San Miguel de Allende attracts people from all over Mexico & the rest of the globe, thanks to its delicious Mexican and international cuisine, incredible architecture, trendy boutique stores and unbelievably colourful homes. 2024 has seen an increase in tourists & temporary residents coming to Mexico and staying for months. While this is great for the businesses in town, prices of rentals in San Miguel de Allende have almost tripled compared to 2020.
Renting an apartment in this economy for a short or long-term stay in San Miguel de Allende can be daunting. Now that I have been living here for four years, I’ve got first-hand experience in house hunting in this town. Renters often settle for extremely high prices due to a lack of thorough research or local connections. To begin with, San Miguel de Allende is quite an expensive place to live in compared to other parts of Mexico. So, this guide is created to help you save as much as possible on your rent.
Please Note: This article is to help you book the best accommodation in San Miguel de Allende for your long-term stay. In no way do we give you legal or extensive safety advice for renting. Best to use caution and receive clear contracts to avoid scams.
6 ways to find a rental in San Miguel de Allende
I searched via different approaches and on multiple platforms to find my dream home! If you use the tips listed here, you will for sure find yours too. Below are six tried and tested methods to find accommodation in San Miguel de Allende. They cover a range of stay options like apartments, casas, and hotels. Through these websites, I have found monthly rentals in San Miguel de Allende for under 600USD, long-term stays at about 400USD and even affordable weekend getaways for friends visiting the town.
1. Guanajuato Craigslist
Website: https://guanajuato.craigslist.org/
Guanajuato Craigslist is the best resource to find cheap long-term rentals in San Miguel de Allende. While the internet is full of horror stories associated with Craigslist, if you figure out the right way to look for apartments, this website can be a gold mine for budget rentals in San Miguel de Allende. Don’t look for a separate San Miguel de Allende Craigslist page because there isn’t one. But the housing section on the Guanajuato (GTO) Craigslist page has more rentals for San Miguel de Allende (SMA) than GTO.
How to Find Rentals on San Miguel de Allende’s Craigslist
First, choose your preferred language between English & Spanish on the top right. Next on the main page of Guanajuato, there’s a section for housing with various subsections under it. Not everyone posts listings in the correct category, so click on the main housing section and sort the listings by “newest”.
Click through all the available rentals and once you find one that meets your budget and neighbourhood needs, fire off a quick email or Whatsapp text. Make sure to add a short introduction and include any specifics you may have, such as pets or parking needs.
You will have the best luck in getting a response from listings that are not older than 2 weeks.
Pros:
- Affordable rentals
- New listings are added often
- Direct contact with owners
Cons:
- Hard to tell the difference between a fake listing & a legit one.
- No screening of listers
- Low response rate
EXPERT TIPS:
- Create a new email address instead of using your main one to avoid disclosing your personal information to Craigslist sellers.
- Talk to the landlord on the phone before deciding to meet them in person.
- Make sure you grab a friend to see the house or at the very least, send someone your live location and the seller’s phone number if you go alone, as people posting their listings do not go through any screening by Craigslist.
- Craigslist rentals in San Miguel de Allende sometimes have little to no info and irrelevant photos. If you find a listing like this with barely any details about the house, skip it. It’s likely a scam.
- Consider it a major red flag if sellers ask for a deposit before even showing you the house.
2. Facebook Marketplace
Website: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/category/propertyrentals
San Miguel de Allende’s Facebook Marketplace can be full of treasures, for those who look hard enough. The interface of the page is neat & easy to navigate. Simply zoom into the area you want to rent a house in and a bunch of properties will pop up, with their rental price listed in either USD or MXN pesos. Click on the one that suits your budget, check out the photos and shoot a message via Facebook Messenger to the owner or agent. If the listing is in Spanish, it would be a good idea to pull up Google Translate and send a message in Spanish. This is how I found my current 1 bedroom house, sitting on the hills of Los Balcones for 450usd a month on a one-year contract.
Pros:
- Affordable listings
- Variety of options
- Fairly accurate locations
- Easy-to-use interface
Cons:
- Lack of screening and verification of homeowners
- Safety Concerns
EXPERT TIP:
Like Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace is also full of people who have listed their properties without being screened for legitimacy. All the precautions from renting on Craigslist San Miguel de Allende, apply to Facebook Marketplace. If you’re looking to rent just for yourself, it would be highly advisable for you to meet the renter in a public place to gauge their vibe. Take a friend along if you decide to go see the house directly.
3. Real Estate Agencies in San Miguel de Allende
San Miguel de Allende has multiple real estate agencies at every corner. Listed below are the top 3 agencies with several active rental listings on their website:
1. San Miguel Rentables
Owned by Troy Piccone who runs it with Joan Novell, their polished photos, clean website and quick responses make them a top real estate company. They are easy to communicate with via Whatsapp and email.
📍 Priv. del Valle, Bellavista, 37750 San Miguel de Allende, Gto.
💻 https://www.sanmiguelrentables.com
📱+52 415-115-6132 | troy@sanmiguelrentables.com
2. San Miguel Real Estate
San Miguel Real Estate has multiple brokers/agents to help you find your dream rental in San Miguel de Allende. The listings for long-term rentals start from 13,000mx (600 USD) for small 1-bedroom houses to 30,000mx(1500 USD) for premium houses near the centre of the town.
📍 Hernández Macías 101, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
💻 https://sanmiguelrealestate.com/real-estate/for-rent/long-term
📱+52 415-185-8407 | info@realtysanmiguel.com
3. Agave San Miguel
Founded by Jim Castro, Agave San Miguel is one of the best agencies to find short-term vacation rentals. They have a few long-term apartments in San Miguel de Allende but their website doesn’t reflect the many options they have available. The best way to get in touch with them is to shoot them an email via the contact form on their website.
💻 https://www.agavesanmiguel.com
📱 +52 415-154-5944
4. Airbnb
A brand that is practically synonymous with travel, Airbnb will not fail to deliver its promise of finding you a vacation home or a long-term house in Mexico. There are tons of monthly rentals in San Miguel de Allende on Airbnb, available in the form of apartments and entire houses that come with a kitchen and multiple amenities like a private rooftop for sunset views, air conditioning, a swimming pool, and more.
Listed below are 5 of the best Airbnbs in San Miguel de Allende from affordable lofts to grand, colourful casas
- Loft with Air Conditioning in San Miguel de Allende
- Apartment with Parking in San Miguel de Allende
- Garden View Guest Suite in San Miguel de Allende
- Casa Safta – A Secret Oasis in San Miguel de Allende
- Small Apartment in Guadalupe
EXPERT TIP:
Book an Airbnb rental with high reviews for your first month in San Miguel de Allende. Use that month to locally look for places and go for viewings instead of committing to a year-long-rental based solely on photos.
5. Facebook Groups
There are plenty of groups on Facebook created especially for apartments and casitas for rent in San Miguel de Allende. To join, you may need to prepare a short introduction of yourself in Spanish. Also helps to post your requirements in these groups in Spanish for quick responses.
- Renta casa/depas/cuartos en San Miguel Allende
- Rentas en San Miguel de Allende
- Ventas & Rentas De Inmuebles SMA
EXPERT TIP:
If the Facebook profile of the person posting an advert is empty, or with strange profile photos and no posts, don’t reach out to them. All other tips from renting off of Facebook Marketplace apply to renting from Facebook groups as well.
6. Neighbourhood Walks
The old-fashioned way of walking around your favourite neighbourhoods and looking for a “for rent” sign also works well. With just a little luck and some cardio, you will find multiple houses waiting to be rented out.
That rounds up six ways for you to find your next rental in San Miguel de Allende.
Best Neighbourhoods Of San Miguel de Allende
Guadalupe
Guadalupe is the best neighbourhood in San Miguel de Allende for both first-timers and long-term residents. It is close enough to the town centro to be accessible but far enough to not feel super touristy. The walls of the neighbourhood are full of marvellous graffiti, making it an ideal spot for art lovers. Closeby is the centre of art and design – Fabrica Aurora.
Centro
If it’s your first time in San Miguel de Allende, your best bet would be to rent a spot near the Centro. The salmon-pink cathedral is the epicentre of most activities in the cities. Living around here means you won’t have to walk steep hills to go sightseeing.
San Antonio
San Antonio is the cool kid of all the neighbourhoods in SMA. There’s a healthy mix of locals and foreigners living here. Lined by tons of art galleries, yoga centres, boutiques and restaurants of all price ranges, San Antonio is the best spot to stay for expats who enjoy socializing.
Los Balcones
Sitting on top of San Miguel de Allende’s downtown, Balcones is ideal for those of you looking for peace and quiet, with some stunning views of the town. Most of the houses here are luxury casas with intricate stonework and chic design.
Neighbourhoods to avoid renting in San Miguel de Allende
All of San Miguel de Allende is pretty safe. There’s minor theft and petty crime, as there is in most cities around the world. But, there is one neighbourhood you should avoid staying in and that is Cuevitas.
Cuevitas
I didn’t know better and decided to stay around Cuvenits when I found an adorable two-story Airbnb for just 400 USD. It was within walking distance from the centre of SMA. But, I did not enjoy my three months living there.
There’s a lot of beauty in the chaos and noise of Mexico’s festivals, but in this neighbourhood, fireworks went off most nights for no reason. Animals were mistreated and left with very little food on the rooftops of houses in the sun. They would then bark all night. Cops knocked on my door twice to inquire about domestic violence in the houses on the street. To top it off, some of the neighbours made it clear that they did not welcome foreigners living in their Colonia.
Final Thoughts on Finding Cheap Casas in San Miguel de Allende
When you start looking for rentals, it’s going to initially be stressful and frustrating, but when you do find a perfect home, it will be worth all the trouble. Give yourself at least a month of searching and try to find house rentals in San Miguel de Allende during the low season (April – August). You will then, for sure, find a place within a price range which is fair to you and the landlord.
How Much Does It Cost to Rent an Apartment in San Miguel de Allende?
The price of apartments or casitas (tiny houses) in San Miguel de Allende mainly depends on the location and the size of the place. Most of the rentals within walkable distance to the centre of the town will set you back at least 500-1000 USD p/m for a small studio or a one-bedroom, and prices for a two-bedroom start from 1000$ USD.
Further away from the Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel, the houses get cheaper.
Renting via Photos
If you’re considering committing to a 1-year rental, please see the place in person before signing the paperwork and sending the deposit. You could book a hotel or Airbnb for 1-2 weeks in the neighbourhood you like, to get a feel of the place, before deciding on a more long-term house.
Pack your bags and come make this storybook town your new home! When you do arrive here, make sure to reach out to me so I can show you the best spots in San Miguel de Allende.
Here are three incredible budget hotels in San Miguel de Allende
Hotel Casa Bonita
Nightly Rates from 50USD+
Posada Maria Luisa
Nightly Rates from 50USD+
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4 Responses
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