Exciting Challenges With Our Not So Triumphant Return to Playa

Who said retirement was easy? Homeownership is no walk in the park, either. While we were in France, we decided we weren’t going to rent our condo anymore. That decision led to planning improvements and new purchases for our condo in Mexico. Upon arrival, we learned we first had to fix things broken by renters while we were away. It was all for the good, but time-consuming nonetheless.

The First Week Back

We returned to Cancun and met the largest backup we have ever seen at immigration. Although we are temporary residents, we still have to go through the foreigner line for immigration. It took more than an hour but at least our bags were ready by the time we got out.

We arrived at our building and the warmth and the ocean breeze felt so good. But then we went into our condo and found several problems. First, there were ball bearings on the floor around my garbage cabinet. When I went to pull it out, the entire mechanism was broken. So I immediately contacted my kitchen contractor. She came over a day later, but it didn’t really get fixed until January.

Next, we found the garbage disposal was jammed. Most Mexicans don’t have disposals and they don’t really know how to use them. To discourage use, I camouflaged mine so people wouldn’t find it. What I didn’t account for was someone washing off sandy shoes in my kitchen sink. When I looked into the disposal, I saw dirt and sand. Mike was able to unfreeze the disposal with a bit of effort. Yeah, Mike!!

Water Damage in the Livingroom

Then there were leaks in my living room ceiling. There has been a significant leak from the upper patio into the living room, on and off for a while. Everyone tells us all of the penthouse units leak, but I’m not just going to accept that. Last summer, at the recommendation of our property manager, we paid to have the upper deck sealed. Clearly it didn’t work. None of these issues were reported to us by the property management company while we were away. All of these items would have been obvious if an inspection had been done prior to our arrival. We had already decided to cancel the property manager, but these issues drove home the point with us.

While we were renting the condo, we had locked up all of our own valuables, clothes, art, etc. Since we didn’t plan to rent again, we were able to unpack our stuff and not need to leave storage available for guests. What I didn’t count on was just how long it would take to unpack and arrange it all. By my count, it was about four days and required some redos and purchasing organizers. I’m so excited to not have to move my clothes, Kitchenaide mixer, and all of my crystal each time we leave town.

Planting Tomatoes

We have long discussed trying to grow tomatoes in Playa. So, while I was in the Bay Area, I bought fast-fruiting tomato seeds for little yellow tomatoes. To get tomatoes before we left again, we had to get them to germinate right away. I am happy to say that I managed to get enough germinated and planted that we actually had tomatoes in January. This is the first time I’ve grown tomatoes from seed, I’m so proud.

Pool, What Pool?

We knew when we arrived in Playa the first week of November that the “minor” pool repair wouldn’t be complete. It was scheduled to be completed a week later. But after a whole bunch of questioning about what was going on, the condo management sent a memo saying that because it rained nearly every day in October, they weren’t able to actually do the pool repairs. Apparently, the bottom of the pool kept filling and the workers would have to drain it and let it dry. At one point, I saw a guy sitting on an overturned bucket with a hand trowel, removing the old tile.

The fact there was no pool for the first few weeks of November wasn’t a real problem because we didn’t have much time to use it anyway, and it continued to rain well into November. We needed buckets in the living room during the heavy rains until the roof leak could be fixed.

Because of the rain, we didn’t get the swimming pool back until the end of November. By that time, we were a little tired of looking longingly at the empty pool. It was a wonderful day when we could go to the pool but getting into the cold water was a bit of a downer.

Fixing Stuff and Making Improvements

The garbage cabinet and the leaking patio were our first concerns. In addition, since there was so much rain, we became aware of a lot of leaks in the plastic covering over our lower deck, especially right next to the house. So, we contacted a few vendors to repair our awnings and reseal next to the house. Once the vendor showed, up we asked if he could install an awning over our upper deck as well. Since we didn’t think the pricing was too bad, we had him proceed. After the first round of work on the lower patio, the leaking was reduced but it was still leaking right next to the house. The new awning upstairs was also leaking next to the house.

But, each time we called for the vendor to fix his work it was either raining or it was going to so they couldn’t perform any repairs. They finally returned in December and were able to successfully get the lower deck to stop leaking but not the upper deck. Finally, the vendor started ghosting us, so I’ll be sealing the upper deck next to the house when we return to Playa.

Airconditioning Maintenance

We also had to have our air conditioners and motors serviced. This time, I went with the guys who installed the last AC unit and it was a good thing. They did a very thorough job as demonstrated by the debris the mechanic found between the drop ceiling and the roof near the AC fan upstairs. There was always something coming out of the unit and thought I had everything cleaned last year but they didn’t really clean everything. Evidence below.

The last major issue was the leak on the upper patio. After asking around our neighbors, we found a contractor who has done similar work on other penthouses. Over a few weeks, the contractor removed some of the tiles on the upper patio. He had to remove more than expected to get to dry areas. Then they resealed the roof and replaced the tiles. After that was done and tested, their contractor fixed the ceiling in the living room. It actually took four days to fix the sheetrock, and mud, and paint the living room ceiling. But it did finally get done.

Kitchen Drain Saga

Another issue developed in early November: the kitchen sink drain became blocked. When we did our kitchen remodel, we put the sink drain into the existing drain for the master bathroom sinks. After much back and forth with the building manager, he got one of his guys to open the plumbing and snake the drain. While they kept telling me the problem was my garbage disposal, I was convinced it was construction debris in the drain. We had to pay a bunch of money and buy our own snake to make this happen. Lo and behold, they told us they actually did hear what sounded like rocks in the drain. All good, for now.

Drain Take 2

Fast forward to the end of December and the drain was blocked again. This time I hired a handyman to do the work and he brought along a real plumber. Unfortunately, the whole snaking thing didn’t clear the drain and the snake didn’t sound like it was actually going to the main drain. The handyman then had us buy an endoscope to look in the drain, unfortunately, all they saw at the end of the line was white. By this time it was draining but super slow. Fortunately, my new sink is really big, but we spent nearly a week bailing the sink over the holidays while we had company.

The building engineer said we should dig up the floor in the utility closet, find the right pipe, and snake it from there. I didn’t like that idea or the cost of it. Did I mention the sink drain was about a foot from the main drain through a wall? So, here is what I had the plumber do: run a new pipe from the sink directly to the main drain. That solution was half the price of the other solution and had a much better chance of working. Voila, a working drain!

On the Positive Side

We decided to stop renting our condo while we were in Bordeaux and wine was definitely on our minds. We realized if we were no longer renting, we could buy and stock a wine fridge. So, we bought one when we returned to Playa. We also bought new bar stools that match the dining room chairs really well. Another Amazon win.

Moving Forward

The next exciting thing happening at our condo is my new furniture. I have designed a custom buffet for the dining room, a shelf with cubbies for the entryway, and a wall unit that includes a cabinet and shelves around the TV. We were able to select the materials and wood and get bids from two different carpenters. I am hopeful that everything looks as good in person as it did on my to-scale plans. Between the two of us, we spent plenty of time with the tape measure, in metric of course.

I am hopeful that since we won’t have strangers in our house anymore, when I return everything will be as I left it. And I’m happy to say that we are moving down my list of things that need to be fixed and purchased.

How would you handle a vacation rental?