apt rental/agency questions

[countingdays]

Hola a todos,

I have a ton of questions but I've tried to keep this concise... thanks so much for any input!!

I'm relocating to BA in August and need to find an apartment. My employer has arranged for a real estate agency to assist but so far they haven't been of any help... delays in response, only suggesting rentals way outside of my price range etc. I'm sending them links I've pulled from a pretty thorough internet search I've done... but get the feeling they may not be thrilled about making a much lower commission. I haven't seen the contract they have with my company but know they will be paid based on a % of the rent.

My employer should be able to act as guarantor and my job contract is for two years so I can sign a lease for that long if it will reduce the cost. I'll be taking a huge paycut and paid directly in pesos, so I don't want to pay more than about 2.000 pesos/month in rent. (The agency told me to expect $800-1,200 US plus utilities - I can find month-to-month "luxury" places for less than that!)

How involved is the guarantee paperwork? Is it something that would be worth trying to arrange directly with my company without the agency? They mentioned it would take a week to process any agreement (and I don't have very long off before I have to start work). Also - I have a visa but wont get my CUIL/DNI until I'm down there - could that pose a problem?

Might the agency be restricted as to the places they can show me, would that be typical? (i.e. some sort of contractual arrangement with certain properties/landlords/whatever)

Does "con reserva" mean that a place is already reserved? Or just that I'll need to pay some sort of reserve/deposit?
http://www.maureinmobiliaria.com/propiedades.php?id=3095&tipo=departamentos&operacion=alquiler

Any ideas of where else I should be looking? I checked out OLX, soloduenos, tons of temporary places (direct from google searches)... and have recently just been clicking through all of the agency listings I can find. I'd been hoping I could look up places online while my agency called regarding newspaper ads etc. but I don't really feel comfortable depending on them...

 

[mariefer]

Then, why don't you rent a month-to-month "luxury" place instead?

 

[countingdays]

Mariefer - I am considering them, but there are a few reasons:

1) They are way more expensive than the long term rentals I'm finding.
So... I see 2 year leases for about $350 USD, the mtm "luxury" places are about $600 USD, and the agency quoted at least $800 USD for a 2 year lease.

2) I don't have time to keep moving. Most specifially say that they will only let someone rent for 180 days and I don't want to go through this whole process and move every few months... and they are filling up fast for August. I'm not down there now, but I want to see the place before I move there. So for a temporary rental I'd have to find something available now, likely move in a month, then move every 6 months... each time taking all my stuff and paying a new administrative fee (~45 USD).

3) The job is only for 2 years, so if I start out with the temporary places I wont be able to switch to long term... and if prices go up I'll be screwed.

 

[mmoon]

I had luck with searching on argenprop.com and zonaprop.com and then I contacted the agency for each listing that interested me. It was pretty much a nightmare to get everything settled, so just be prepared.

I would focus on the area(s) you want to live, or else you are going to be completely overwhelmed with options.

Best of luck and welcome!

 

[AlexfromLA]

argenprop.com.ar has a pretty large selection and includes the listings of many different agencies. Remax is also very well known. With a guarantee I am sure you can find a small monoambiente in a nice building for under 2000 pesos a month.

I would suggest making a list of 5-10 properties and asking your agent to show them to you over a 3 day period. That sounds reasonable enough.

You won't need a DNI as long as you have your visa in order and the owner of the property accepts your company as the guarantor.

Good luck and welcome.

 

[AlexfromLA]

I think if you're going to be here for two years and you have a guarantee you should definitely look at the long term rental option.

You do understand why this is right ? Long term leases usually come completely unfurnished, in many cases without air conditioners light fixtures or blinds. Then you also have to pay the monthly building expenses, ABL tax and the utilities.

1) They are way more expensive than the long term rentals I'm finding. So... I see 2 year leases for about $350 USD,

You have seen luxury places for $ 600 usd ? What's your idea of luxury ? Or by luxury do you mean a nice new building ?

 

[citygirl]

Are you looking for a 2 year lease on an unfurnished or furnished apt? That may be part of the confusion with the real estate agency - have you clarified with them?

Also, you don't have to move after 6 months. You can just renew a contract. I've been in my apt for 18 months and just keep signing 6 month leases. (Well, to be honest, I haven't signed a new lease since my first one - we're just operating on the honor system)

 

[countingdays]

Thank you mmoon and Alex for the links.

The $600 estimate represents the lowest I've found after many hours of seaching - and I only used the term luxury because it was included on most of the listings. Basically I just mean the temporary furnished places.

Are building expenses and ABL tax included in the term gastos?

 

[countingdays]

I asked them what sort of a difference there is between furnished and unfurnished and they said it doesn't make a difference in price...

I don't mind renting either... I'm not too picky about the furnishings. I just want a small, cheap place in a nice part of town. Hopefully without too many cockroaches.

citygirl - any price increases in that time?

 

[mini]

We had the same problem with our relocation agent. They are used to people coming down on temp contracts who are paid in US$ and don't understand that some of us come down and are paid in AR$.

You probably won't be able to get anything too sorted before you come down. Certainly not a long term apartment. Try to get an apartment for a month for when you first arrive, then deal with searching while you are here.

You have to be firm with the agents. Check out argenprop.com, zonaprop.com, and buscainmueble.com and send the ones you like to the agency. Don't be afraid to tell them "No" and cut the day short if you have to. We did that twice. Finally we told them we are no waste our time looking at things that don't fit the criteria.

As for getting rid of the agent, we would have been happy to do that however, the companies don't want to deal with the rentals, etc. They want someone to do it. Thus the need for the agency. You just have to push the agent to do what you want.

Once we decided on a place, everything was easy peasy. The agents are used to working out all the "stuff" related to getting the contract, etc. It's just finding the one you want in the price you want that can be a problem.