Cost for Rental Question

[omegabrad]

Greetings Expats,

I am a brand new member to the site. I have learned a lot and I appreciate all of your posts!

I may have missed this post, but I have a question about rent. According to the Annual UBS World Cost of Living report, the average rent in Buenos Aires is approximately one-third the cost of rent in the states (specifically Chicago, my hometown).

While searching online for rentals, I am seeing prices on comparable apartments for only 20%-30% less. That is not consistent with the stats I've read. I have heard that they will try to charge a substantial premium to uninformed expats like myself - is this what I'm seeing?

I plan on spending two months in BA, starting approximately April 20th - June 20th. If anyone knows of any contacts or resources for my apartment search, I would really appreciate it.

Thanks in advance for your responses!

Brad

 

[jp]

Unforunately the cost of living reports won't help you much.

If you took a weighted average of the rents across the whole of Capital Federal, or the province of buenos aires its possible that the average rent will be a third of what you pay in Chicago. But the reality is that for most expats, there are only a handful of barrios that are comfortable and practical to live in. Demand within these barrios is high, and prices reflect this.

If you are looking online, you are probably going to find tourist prices for temporary rentals, which will typically be a lot higher than the standard "local" rate. There are a number of sites which have longer term properties available, www.remax.com.ar and www.soloduenos.com might be better points of reference. But to rent on these sites, you will need to commit to a 2 year contract, you'll likely need to buy furniture (including white goods) and you'll need a guarantor (which the company should be able to provide). In addition to the rent, you'll need to factor in building rates, and bills which vary depending on the property. Once you factor in the cost of buying furniture, paying a realtor fee (up to 2 months rent), paying all the bills and rates etc the price per month isn't all that much different to a short term tourist price.

 

[nikad]

You are comparing apples and oranges as the price for a 2 months rentals is for tourists, people living here do not pay that much for rent.

 

[mini]

The report you read probably compared regular unfurnished long term rents to regular long unfurnished long term rentals. Foreigners that are staying here for only 2 months are not looking for those types of rentals. They are looking for furnished short terms rents which tend to be in the more expensive areas of the city and of course are more expensive than a standard rental contract. Also, when was the survey you read taken? Count on over 20% inflation per month.

What are the going rents for fully furnished short term rentals in Chicago?

 

[juliette]

Hi, I know a guy named Hugo who is very honest and he runs temporary rental apartments. His web site is called "www.2rentapartments.com" and he has an affordable and nice studio apartment for rent in on of the best areas of Buenos Aires, at Coronel Diaz and Cabello Streets. Check ir out and good luck!

 

[Ries]

on a site like this-
http://www.corporatehousingbyowner.com

monthly rents for furnished apartments in neighborhoods equivalent to Recoleta or Palermo seem to run between $2000 and $3000 a month, with most at the higher end of that.

 

[wreReynolds]

In my experience here rents here are totally unpredictable. I had a great apartment when I first arrived (a modern studio in one of the better neighbourhoods, Recoleta) and I paid just US$450/month. Later moved to a very nice 2 bedroom in Recoleta on of the better streets and was paying just US$775. So it depends, with some luck you'll find something reasonable, but it is true that most landlords here are unreasonable twits, but there are some great ones too. Keep looking.
That said, short term rentals are quite a bit more expensive here - Argentines think all westerners are rich... hah!

 

[omegabrad]

Thanks for all of your advice!

To answer your question about Chicago rent, an average studio downtown will run $800 - 1000.

Brad

 

[mini]

Thanks for all of your advice!

To answer your question about Chicago rent, an average studio downtown will run $800 - 1000.

Brad

A short term furnished apartment or a regular long term empty apartment?