Hey all - from expat living in Salta

[thomasb]

Hey all,

I am Thomas, I live in the Salta and have been for 5 years now. Was passing by after staying in BA for a while on my way to Peru and was going to stay 2 days, fell in love with the city and after a few weeks met the girl that's now my wife

I know this is a BA forum, but since there's no Salta forum and most general subjects here relate to all expats in Argentina I have been lurking around the forums for a while.

I have always worked with software/web development so I have started a company here (www.blackfishweb.com) with some local guys and we mostly work for European companies (I am looking for people - but will post a separate post about that).

With my wife we started the first Short-term rental agency in/for Salta that she runs. The english version of the website lacks some text but can be found here:
http://www.alquilado-salta.com/
spanish: http://www.alquilado-salta.com.ar/

If anyone comes to Salta and would like to rent an apartment or house just let me know and we'll fix something.

(Disclaimer: Some of the prices might seems steep, but Salta is very "in" these days and we do not control the prices - the owners do - the good news is that in general everything else is a lot cheaper here in the north)

If anyone has questions about anything related to the north I am happy to help if I can.

Cheers,

-Thomas-
http://www.blackfishweb.com
http://www.alquilado-salta.com

 

[jb5]

You're right, those look like dumps for the price, do you actually rent them?

 

[steveinbsas]

You're right, those look like dumps for the price, do you actually rent them?

Does this look like a dump for $275 USD per night?

http://www.alquilado-salta.com/details/CS033

Please post links to better values in this area if you know of any.

PS: Good luck, Thomas!

 

[ghost]

Nice neighborhood. What's going on up there is Salta...................Looks like some major money is pouring into the area???????? Investors? Local money.

 

[TheBigDaddy]

am i reading right that some of these places are $750 a night? wtf?

 

[steveinbsas]

am i reading right that some of these places are $750 a night? wtf?

The house I like is well over $1000 pesos per night (closer to $1200).

So what's your point?

http://www.alquilado-salta.com/details/CS033

 

[thomasb]

Great welcome to the forum!

I feel I have to defend myself slightly so will do:

We have 60+ properties, we visit regularly, take all the photos, check that everything is ok etc. We also offer advice to the owners as to what we think is a good price, however owners are greedy and prices are mostly controlled by offer and demand - they tend to want more than we suggest. Here nowadays the demand is great, the offer not so much. I am guessing (official numbers will be out Monday) that the hotels/hostels/pensions will have close to 100% occupancy this weekend and almost all out properties were occupied.

Remember that everything is relative. A dump in London might be a castle elsewhere. However, we do not have any properties that I wouldn't personally stay in.

Steve: That particular house is owned by foreigners, but there are several other that are very good price/quality as well.

Salta has changed a lot over the last few years, even just since I have been here and tourism is now the most important income, but it takes a while to get "up to standards" on some things.

There's a country in Cafayate that is more expensive per square meter than land in London (slight exaggeration - though it has private airstrip, 350 days of sun and excellent wine) and they are almost sold out.

In the end of the day it's business.

 

[thomasb]

$750 dollars? No. There are several houses that are more than a thousands pesos per night yea, but with room for 10+ people, swimming pool etc. (10 people paying a 100 per night is not expensive)

 

[steveinbsas]

Steve: That particular house is owned by foreigners, but there are several other that are very good price/quality as well.

Actually, I think the rate is reasonable for this house, regardless of where the owners are from. They probably anticipate the expectations of other foreigners and strive to meet them better than most local owners. The photos make it look like they do just that (and congratulations to you for providing such extensive photos)

http://www.alquilado-salta.com/details/CS033

At the end of the day it's more than (just) business. It's providing the best you have to offer and never being misleading.

That will build your business and (hopefully) insure it's success.

 

[thomasb]

I agree, didn't mean to imply otherwise -there are others that could use a price-adjustment though. That house is available all winter btw (and we can talk price) as they are in Europe.

(ops: not my intention to "sell" - not why I joined here. Getting late and I am off to dinner!)