High 'expensas' : Future of apt. living in BA

[sergio]

My building 'expensas' are now astronomical, not cheap even by US standards. In return I get a poorly run building, often dirty with an odor of garbage on weekends. If I decide to sell I am not sure I could easily find a buyer despite the great neighborhood and beautiful interior. I'd like to know what others are paying in expensas and what they get for their money -- and what they think the future will be for apartment living in the city.

 

[SaraSara]

How how many units int the building, how large is your apartment (square meters) and what are the expenses?

 

[RichardP]

My mother-in-law pays over 300 pesos per month in a 40 square meter apartment in La Boca. It went up from around 100 pesos in just a few years. As a retired person on a fixed income, this is quite expensive for her. The building is in shambles, and with the high expensas, it would be very difficult to sell the apartment without practically giving it away.
We have been trying to get her into a better place, but having lived all of her 80 years within a 5 block radius, it's been challenging to convince her.

 

[Gringoboy]

I rent a small shop, which has the misfortune to be below an apartment block and therefore we pay expensas. When I took it on in Feb 2009 I was paying $320. Now I pay nearly $600.
It's a mystery to me.

 

[Bigboxer]

One apto. ~100 sq metres in Palermo expenses went from a stable $450 pesos for the last 10 months to $750 this month..!

Other apto. 60 sq metres in Palermo $300 at beginning of year to $500 now..! go figure..!

I think it's partly due to another increase for building workers (encargado..)...cause it appears to be spread over 3 months.

 

[Sleuth]

Been apartment shopping recently and these are some of the expenses we have been seeing:

36 sq meter apartment in Palermo Hollywood: $325 pesos with cable, encargado, small jacuzzi and parilla
40 sq meter apartment in Palermo Soho: $325 pesos small pool, gym, sauna. No encargado or cable.

 

[perry]

Expenses are very high and I agree without justification. Many buildings are now minimum 1000 pesos mensuales in Barrio Norte and there are many unhappy owners who cannot keep up with the increases. I know of many people who sold for this reason only.

I am very lucky and just pay 180 pesos mensuales for a 62 metres apt in a great location of Palermo Soho . They have gone up 50 pesos per month since 2007 .

 

[nikad]

It is not just about the apartment size but also the number of apartments in the building. My building fees are very dear 1000$ for a 140 sq mt apt, building is small ( 20 apts ) but it is ran wonderfully and everything is in great shape. It is about 30 years old and have central heating and cable included in the fee. In Recoleta.

 

[Davidglen77]

I just sold a 2 bedroom / 2 bathroom apartment with a balcony, deeded parking space, and roof deck with parillas in a 2 year old building in Villa Urquiza. The expensas started out 2 years ago at $275 when I bought the place and as of last month they were only $325. Its a small 6 unit elevator building that has NO encargado. Just a person legally registered as monotributo that came to clean 2x per week for 4 hours a shift.
The key is to look for a small building that has NO full time employee, that way you are insulated from the high costs of maintaining an employee. And I tell you, don't blame the encargados. Where I live now, the salary of the encargado (in hand) is $2,700 per month. However the "cargas sociales" as they are known, which are social security taxes and union dues are $2,000 per month additional on top of the salary. So either find an apartment in a small building or a very large which also tend to have lower expensas as all of the building costs are spread out between a large # of units.

 

[mini]

I'm sure BajoCero will be around any minute to tell you to just not pay the expenses.... (eye roll smiley)

If I were to buy here I would only consider a PH.