Hello There!

[canadababe]

I am thinking of buying a property in Buenos Aires after I have been here for another six months and feel sure to prosper. My considerations are: One bed or two bed. If I bought a two bed, how much rent would I get from short term renters for a self contained set-up with a private bathroom. I will no doubt buy in Recoleta/Barrio Norte.

Thank you in advance for your help!!!

D x

 

[garryl]

I have bought apartment here, I would advise you to buy a 2 bedroom if possible. In order to rent it out to good peopple, you have to make it very attractive, remolding is not cheap here.\
Workers are very unreliable, unlike American contractors. If you are not local, you get ripped off left and right, gringo prices all the time.
The rent really depends on many factors. This is not a great time to invest in Argentina, seller does not want to drop the price, and the return is bad. Many foreign owners are eager to
get rid of their properties, so if you have to buy, buy from expat sellers, also the money transfering is a lot easier for you and seller. Expat seller is much more willing to drop the price
than the locals, who have a very high opinon of their crappy apartments. Feel free to PM me, I have learned a lot of the course of years.
If you can wait a little bit, not sure how long, buy it after a crisis.
From an investment point of view, you are better off to buy a property in US, and have a great/easy rental income, and use that money to rent in BsAs, you avoid all the headache owning a property in Argentina.
If you love the city and do not care too much about the price, I would say buy it now and hold it for fun. It's a really pain to own a property here, it is not easy to get the problems fixed
quickly, even if you pay well, repair people can not make it on time, there is no part, appliances break again quickly. My new washer/dryer breaks all the time, it's not as fun as you think.

 

[Farenheit]

It depends if you are living here and finding the renters yourself (say off this site or craigslist, airbnb etc) or getting an agency to do it as they would take a large cut. I'm sure you could rent a 2-bed to expats for 1000 dollars a month or more. There is also an issue with taxes. If you are non-resident, and you go to sell, they will charge you 35% tax as if you have been renting your apartment out the whole time. They use a base rate to calculate this, I think its 60% of market value but others on the forum may have more info.

 

[garryl]

It depends if you are living here and finding the renters yourself (say off this site or craigslist, airbnb etc) or getting an agency to do it as they would take a large cut. I'm sure you could rent a 2-bed to expats for 1000 dollars a month or more. There is also an issue with taxes. If you are non-resident, and you go to sell, they will charge you 35% tax as if you have been renting your apartment out the whole time. They use a base rate to calculate this, I think its 60% of market value but others on the forum may have more info.

As for tax, I think US and Argentina has tax treaty, as long as you declare the rental income with your rental income, you do not have to pay that 35%. By the way, 30% of the capital
gain or 35% of the sale price ?
It's a pretty easy thing to declare it in your US tax return, with expense, your trip cost and depreciation, your $1000 income can even give you a tax break, I mean negative income.
So, unlike many of the Americans do not report income, you should just report it, you are still OK with IRA and AFIP when it comes to sell the property.
I also heard there is a trick to avoid paying the 35%, let's face the reality here, who really pays that 35%?
In general, it's a pain to own it, there is really no upside compared to US or other market. You have to really like and the amount you spend here is not
significant to you.
So far the only foreigners who still invest in Argentina are Argies who live outside Argentina, There is still a great sentimental value to them.

 

[canadababe]

Any idea how much I would get for a double room, with private bathroom and balcony from tourists?

Thank you for your information.

I just read this article this morning that talks about the market issues and links to an article on taxation. I am on their mailing list and stayed with them on arrival.

http://buenosairesstay.com/buenos-aires-sightseeing-tours-blog/apartments-accommodation/buenos-aires-real-estate-201314/

 

[canadababe]

No idea on prices for double rooms?

 

[syngirl]

I'm not sure what the going rates are, but doing a browse of some of the major rental agencies and a look through Craigslist will give you some idea of rates. Obviously agencies will take their cut before handing over your part, but at least it will give you some idea of the range -- also on the agency sites you'll be able to look at the pics to see what type of property is getting what price, style, furnishings, extras etc, will help you when you go through process of looking for a place to buy of your own.

 

[Farenheit]

garryl, it's the rental income they tax. So if you are non-resident and have been out of the country a year, they tax that full year as occupied by a tenant, (35% tax on their calculation based on a percentage of rental market value) which could really reduce profits. Even if you can prove you only rented it out for two thirds of the time, you will still be taxed on the full year if you weren't living there. And for residents, I understand that you have a saving grace of up to 6 months out of the country before they start charging tax on rental income.

 

[BrettOZ]

Airbnb will give you the best idea on prices you can get. The best price guide is how much would you be prepared to pay for your space. As you will see from the site I have suggested some people are dreaming with what they are expecting tourists to pay but I would think around US$35-40 per night.