i agree - do not pay upfront
i found a wonderful spot for a month one summer - $600 - for 2 bedrooms on 2 acres in the country - about 6 miles or so from negril beach
it cost me another $600 for food - had to buy salt, pepper, cooking oil - then the food - i could have done box food cheaper than that - and food is very expensive there right now - i'm not a suck an orange and feel good all day kinda girl
it cost another $600 for transportation - a car or scooter would have cost the same - and i didn't even use transportation every day - and because it was off the beaten trail - at night i needed transportation to my door
and being in the country by myself - was scary at best - everyone on the road knew i was there alone with just my son - i ended up getting help with security - but that cost more money
in retrospect - staying on negril beach would have lowered transportation costs - afforded more food opportunities - more security - even though the housing costs appeared higher
about day 20 - i was ready to go sit in the airport and wait 10 days for my flight home