Flat Hunting For Three Year Stay

[brixtongirl]

Hello everyone!


My husband and I are moving to BA in January for three years from London with my work. We're so excited about getting to know the city and already have found the forum super useful!

We are currently flat hunting- I'm coming to BA for 2 weeks in the beginning of December to look at places and hopefully sign- but struggling to find much that is inspiring/has some character. Are there any great real estate websites people would recommend? I have tried 'trovit' but found it pretty miserable... I've also joined the Facebook group for owners which someone in the forum recommended. Or does anyone know a smaller estate agent who I might not be able to find onling who helped them find something great? We're quite open minded about where we live- I'll be working in Recoleta, but Puerto Madero, Palermo, San Telmo all seem tempting! We can pay rent in USD and plenty in advance, guarantor etc. I speak Spanish so non-English-speaking estate agents are also fine.

Thanks so much for your help and hopefully look forward to meeting some of you in Jan!

Lydia

 

[DCexpatstudent]

when you get on the ground get in contact with as many realtors as possible is what I would advise because t hey don't share their inventory. Maybe someone on here knows of a good one though. However with a guarantor you can rent very affordably as well as with such a long amount of time that you are looking to rent. Recoleta would be a great place for character but wouldn't be run down and would be pretty safe. Puerto Madero however is very disconnected from the city, life, and public transport as well as its just like a bunch of chain restaurants. Sorry I don't have the exact answers but hopefully those can at least help some!

 

[Tilda]

Does anyone on the forum have their company as guarantor? Will the realtor accept that?

I tried to search it on the forum, but I could find anything. Maybe I'm just not very adept at forming search phrases...

 

[Ceviche]

how many of ba expats managed to convince a "friend" ( not a relative or a employer or a bank) but a friend..owning a apartment to act as your guatantor?

for me, it has been a "wild goose chase"!

I will love to hear how long you knew them, how you met them and what kind of convincing tactics did you use.

 

[GS_Dirtboy]

We're quite open minded about where we live- I'll be working in Recoleta, but Puerto Madero, Palermo, San Telmo all seem tempting! We can pay rent in USD and plenty in advance, guarantor etc. I speak Spanish so non-English-speaking estate agents are also fine.

Thanks so much for your help and hopefully look forward to meeting some of you in Jan!

Lydia

Hi Lydia,

Recoleta, Puerto Madero, Palermo and San Telmo are all very different from each other. Having a guarantia will make it much easier to rent a nice place.

GS

 

[Jenny21]

Hi Lydia,

Recoleta, Puerto Madero, Palermo and San Telmo are all very different from each other. Having a guarantia will make it much easier to rent a nice place.

GS

Belgrano is a good place to look for too. Two friends of mine are going back in December and their flats are simply gorgeous, not mentioning brand-new buildings with ammenities.

 

[Matiasba]

these links will be very useful:

http://www.zonaprop.com.ar/

http://www.argenprop.com/

http://www.soloduenos.com/

Try to rent always in pesos!

 

[nlaruccia]

http://baexpats.org/classifieds/item/1300-two-gorgeous-rooms-for-rent-in-palermo/

My friend has an apartment in Alto Palermo. He usually rents the rooms out, but if it's not occupied maybe you can rent the entire apartment.

 

[ElQueso]

[...]
Try to rent always in pesos!

Why?

Only reason I see to rent in pesos is 1) lack of ability to get foreign currency (which indeed can be an issue - but anyone living here for three years has to resolve getting their money into the country or they're going to have problems sooner rather than later) or 2) take advantage of the relative strength of foreign currency (which is usually a win-lose scenario, which I try to avoid even when I'm the winner) or 3) as crazy as this government is, someone wants to do everything according to their whims and desires and renting in pesos is patriotic.

I try to rent in dollars (or value the rent in dollars to be paid in pesos at the blue rate each month if getting actual dollars or other currency is a problem) so it's win-win situation. The owner doesn't come back for more money, or feels "cheated", halfway through the contract because the 20-25% inflation clause in the contract wasn't enough and I don't have to have an adjustable rent related to the currency in which I earn, or a bump in the second year for inflation, which after more than one bump often puts the price of the contract out of the actual market, a penalty for staying more than two years in the apartment.

At this point in time, renting in pesos is only more advantageous to those earning in foreign currency, which leaves the owner (as someone mentioned in another thread) feeling like they are not keeping up with inflation. Renting in pesos in a more secure economy here doesn't mean much difference to either side.

 

[ElQueso]

Hello everyone!


My husband and I are moving to BA in January for three years from London with my work. We're so excited about getting to know the city and already have found the forum super useful!

We are currently flat hunting- I'm coming to BA for 2 weeks in the beginning of December to look at places and hopefully sign- but struggling to find much that is inspiring/has some character. Are there any great real estate websites people would recommend? I have tried 'trovit' but found it pretty miserable... I've also joined the Facebook group for owners which someone in the forum recommended. Or does anyone know a smaller estate agent who I might not be able to find onling who helped them find something great? We're quite open minded about where we live- I'll be working in Recoleta, but Puerto Madero, Palermo, San Telmo all seem tempting! We can pay rent in USD and plenty in advance, guarantor etc. I speak Spanish so non-English-speaking estate agents are also fine.

Thanks so much for your help and hopefully look forward to meeting some of you in Jan!

Lydia

I think Matias listed the three best sites, and I might add the Clarin's website as well: http://www.inmuebles.clarin.com/

As well, Remax has some really good listings, often, though they are a little more expensive sometimes on the commission than other companies (I rented my current apartment through Remax). http://www.remax.com.ar

Two weeks may not be enough time for you to find a good place. Certainly enough time to find a temporary place to use as your base while you search further once you're here. I searched for two months to find my place, but I had requirements that are a bit more than most in terms of space and such.

Puerto Madero I wouldn't recommend. Nice place to visit, but really isolated from the rest of the city and almost sterile. Close to Recoleta, though.

There are parts of Retiro that might be OK, the parts between Alem and Uruguay - some real estate agents call it a part of Recoleta, but it's on the other side of 9 de Julio. Problem is, it's close to the train/bus terminal and one of the biggest (if not the biggest?) villas (slum) in Buenos Aires. I lived there previously (moved about 7 months ago) and things were starting to get a little iffy at times, it felt like. Farther from Alem the better and other side of 9 de Julio even better..

Palermo is nice (although it was recently rated as the highest barrio in terms of crime, but I don't know about that - seems pretty safe to me and lots of cool restaurants and parks and such), San Telmo a bit more bohemian maybe and some parts could be a little iffy, but not bad, nice cultural stuff going on there.

Recoleta is where I live (right on the border of Recoleta and Retiro according to official barrio maps). You do have to put up with some snooty people at times, but I like the quality of life here. It's a little close to the villa as well, though we don't see many villeros here (although not the case closer to the cemetery and Recoleta Shopping).

Belgrano is great, particularly the homes available at reasonable prices, but you may be looking at a bit of a trip in the morning in terms of time to get to work in relation to being in Palermo or Recoleta.

Colegiales is pretty nice for the most part as well, near Palermo and Belgrano, other side of Santa Fe.