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.

 

[gemini06]

do you guys pay each month or all together one year? seems there is no any regulation when to pay the building expense?

 

[steveinbsas]

I first purchased a 68 mt2 apartment in Recoleta (Aranales 2078) in late October of 2006. The building had an elevator and a porteña who mopped the lobby six days a week and occasionally slid mail under the door of the apartments.

Before I moved in (ten days after seeing the apartment for the first time), the real estate agent had told me that the monthly expensas were about $300 pesos. In the first week of November I recieved the first boleta from the administrador and the amount was closer to $350 pesos.

In late October I had just barely quaified for temporary residency (when the monthly income reqirement was $2500 pesos). During the next few years the monthly expensas gradually increased to about $400 pesos and became a major factor in my decision to sell the apartment in early 2009.

I listed the apartment with Perry, who was working for ReMax at the time. It was a difficult time to sell, but Perry found a buyer and we had the escritura in late July. I don't remember how much the expenses were at the time of the escritura, but I clearly remember that I was relieved because I no longer had to pay them.

The same day I had the escritura for the PH I bought in Nuñez and I was freed from paying monthly consorcio fees forever!

PS: A year later I sold the PH and bought a four bedroom house about 650 KM from CABA. I have been very happy with that decision for well over fifteen years.

 

[steveinbsas]

do you guys pay each month or all together one year? seems there is no any regulation when to pay the building expense?

The consorcio fees are always calculated and are payable on a monthly basis and are always subject to increasing on a monthly basis.

 

[Ronnie Hotdogs]

I pay 300,000 a month for expenses in a barrio privado. Includes the ARBA.
Neighbours are up in arms about it.
Honestly I worry a bit about the viability of such barrios privados.
Lot of people have houses here as weekend homes and 3.6m a year in expenses is a lot of you’re paying similar expenses in your first home.

 

[Ries]

actually there are a ton of regulations about consorcios, administrators, and expensas. They tell which buildings must have a consorcio, and in most cases require paying an outside, professional administrator, who pays all the bills, and, then, monthly, complies the expensas, and gives them to each tenant.
You pay expensas to the administrator, and he or she then pays the debts.
Consorcios decide by vote on major building improvements or repairs, and then pay for them in quotas.
here are some, but far from all, of the rules.

https://buenosaires.gob.ar/sites/default/files/2023-02/Ley%20941%20actualizada.pdf

 

[steveinbsas]

Here are two threads which deal with the topic of building expenses, including what can happen when one of the owners doesn't pay their monthly expenses and/or the administrador does not adequately carry out their responsabilities.

Let the property buyer beware

I rented a unit for three years before the owner decided to sell it. I decided to buy the unit in 2005. I went into the process blind. I obtained a CDI and transferred payment from my US bank to hers. She asked if she could reduce the purchase price represented in the title. I had no...

baexpats.org

This thread was started in 2009, and the link below is when Jantango gave it a bump in 2023 with information relevant to this thread.

Post in thread 'Troubles With Building Administration' https://baexpats.org/threads/troubles-with-building-administration.5521/post-435988

PS: The reason I was paying over $100 USD for expenses on a 68mtr2 apartment in an old building (with no security or a pool and a dingy entryway) starting in late 2006, was due to the fact that the adult children of the deceased owners of one of the apartments never made the monthly expense payments following death of their parents. The amount owed totaled tens of thousands of pesos and the rest of the owners (9 or 11) had to pay more than their "fair share" every month.