Apartment for a Newbie

[Benny1]

Hi all,

I'm looking to move to Buenos Aires with my family (4 people in all) and I'm looking for a 3-4 bedroom apartment to rent. I have a (fairly) generous budget.

After looking online, what occurs to me is that there is no comprehensive database of apartments in the way that you might find in the UK (Rightmove) or Spain (Idealista).

Those databases that do exist tend to feature poor photography and apartments that have bathrooms and kitchens that look like they were installed in the 1970's.

Would anybody be able to point me in the right direction?

Thanks,

Dominic

 

[earlyretirement]

Use Airbnb search filters. They are VERY powerful. However, just be warned there isn't that much inventory. My places stay fully booked. The biggest issue you will have is there is almost NO long term rental availability so plan ahead!!

A nice 3-4 bedroom is going to cost you quite a bit of money.

Good luck. I'd stick with Airbnb.

 

[Alby]

When you say "move to Buenos Aires", do you mean come here permanently or just for a few months?

 

[earlyretirement]

When you say "move to Buenos Aires", do you mean come here permanently or just for a few months?

I agree. Also, reach out to LARGE and established real estate companies. They will have a few pocket listings of nice properties for foreigners (NOT locals) that are on yearly basis or 2 year in US dollars. But most of these are NOT furnished and furnishing is a pain.

So your best bet is a large property manager on Airbnb that might have stuff in the pipeline for when you arrive and maybe you can time it right. I'm not sure how long you are coming but just plan ahead. The LAST thing you want to do is move around from week to week or month to month with a family of 4.

To give you perspective although I own 2 properties in BA, they are both smaller and I have a family of 5 people (wife and 3 kids). I rented a HOUSE in Palermo but the owner at the last minute 2 weeks before arrival tells me that he decided to renovate it. So I got stuck trying to find something for my 2 MONTH trip this summer.

It was a disaster. Although I have friends that between them manage 200+ properties in Buenos Aires, not a single one had 2 month availability for the entire stay. I was willing to pay top $ too but they were all booked. I had to move around between the 2 months and it ruined my vacation.

So just take what I'm saying and plan ahead. GREAT that you have a big budget as you will need it. But plan ahead and try to look on Airbnb for large property managers. You can see because they will manage multiple properties.

Buenos Aires as a cheap ex-pat hang out are mostly over . Those that don't own should buy now while prices are cheap. I just bought another 2 bedroom new construction today. Done in August 2024.

 

[Redpossum]

poor photography and apartments that have bathrooms and kitchens that look like they were installed in the 1970's.

That's because they were installed in the 1970's

Welcome to Argentina

 

[earlyretirement]

That's because they were installed in the 1970's

Welcome to Argentina

Yep, so true. Most of the bathrooms and kitchens are old. Even on new construction it's not high quality. I would many times buy a BRAND new apartment and then demolish it just to renovate as the build quality was so poor. It's crazy to think about.

Also Dominic, what do you consider "generous"? Post and I'll look at some options. Most ex-pats definition of "generous" and mine are different. It's a totally subjective term.

 

[Benny1]

Thank you for all of your informative comments.

It looks like although Buenos Aires is a veritable bargain for the day-to-day stuff e.g. restaurants (especially when using Western Union for currency transfers), it falls behind for property rentals.

My budget is $US 2000 - 2500 monthly for a 3 - 4 bed in a decent area like Recoleta/Palermo/Belgrano. This would be for 3 months initially, but longer (12 months plus) if we like it in Buenos Aires.

I have seen a number of rentals at that price, but the quality isn't great and they do not seem much better than apartments advertised at 1K - 1.5K.

It seems that the quality does not really improve until you have about 6K a month to spend and that falls squarely outside my budget.

Any further info for decent 3 - 4 beds at the 2-2.5K rent level would be much appreciated!

 

[Benny1]

As a comparator, take a look at this 3 bed, 2 bath 100m squared centrally air-conditioned apartment in a good area of Barcelona, which is considered to be an expensive City to live in.

https://www.idealista.com/en/inmueble/101980770/

Pristine condition with an enviable kitchen/bathroom set up - all for 2000 Euros. I found this within 5 minutes of searching on Idealista.

I am sensing that I would be lucky to find a similar apartment in Buenos Aires.

 

[Alby]

Those databases that do exist tend to feature poor photography and apartments that have bathrooms and kitchens that look like they were installed in the 1970's.

To quote the great Basil Fawtly:

"May I ask what you were expecting to see in a database of photos of Buenos Aires apartment kitchens? Sydney Opera House perhaps? The Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically..."

Barcelona it ain't.

 

[earlyretirement]

Thank you for all of your informative comments.

It looks like although Buenos Aires is a veritable bargain for the day-to-day stuff e.g. restaurants (especially when using Western Union for currency transfers), it falls behind for property rentals.

My budget is $US 2000 - 2500 monthly for a 3 - 4 bed in a decent area like Recoleta/Palermo/Belgrano. This would be for 3 months initially, but longer (12 months plus) if we like it in Buenos Aires.

I have seen a number of rentals at that price, but the quality isn't great and they do not seem much better than apartments advertised at 1K - 1.5K.

It seems that the quality does not really improve until you have about 6K a month to spend and that falls squarely outside my budget.

Any further info for decent 3 - 4 beds at the 2-2.5K rent level would be much appreciated!

You're welcome. Thanks for being so polite and detailed. Yes, it's still cheap for dining out and should be for a while. I think the thing that will be the most painful is the cost of living in rentals. That WILL go up and sharply I believe after the elections. It might take a Quarter or 2 to really start pumping up but I'm already seeing it. I charge on short term like $1,800 US per month on a 1 bedroom apartment in Recoleta. I can get it via short-term rentals but it's a hassle but I tack on like a $65 US cleaning fee to really protect against the 1-2 night rentals. I'm making over $2,000 a month on my Palermo Hollywood apartment and have since I purchased it in 2013. Pretty incredible since I purchased it for $130.000 US back then.

I don't actually think $2,000 to $2,500 is a "generous" amount on a short term rental for 4 bedrooms. I mean if I'm getting $1,700 on a nothing too special 1 bedroom Recoleta apartment. I'm not saying you can't find it but I don't think you should use the term "generous". That's not generous on 3/4 bedrooms. I'm just being honest.

There are a lot of sh*tty properties on the market so you might be able to find it. But you're running into a horrible situation of almost 0 long-term rentals and a sh*t ton are going to have their leases end throughout the rest of 2023 so that's going to put pressure on the Airbnbs on the market. Literally my friends that all own hundreds of units don't have ANYTHING for 1 or 2 year leases.

Yeah, at least you know how that "generous" is relative and doesn't apply here for a luxury property. And prices will KEEP going up. Watch. I've never been wrong on Buenos Aires real estate trends the past 20 years.

To quote the great Basil Fawtly:

"May I ask what you were expecting to see in a database of photos of Buenos Aires apartment kitchens? Sydney Opera House perhaps? The Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically..."

Barcelona it ain't.

Buenos Aires is NOT Barcelona but there are plenty of great properties. Look at all these properties that were amazing and on the short-term and long term market in Buenos Aires at one point or another.

They look pretty nice to me!