Building expensas

[perry]

This is a topic that is affecting many people in Buenos Aires and with expensas being outrageously high close to 40 percent are behind in payments . In 2003 to maintain a middle class 2 bedroom apartment in a good neighbourhood was US$ 50 a month . Now its close to US$ 350 a month including abl . This is a 7 times difference in us dollars but wages have not been raised 7 times since then . I like to hear from forum members about their situation and the difference in this expense in the last years

Las expensas subieron 133% en el año y crece la morosidad en los edificios: las mejores alternativas para reducir costos

Cuáles son las razones detrás de los fuertes incrementos que afectan tanto a propietarios como a inquilinos. En octubre, el pago promedio de expensas alcanzó un nuevo récord. Qué se espera para el último trimestre del año

www.infobae.com

 

[Ries]

Its crazy. Most have quadrupled, or more.
Its mostly related to Milei, who did several things to upset the applecart.
Getting rid utility subsidies was one big ingredient. Aysa and Edenor and Metrogas in my building used to be very low minimums, now they are double or triple.
The squeeze on the average low paid worker is another thing- the sindicato of porteros and encargados still raised their rates, because their members demanded it, and the consorcios all pass that on directly.

We have been lucky, in a very small building with one part time portero. I know people with 5 full time encargados, to cover all shifts and vacations, and that adds up fast.
Plus, every single maintenance and supply has gone way up- it costs much more for the mandatory water tank, elevator, and fire extinguisher inspections, for cleaning supplies and exterminators and electrical and plumbing repairs.

It has changed the real estate sales market in the last year.
We just sold our apartment and bought another- and one of the reasons ours sold quickly was low expensas.
We saw a bunch of older, nice but unrenovated apartments on the market at very reasonable prices, because, families had previously held on to grannies apartment for years and years because it was almost free to do so, but now, with many expensas 500,000 pesos a month or more, family members are agitating for a quick sale, and prices, while not exactly nosediving, are a bit lower, and sellers are a bit more willing to negotiate.

expensas are definitely much more of a factor in buyers decision making.

I have a home in the USA, and one here.
Even with the giant jump in utility and expensa costs here, its still very very cheap compared to the USA.
I just got the garbage collection bill, and its $90 USD a month. Plus the water bill, the electric bill, and the gas bill, not to mention internet and telephone- all of which are often at least twice or triple the new high prices here.
And in the USA, you have interest on mortgages, plus mandatory insurance, in many cases.
I have seen apartments in NYC that cost a million, plus 3 or 4 grand a month in the equivalent of expensas.

I am still thankful for my life in Argentina...

 

[perry]

Its crazy. Most have quadrupled, or more.
Its mostly related to Milei, who did several things to upset the applecart.
Getting rid utility subsidies was one big ingredient. Aysa and Edenor and Metrogas in my building used to be very low minimums, now they are double or triple.
The squeeze on the average low paid worker is another thing- the sindicato of porteros and encargados still raised their rates, because their members demanded it, and the consorcios all pass that on directly.

We have been lucky, in a very small building with one part time portero. I know people with 5 full time encargados, to cover all shifts and vacations, and that adds up fast.
Plus, every single maintenance and supply has gone way up- it costs much more for the mandatory water tank, elevator, and fire extinguisher inspections, for cleaning supplies and exterminators and electrical and plumbing repairs.

It has changed the real estate sales market in the last year.
We just sold our apartment and bought another- and one of the reasons ours sold quickly was low expensas.
We saw a bunch of older, nice but unrenovated apartments on the market at very reasonable prices, because, families had previously held on to grannies apartment for years and years because it was almost free to do so, but now, with many expensas 500,000 pesos a month or more, family members are agitating for a quick sale, and prices, while not exactly nosediving, are a bit lower, and sellers are a bit more willing to negotiate.

expensas are definitely much more of a factor in buyers decision making.

I have a home in the USA, and one here.
Even with the giant jump in utility and expensa costs here, its still very very cheap compared to the USA.
I just got the garbage collection bill, and its $90 USD a month. Plus the water bill, the electric bill, and the gas bill, not to mention internet and telephone- all of which are often at least twice or triple the new high prices here.
And in the USA, you have interest on mortgages, plus mandatory insurance, in many cases.
I have seen apartments in NYC that cost a million, plus 3 or 4 grand a month in the equivalent of expensas.

I am still thankful for my life in Argentina...

For a million dollar apartment in Puerto Madero the costs to maintain are very close to what you are quoting here from New York . With abl now costing 7 times more in US dollars than 2023 a standard two bedroom luxury condo in Puerto Madero to maintain is US$ 2000 and more

 

[Ries]

personally I cannot imagine who would buy such a condo.
There are truly amazing older apartments in BA, with lower expensas, incredible quality, and much nicer neighborhoods, for half that price.
still, there is no question that prices for everything here right now are really high, especially for argentines who are not inherited wealth.