Apartment deposit question?

[derekleiden]

I'm looking to rent a apartment in BA for a month in January and one rental company is asking for a large deposit for the one month along with all rent. The rent upfront I get.

Is this deposit normal or standard? Do you get your deposit back or is this problem?

Thanks,

Derek

 

[Davidglen77]

DONT DO IT. ONLY RENT FROM A REPUTABLE COMPANY.

www.bytargentina.com or contact Perry on this board at Remax who is a real estate agent!

Too many cheats here

 

[Zissou]

Large deposits are pretty standard practice, even from 'reputable' agencies... Usually it's deposit of one full month - and then you pay the month's rent on the first day you get there though in cash. I would insist on that.

There are few 'reputable' agencies... I know people who have had bad experiences with bytargentina - after having had great ones with them in the rental right before.

 

[hannstew]

That is normal. Rent up front and a months rent deposit. If there is nothing wrong with the apartment when you leave you should get the deposit back. There are many who tell of stories of being ripped off for the deposit, and it happens, but not much in comparrison to how many arent.

 

[Davidglen77]

I still say dont do it. Dont become a victim of Argentina landlords!

 

[lela]

I'm looking to rent a apartment in BA for a month in January and one rental company is asking for a large deposit for the one month along with all rent. The rent upfront I get.

Is this deposit normal or standard? Do you get your deposit back or is this problem?

Thanks,

Derek

make sure, you dont do the return-deposit-deal 2 min before hopping in the taxi to the airport. some will take advantage and charge you for non-sense. so happen to a friend of mine, agent charged 300USD for a broken curtain support, even tho' they had a picture from their 1st day proving it was already broken when they came.
maybe you can make an arrangement for the day before, or at least in the morning. good luck, L

 

[sesamosinsal]

When you say upfront, do you mean a transfer via PayPal or Western Union? You should never pay all of the rent or the deposit up-front with an agency before you arrive. In the past, I paid a percentage (15-20%) of the deposit/rent via PayPal, and the rest when I showed up.

The deposits I've paid (upon arrival) were generally -- for a monthly rental -- just one month of rent.

I've rented with IdeaRental.com and BuenosAiresStay.com. Both experiences were satisfactory. They didn't go above and beyond in their services, but they both did what they promised to do.

 

[ktrin]

Hi,
I think it's standard for landlords to ask for a deposit. They do it so that they are covered in case the tenant breaks something. Sure, there might be some people (agencies or landlords) that do not give back the deposit because of an unreasonable reason, but not everyone is like that.

I will suggest the following website to rent a place, it's very safe and landlords receive reviews from the guests, so you have reviews from real people who stayed at those places. The company is not associated with landlords, they site is only a place were landlords can post their places.

http://www.airbnb.com/tell-a-friend?airef=2tn0z412aezz5

Hope that helps

 

[Ashley]

What company is it?
Definitively don't pay any more than the minimum reservation fee online. Most places will let you pay the one month rent and deposit in cash when you sign the lease. Normally, the deposit here is 1 month's rent (even if it's just for a one-month lease) - As most tourist places are furnished, it needs to be an amount that's going to protect the landlord if damage is caused and I've rarely heard of it being less than this (maybe 2 weeks in some exceptional cases).
What I would advise you to do is check out the company's reputation here (and online) first and insist that the company (NOT THE LANDLORD) hold your deposit, check the inventory with you and assess the apartment for any damage before you sign anything. I've found getting deposits back from landlords an absolute nightmare.

 

[jb5]

He's only renting for 1 month. We've rented several short term apartments and have had to pay a range of deposits up to 1 full month. We did get them all back.

I'd suggest using Paypal if you can for the deposit to have some protection.

Let's face it, all of the rental owners and their agents are avoiding taxes by collecting cash. That gives you some leverage if they don't return your deposit.