Renting a House

Since we arrived a month ago we have been on the hunt for a house to rent. The process is a bit differnt here....like so many things. The day after we arrived, Bill Hansen took us to look at a beautiful house that was rented by missionaries who were leaving the field. The price was great, the house was great, but it was out of town and this would be a problem for ministry. It was also a security concern because there were few neighbors. But we bought some appliances from them!

To find a house to look at we put the word out to the Dominicans at church and every missionary we knew or met. We are looking for a three bedroom house in town with a little bit of yard. We also drove around and looked for "se vende" (for sale) signs and vacant homes. We asked people in the neighborhood about the houses and got the following types of responses: they only rent for weekends, no that house actually isn't finished, the owner is in capital and comes here on weekends, etc. We were hoping to find houses that might be rentable since selling a house is usually wishful thinking on the part of the owners. We looked at a lot of houses and usually heard a high rental price which was very negotiable.

We gave each house a nickname since houses don't have addresses, some streets don't have names, and most houses are white. Just for your entertainment we will list some of them:

The Circle house. So named because is has a circular staircase in the middle of the house to the second floor. All the rooms are off this hub. We nixed it because it came with a live-in caretaker family and the owner only wanted to rent it for weekends.

The Garden House. This house had fabulous grounds, but the house was really old and, well, unlivable. But the owner did a nice job pumping up the features, all outside the house. We could have owned a horse and dogs since it had a horse shack and kennels. The grounds were beautiful and extensive and therefore very expensive to maintain.

The Mansion. Just for kicks Rick looked at a house behind the camp where our teams stay. It was huge, two stories, 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. It also had a huge price and we would feel ridiculous living there in this country.

The Cristo Rey house. This house was the first house that we looked at the was a real possibility. It's name comes from the fact that it you turn off the main road at the Cristo Rey Pharmacy. However, it would have needed a lot of TLC for it to feel like home. The agent who showed it to us promised that everything would be fixed up if we wanted it. Even though we had only been here a week, we knew better.

There were others we looked at, or tried to look at like the Chalet, the Hanson's neighbor's house, the Postage stamp house, but let's move on to the two houses we are praying about. Both houses are three bedrooms with two bathrooms and have cisterns, water pumps, roof water tanks, and water heaters. Both are relatively new which hopefully means fewer plumbing, electrical, and leakage issues. Both are currenlty rented by missionaries, so we have gotten the run down on the neighborhoods and the houses' quirks.

The house in Medina: This is a newer three bedroom house. It has some pluses like a back patio area, stairs to the roof, and a double car port. We have negotiated a price with the landlady, but want her to install barred doors on the entrances. We are a bit concerned about the area as other Americans who have lived in this area moved out because it is so noisy.

The house on the hill, also known by our kids as the house with the giant dog. It is closer to the camp where teams will stay and near a couple families in our church. It is said to be a better neighborhood. It has a huge backyard. This is a bonus for soccer-loving Ben, but an extra expense in lawncare. It lacks a few things, like a good laundry area. But it has barred doors. This house we have been praying about since we first looked at it in May, but thought it wouldn't be available till the end of July so we wrote it off. It will now be available at the end of June. We are negotiating a price with the landlady. This house has a giant dog which we could adopt, but it is Fila Brasilera and we don't think this is the breed for us. It is a great guard dog as it scares the daylights out of strangers even though it just lays in the driveway most of the time.

Please pray for God's direction about which house to rent. We are anxious to get settled, but know that a good living situation is essential for our family life.