I purchased this book "Argentina Residency and Retirement" by Delores Johnson, and I've found it helpful on several topics. The book was published in 2008, so maybe a lot of the information is outdated. I'm planning on renting in the short term, but eventually buying a house once I find a suitable area to live and get familiar with the country. I understand it is a cash purchase and you have to pay for it in US dollars. It says you have to use a money exchange house, or a "casas de cambio" to bring the funds into the country. I don't feel comfortable bringing a large sum of money into the country and carrying it around. Does anyone have any experience with buying real estate in Argentina and maybe could clue me in on the process?
Buying a House in Argentina
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LuckyLuke
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Buying a property down here was perhaps one of the most bewildering chaotic financial transactions I've ever made. I would have cried, were I not so busy laughing. At one point I was walking down the street with my life savings in a backpack. When I complained to the agent about the informality, he told me the last buy brought $200k on a bicycle. God speed.
steveinbsas
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Here is a list of the posts I've made since 2009 which include the words casa and cambio:
Search
baexpats.org
I used a casa de cambio for my first real estate purchase (an apartment in Recoleta in 2006. There was no "boleto" and we had the "escritura" in the casa de cambio the day after the funds were transfered. The cash was bought into the room and counted. I never had to carry it anywhere.
The purchase of my house in 2010 in the south of Pcia. Bs. As. was an entirely different experience. I will search for my previous posts about that saga after I have some coffee.
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Música
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We purchased our property only a few months ago so everything is still quite fresh.
We had already been to the country many times over many years so while we had long planned to move to Argentina, we were not planning on buying anything until much later. But the right property presented itself and we started the process. And from finding the place, to visiting it and others, to the offer, and to closing, it was about a 7 month journey (from formal acceptance of offer to closing was about 4 months). All that time we were not living here yet, so this was done mostly remotely, except for a few visits including for the closing, which complicated some things—like not having a DNI—or CDI/CUIT, which we did get during the process. But now we are here and have begun the formal residency process, so eventually the DNI will come.
Yes we had to do a cash transaction so had to figure out how to do this. We did not have a boleto but went to escritura. Through our lawyer we actually started the process of a casa de cambio and it was a very low fee (less than a percent) but it was taking too long to get things set up and moving since we had a small window that we could be in the country for the closing (some documents have deadlines so this was also another cause for trying to get things done in that window). So we pivoted and just brought all the cash down. It was a process getting the money from our bank in the US, and a slight delay in receiving because of their multiple security checks, but all easily manageable. Obviously we did not want to be carrying around a bag of cash (on either end), but for our situation bringing the money ourselves was the most effective way. Yes nerve-wracking and stressful but ultimately pretty straightforward. While you can bring $10000 without declarations, you can bring more if you fill out forms (can be online, both from country of origin and Argentina), have record of the provenance of the funds you are bringing, and have clear reasons why you are bringing the money. Wasn’t much hassle on either end beside a few extra questions and checks (the tricky part was in US to FINDING customs office when entering airport, since it’s not TSA and the same at EZE, which is different than the usual line to exit customs). Another bonus, there’s no fee on either end to get or bring your money! We had researched and then contracted for two security firms, one to bring us to airport in US and one from airport straight to the closing with the cash in Argentina. Both were professional and surprisingly affordable, all which increased our level of comfort with the whole situation (and while this wasn’t a real factor, the cost with bringing the money ourselves and hiring security was ultimately cheaper than if we went with a casa de cambio).
All arrived and we sat at a table counting the money and once done, signed, given keys and we had our property!
Having purchased in US, some things were similar but really the whole Argentine process was very different, with different customs and traditions. The realtor was also great and helpful. And while technically you don’t need a lawyer to go through the process, we found it was wonderful and another comfort to have one to help guide and lead us through the experience.
Best wishes on your journey!
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Bajo_cero2
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He can bring the whole 250k in one travel if he declare them at Customs. He only needs tha papers that shows it legitime source.
Bajo_cero2
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It is better to do it at the escribano office.Here is a list of the posts I've made since 2009 which include the words casa and cambio:
Search
I used a casa de cambio for my first real estate purchase (an apartment in Recoleta in 2006. There was no "boleto" and we had the "escritura" in the casa de cambio the day after the funds were transfered. The cash was bought into the room and counted. I never had to carry it anywhere.
The purchase of my house in 2010 in the south of Pcia. Bs. As. was an entirely different experience. I will search for my previous posts about that saga after I have some coffee.
Well, maybe if someone buying an apartment around constitution or in Microcentro, I've seen as low as 25K to 30K, that might be more practical to gather 25-30K cash.
In my town a family that sold their farm was in a fatal car crash on the way home. No one could find the money just the empty case but all the Bombero's bought businesses and become millionaires in the following years. This was like 20 years ago or more but on Día del Bombero Voluntario someone leaves an empty case in front of their statue in the park or the firestation.
Buying a house in Argentina is probably the most bizzarre experience of my entire life!
I remember feeling edgy if I am carrying 2-3000 usd on streets of BA for my regular expenses.
On day of purchase, I carried a huge amount of cash on the streets of BA. It felt "naked" like hell. Anything could have happened. I delayed buying house in Argentina by almost 15 years ( lived on rent for 15 years) for exactly this reason which I ultimately realized is absolutely unavoidable in Argentina.
I went to many houses and banks to be able to do this transaction as described by some users above. However all refused to assist me for various reasons. It was not a joke to arrange so much hard cash in USD con "cara grandes, lineas azul, y sin mantas" and then carry these huge wads of cash on your body, on the streets.
I remember feeling edgy if I am carrying 2-3000 usd on streets of BA for my regular expenses.
On day of purchase, I carried a huge amount of cash on the streets of BA. It felt "naked" like hell. Anything could have happened. I delayed buying house in Argentina by almost 15 years ( lived on rent for 15 years) for exactly this reason which I ultimately realized is absolutely unavoidable in Argentina.
I went to many houses and banks to be able to do this transaction as described by some users above. However all refused to assist me for various reasons. It was not a joke to arrange so much hard cash in USD con "cara grandes, lineas azul, y sin mantas" and then carry these huge wads of cash on your body, on the streets.
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