Getting Real Estate Sale Money Out Of The Country Legally?

[peterp]

I'm looking to sell a property here in Argentina, the sale will be in cash US$. How can I get this money out of Argentina and into a bank account in the UK?

The money entered Argentina legally via the banking system, I'm up to date with all taxes (bienes personales etc) so the money will be 100% legal (en blanco)

What are my options for getting the money out of the country SAFELY and LEGALLY without physically carrying it out on my body?

I want to do it legally so I don't have problems with money laundering when the money arrives in my bank account in the UK

 

[el_expatriado]

Contado con liquidación. Have the seller pay you in pesos at the blue rate (or at least at the contado con liqui rate). With the pesos you buy shares of Tenaris or some other company that quotes on the NYSE. Your local broker will then send those shares to your brokerage account abroad and then sell them abroad for dollars.

A good argentine stock broker will set-up the whole thing to run simultaneously so you don't have any risk on the stock price movement. It'll cost you about 2-3% in fees.

This operation is 100% legal and can be justified with documentation the whole way. Real Estate >> Pesos >> Tenaris Shares >> USD.

Saludos!

 

[mjohnstone]

I understand you can do it through proper and legal channels. If interested PM me and I'll can get you in touch with an accountant that's handled several for expats and argentine families currently living abroad.

 

[peterp]

Contado con liquidación. Have the seller pay you in pesos at the blue rate (or at least at the contado con liqui rate). With the pesos you buy shares of Tenaris or some other company that quotes on the NYSE. Your local broker will then send those shares to your brokerage account abroad and then sell them abroad for dollars.

A good argentine stock broker will set-up the whole thing to run simultaneously so you don't have any risk on the stock price movement. It'll cost you about 2-3% in fees.

This operation is 100% legal and can be justified with documentation the whole way. Real Estate >> Pesos >> Tenaris Shares >> USD.

Saludos!

Thanks very much for your answer. Now to throw a spanner in the works...

If the seller has US$ (in Blanco) they won't be able to change it at the blue rate then declare it on the escritura in pesos as the numbers won't add up...

The transaction won't take place in Buenos Aires, and casa de cambios in this part of the words a bit few and far between and rates probably not as good as Buenos Aires.

A stack of US$ 100 dollars bills to the sum on US$ 100,000 (for example) is about 10cm's tall; converted to A$ pesos, the pile will be 1.5 meters tall or fill a medium sized rucksack....

Are the any options with US$..?? .......... us$ > pesos (official rate - via banco central) > GBP£ official rate... (assuming I have all the paperwork and can prove the source of the funds??)

 

[Davidglen77]

You can do an operation similar to contado con liqui with dollars. You have to speak to a stock brokerage, make sure you find a reputable one. I used Casa Bell. Worked perfectly every time.

 

[Gringoboy]

I heard that the contado con liqui rate had been cut from $14 to $9 by the government, although this may be old news.

 

[syngirl]

Gringoboy is right -- this is why the Merval crashed last week. The brokerage firms were essentially given a 48hrs heads up that friday would be the last day for trading at the CCL rate and that from now on all trades will be converted using the official rate. I'll be honest, I have not read the news on it this week so not sure what's happened.

 

[nkotb]

The measures Gringoboy and syngirl are talking about only affect investments by mutual funds. Regular brokers can still do contado con liqui for now (of course, the rate took a hit because of the restrictions on mutual funds).

 

[mikic007]

Much has changed since September and now I will have to get the money I grabbed during my stay here (all legal) out of Argentina. It is around 25000 usd, I don't have reciepts for most of it, but it is obvious I earned enough to spare this much. Can I declare it and simply fly with it? I won't have any problem in EU, just have to declare it on the spot there, question is of course about aduana argentina ...

Did anyone make significant bank transfer out of the country? I asked in 2 banks, and both want that I change usd first to pesos, then back to usd and pay small fee ... Fee is obviously not a problem, however changing is (the difference is between 0.4 and 0.5 pesos). Not a huge loss but loss nonetheless (altogether around 1000). In this case I can afford aditional return ticket and grab the rest, however, 5000 still stays ....

Anyway, my question is directed more to declaration of the money to aduana on the airport (if it's even possible), but if anyone has any other insight it would be appreciated.

 

[wineguy999]

I would never take the chance of flying out with it, even with a declaration. You might find yourself a lot lighter upon boarding.