roaming, be prepared for a shocking bill, so buy one here. Generally, you can resell the phone when you leave, or leave it with our office, and we can resell it for you and send you the money with your deposit refund.
If you have a Vonage system in your home, you can bring that with you as well. Just be sure you bring a router.
Getting around. Antigua is a small town, and you can walk anywhere in no more than 20 minutes. As a rule, renting a car is a waste of money. If you need to go into Guatemala City, it’s cheaper to hire a shuttle (or if you are really adventurous, you can take a bus). If you want to make a side trip to the lake, or some other area, that can easily be done with a shuttle service.
Receiving parcels and mail. We can receive packages (FedEx etc.) in our office for you.
If you want to receive personal mail, we can also arrange that through our Miami mail service at a slight cost (based on weight).
If you need to contact us directly, you can call our office on our US toll free number.
1-866- 428-0675
If we have missed something, please let us know, and we will get you the answer.
