Foreigners with property in BA

[Granadaiscool]

My husband and I bought a property here about a year ago. The place was a dump, tipo PH when we got it. We did a total rennovation with an architect friend of ours and the final result is absolutely gorgeous. You can't believe that it's the same place.
We've broken just about even with the money we put into it. I look forward to many years of returning to a beautiful apartment that is so special to us. And once we're old, the plan is to sell it and ka-zam...that's part of our retirement fund. At that time I'll let you know if it was a good investment or not.

How can you break-even if you didn´t sell it yet?

 

[Elpanada]

Of course there can be risks however far fewer in the US and Europe. I mentioned Costa Rica and Panama because they are places that actively seek foreign investment and have substantial numbers of foreign property owners, especially American retirees. My basic point is that buying in Argentina makes more sense when there is some important reason to be here. Otherwise managing property when you are not permanently resident can be quite complicated. Also the instability of the country can be quite a problem. What happened a few years ago (banking crisis/frozen accounts/devaluation etc) could happen again in some shape or form. Rentals may be OK at the moment but the situation is likely to change. Anyone looking to buy here should do so with caution and after a lot of careful thought. I am not saying that buying is a bad idea.

That is your opinion and you're free to have it but it is far from any holy truth.

 

[Granadaiscool]

You own property in BA? Since when? Do you get an ROI of more then 5%?

 

[Bairesgirl]

I know a foreigner who bought an appartment in cañitas in 2003 and has sold it this year with an 80% profit... ok yes it was 2003... it´s still a tidy profit for 4 years..
The thing about getting a mortgage in Europe is that in many cases it is not easily accesible to everyone.... I have friends in Holland with good jobs in large companies who are having difficulties getting into the housing ladder...
(imagine someone working there for 3 months a year and 9 months a year in Argentina for example....) the Banks don´t lend money to someone they believe may not return it, and they wont lend you more than a number of times one´s annual salary..... or allow you to take a mortgage that is more than a certain percentage of your monthly wage...
And it is not easy to just coff up 200.000 euros as you suggest (what is it? about 300.000 dollars) unless you have someone who can spare it...
Getting into the property market for young people in england, spain..etc... is not usually an easy matter.....
It is different for people in different stages of their lives.... anyhow I believe most expats buying here are one´s who are in their late 30s 40s or older and already have a property back home they have sold or have the appartment here as a second home....

 

[chris]

If you bought property in nice areas of Buenos Aires a few years ago you can now sell it for a good profit. I am not sure if the prices are going to continue to increase though. There are different opinions on this. Mortgages are largely non existent in Argentina so we are talking cash transactions. You are right that it is hard for people in countries like the UK (and in expensive parts of the US) to enter the housing market however I think the point being made in this thread had more to do with investment property - whether Argentina was a good place to invest or if there are better deals elsewhere for this sort of investment. It would be interesting to hear from expats as to why they bought here and not in some of the other places that have been mentioned.

 

[Granadaiscool]

If you have bought in 2003 or 2004 you can prolly make a profit, that is if you can sell it.
There is a huge supply of 80 to 120k appartments and the supply is a lot bigger then then the demand.
I would guess the average selling -time is more then a year and we are in boom-period.

 

[sheridan725]

How can you break-even if you didn´t sell it yet?

...Granada-- We got it appraised.

 

[Granadaiscool]

By a real estate agent?

 

[danc]

I bought a nice place in Las Canitas in 2006 and have been renting it out to tourist. I've had it rented about 80% of the time and am seeing a decent cash flow. I bought the apartment for a variety of reasons: 1. I love BA and the apartment is so cool, it overlooks the polo field 2. I married an Argentine. 3. The price was right. 4. Asset diversification. It helps a lot that I found a reliable and honest management company. Good luck!

 

[Granadaiscool]

Do you live in Argentina?
What do you do with your appartment if it's not rented out?
What's the company you use?