Buy a house in BA?

[FrankPintor]

Me too

You wouldn’t like a pool of your own or even a jacuzzi and maybe a few lemon or apple or pear trees?

 

[BAHibs]

Actually my wife and I have just a month ago agreed on buying a beautiful old house in Caballito, very nicely renovated. We know the owners very well, long time friends with the family and very nice people. I won't say we get a bargain, but this is not about return on investment. It's about living in a house we love, in a neighbourhood we like very much, and in a street we also like. It will lock a substantial part of our assets in 'stones', but actually i don't care what the value will be in about 10 years. We plan to have wonderful times in that house.

I was worried about the price of the land I'm buying with my partner but then I think the same way as you do, can't put a price on having a "home".

 

[Ceviche]

You wouldn’t like a pool of your own or even a jacuzzi and maybe a few lemon or apple or pear trees?

How do you know, I don't live like that already?

 

[FrankPintor]

How do you know, I don't live like that already?

If you do, congratulations, having all that to yourself in CABA is quite an achievement.

 

[Ries]

Building materials of 120 years ago are archaic and are a time capsule compared to what is available today. In fact, the materials that are available today, out the materials of 20 years ago to shame. JMTC

to which I would answer- "it depends".
I have been involved in building and repairing things, up to and including structures, for over 40 years.
Some building materials of 120 years ago are archaic, sure.
But, I will take solid, dried, 120 year old pinoteca any day over current laminated "wood" flooring, for example. We just had ours resanded and sealed last year, it should be good for another 20 or 30 years before it needs that again.
My old departmento has 8" thick hollow brick walls covered with hand troweled sand based plaster- and its quiet, and insulates quite well. I cant hear Santa Fe, and its only about 20 meters down the street.
Its true that modern triple pane insulated windows are better- but also, expensive, and not used in most new construction in Argentina.
My wife would not trade her cast iron claw foot bathtub (purchased at Mercado de Pulgas) for any brand new fiberglas tub you can buy.
The older buildings in Buenos Aires often have marble, wrought iron, bronze light fixtures, 4 meter ceilings, stained glass, all brass and bronze hardware, and so on- most of which is, theoretically, still available new, but at incredible cost. I have seen new apartments here with plastic grifferia, with, plastic wall coverings in the kitchen and bath instead of stone or tile, and similar extreme cost cutting measures.
It is POSSIBLE to build very high quality buildings with modern materials. But its seldom done on a standard 8 story new apartment building in CABA.

 

[¡Sencillamente yo!]

to which I would answer- "it depends".
I have been involved in building and repairing things, up to and including structures, for over 40 years.
Some building materials of 120 years ago are archaic, sure.
But, I will take solid, dried, 120 year old pinoteca any day over current laminated "wood" flooring, for example. We just had ours resanded and sealed last year, it should be good for another 20 or 30 years before it needs that again.
My old departmento has 8" thick hollow brick walls covered with hand troweled sand based plaster- and its quiet, and insulates quite well. I cant hear Santa Fe, and its only about 20 meters down the street.
Its true that modern triple pane insulated windows are better- but also, expensive, and not used in most new construction in Argentina.
My wife would not trade her cast iron claw foot bathtub (purchased at Mercado de Pulgas) for any brand new fiberglas tub you can buy.
The older buildings in Buenos Aires often have marble, wrought iron, bronze light fixtures, 4 meter ceilings, stained glass, all brass and bronze hardware, and so on- most of which is, theoretically, still available new, but at incredible cost. I have seen new apartments here with plastic grifferia, with, plastic wall coverings in the kitchen and bath instead of stone or tile, and similar extreme cost cutting measures.
It is POSSIBLE to build very high quality buildings with modern materials. But its seldom done on a standard 8 story new apartment building in CABA.

Your post indicates you are knowledgable Ries. (Some of what you state is valid and agreeable to me.)

 

[Fiscal]

In any ogher country doctors, engineers etc are not considered middle class but at least upper middle class.
Even though, consider the following example: you earn 200k pesos a month, which is a very high local salary. Given the high taxes etc, it would be very hard to save 500 usd a month (but possible if you are single). If you manage this, it would take you 30 years to buy a 180k usd apartment in caba (which is not luxury even).

What is a typical upper middle class occupation here, and what monthly salary would be considered upper middle class?

 

[Goata]

What is a typical upper middle class occupation here, and what monthly salary would be considered upper middle class?

I think Doctors, Engineers, etc... were upper middle class occupations before the latest round of inflation,
my wife is an Academic and her Salary at 18 Pesos a dollar of 3 years ago was a very livable salary and now at 100 pesos a dollar, it just ekes by.

 

[elhombresinnombre]

You move into your grandma's house and live with your grandma's mattress and your grandma's kitchen table until you die and your kids take over the house and everything in it. Ever wondered why you can't get decent furniture here? Args don't buy furniture, they just use the same shit their family brought from the old country. Anything new is some Chinese particle board bs that they paid 3x more for. Half the tables for sale in this country would warp into a taco if you didn't use a coaster under your cold drink.

....which reminds me of a rough guide to the English class system. The lower classes buy their furniture from IKEA; the middle classes from John Lewis. The upper classes don't buy furniture: they inherit it along with the stately pile.

 

[jblaze5779]

....which reminds me of a rough guide to the English class system. The lower classes buy their furniture from IKEA; the middle classes from John Lewis. The upper classes don't buy furniture: they inherit it along with the stately pile.

I make my own so where does that put me?