How to bring in USD Legally to buy property?

[on the brink]

During Macri's government my niece was able to transfer dollars to buy an apartment. It required mirror accounts, identically titled, in the US and Argentina. That done, she got US dollar bills here. Took about five days, and a 0.50% bank transfer fee.
I second Antipodean's suggestion: wait and see whether the new government changes regulations and does away with the cepo. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

 

[desde_Holanda]

The issue is that to send USD from an account abroad that needs to end up in an Argentine USD bank account, both accounts need to be under the exact same person's name. It's part of current capital control regulations that you don't have in the Netherlands but we do have here. Otherwise if you do this transfer you describe, that account owner in Argentina will receive a bunch of pesos at 378,50 or worse - and then to change them back into dollars need to pay at least 905 pesos for each dollar.

Did they actually suggest this to you? As I'd be suprised that any Argentine resident would not understand this already....

It might be worth waiting a few months (until March) to see what changes with the new government if you can.

I get it. Apologies, it was mentioned before but I interpreted it wrong. Does this also mean that if I (1) Open a USD bank account here on my and my wife names (2) Transfer USD from a bank account abroad with the same naming to this Argentine bank account and (3) Transfer the dollars from my Argentine bank account to seller's Argentine dollar bank account... all will go well?

 

[on the brink]

Please note: the two accounts have to be IDENTICAL - same exact owners, down to middle names or initials. Banks are quite obsessive about this.

 

[antipodean]

(3) Transfer the dollars from my Argentine bank account to seller's Argentine dollar bank account... all will go well?

Perhaps but it is not so straightforward so open to risks as dollar-dollar domestic transfers require a lot of justification from the banks and are subject to controls too in order to receive the amount transfered, so definitely a question you need to make to your bank and the seller especially needs to make to his. Regardless once you have the dollars in your own account in Argentina, you can withdraw the dollars in cash and pay the seller in cash without issue as is the norm here. Just give the bank a few days notice that you need to make a cash withdrawal in USD. If you open an account at their same branch you can see if they have meeting rooms by the safe deposit box section where property deals like this can be made without actually needing to take the cash off premises (if that is the concern).

Cuántos dólares se pueden recibir en una transferencia y qué pasa si se supera el cupo

Qué tener en cuenta según la normativa vigente del Banco Central.Cómo retirar el dinero por ventanilla y por cajero automático.

www.clarin.com

 

[nikad]

If I was you, I would wait a few weeks to see how things develop with the coming administration. if you transfer usd to a usd denominated account, you receive usd. It is technically impossible to receive pesos in a usd denominated account. These stories about being converted into pesos at the official rate have been around for a long time, and it is usually people that did not take the time to read and learn how things work within the banking system.

 

[antipodean]

if you transfer usd to a usd denominated account, you receive usd. It is technically impossible to receive pesos in a usd denominated account.

If only it were that simple, businesses in Argentina exporting goods and services would be much happier.

Speaking from experience, when you receive a third party bank transfer from abroad directed to your Argentine USD account number, your banks COMEX department will contact you. They will ask you to either (a) approve pesification at the official rate and have the transfer redirected to your ARS account or (b) reject the transfer and return it to sender. They may also ask you for some additional supporting information and forms to be completed. If you accept pesification and then want to put those pesos into your USD account, you can buy what is left of your monthly $200 allowance from the bank or otherwise you are forced to go through MEP or CCL trades only to end up with less than half the dollars you "received" in pesos.

Then if you receive a third party transfer from within Argentina directed to your USD account number from another USD account number, YMMV, your bank may outright reject the transaction for a variety of reasons (including if the account involved is less than 180 days old or exceeding the "secret" limit the bank has assigned to you) or call you to provide supporting evidence and declarations while they sit on it waiting to release it to you - ultimately not worth the stress when you can just withdraw and deposit the cash in USD and avoid the whole circus.

Note that it is currently impossible to have a USD account with an Argentine bank without also having a linked ARS account at that same bank.

 

[nikad]

It

If only it were that simple, businesses in Argentina exporting goods and services would be much happier.

Speaking from experience, when you receive a third party bank transfer from abroad directed to your Argentine USD account number, your banks COMEX department will contact you. They will ask you to either (a) approve pesification at the official rate and have the transfer redirected to your ARS account or (b) reject the transfer and return it to sender. They may also ask you for some additional supporting information and forms to be completed. If you accept pesification and then want to put those pesos into your USD account, you can buy what is left of your monthly $200 allowance from the bank or otherwise you are forced to go through MEP or CCL trades only to end up with less than half the dollars you "received" in pesos.

Then if you receive a third party transfer from within Argentina directed to your USD account number from another USD account number, YMMV, your bank may outright reject the transaction for a variety of reasons (including if the account involved is less than 180 days old or exceeding the "secret" limit the bank has assigned to you) or call you to provide supporting evidence and declarations while they sit on it waiting to release it to you - ultimately not worth the stress when you can just withdraw and deposit the cash in USD and avoid the whole circus.

Note that it is currently impossible to have a USD account with an Argentine bank without also having a linked ARS account at that same bank.

I know and have been there. It all comes down to the relationship you have with the bank ( how long the account has been open for, if you have credit cards, and most importantly if you have used the right comex codes and have the right supporting documentation, etc ) I have read above " repatriacion " and... no... that is asking for trouble. I cannot stress enough how important it is to learn how it works.

 

[on the brink]

I get it. Apologies, it was mentioned before but I interpreted it wrong. Does this also mean that if I (1) Open a USD bank account here on my and my wife names (2) Transfer USD from a bank account abroad with the same naming to this Argentine bank account and (3) Transfer the dollars from my Argentine bank account to seller's Argentine dollar bank account... all will go well?

Yes, that's how it worked for my niece, but regulations change all the time, I suggest asking your local bank for exact instructions on how to do it.