When I first arrived in 2001, I almost left because I could not find a comfortable place to rent. Since then, dozens of new apartments have been built. Many older units are also available. Unfurnished apartments range from 1200 to 1800 Pesos and do not include appliances.
A few dozen unfurnished houses are also available, usually in poor conditions, and renting between 2 and 5000 Pesos to primarily Mexicans. There are a handful of houses that are usually occupied by gringos on their first venture here and include two bungalows in the hills with great views plus 2 modern houses on the Malecon , ranging from 3500 to 6000 pesos. In addition there is a trailer park that has converted 6 or 7 furnished one bedrooms starting at 400 Dollars.
There is no real estate market or advertising medium for rentals or even sales. "For Rent by Owner" via word of mouth is the local mantra. Most rentals are month to month, although some will demand the customary deposits plus a Guarantor.
I've put together an overview of what living or retiring in Catemaco entails, so I can just send a link to this page to the next person that does not read the fine print of "We do not handle rentals, because they pay no commissions" on the real estate email pages.
a survival guide
