Living in a house in Capital Federal

[Ceviche]

A short "note" on "searching for a house in Capital federal as a "single" expat.

So it's no secret that I began my search about 45 days ago. Main reason being that I am paying a high price for a expensive "carcel" like apartment in a famous building in CABA, with all its amenities locked up for last 6 months or so.

I got derailed in my search as "fear" was transmitted to me via this forum,that nasty things will happen to me if I started living in house being a single expat.. I am ashamed to admit that the fear got better off me for a few days, and I lost a mind blowing beautiful house on O'higgins street at a "throwaway" lottery price..

Now, I am searching again. Some of the houses are obscenely priced ..when I say obscene, I mean, like at 15000 usd ( not pesos) a month. There are also some cheap houses, but they look downright ugly and situated in ugly neighborhoods of CABA.

The best bet, for an expat ( looking for a house) is look for in "Belgrano, Nuñez or Calle Ombu of Palermo. These are the three hotspots for houses in CABA.

I came across some funny facts during my search. Some of the owners of these fancy houses have just fled out of the country at first opportunity and asked the real estate agents to rent their house while they are away. Most of them want to rent out for 6-12 months which is not ideal for me. Many of the houses are filled with their shit mediocre stuff. Though the house is pretty, some of these guys have accumulated really shit items in their fancy houses and want to rent is like that and not agreeing to empty their houses.

some of the most "green" houses I saw were on street "Ombu" near Malba museum. Really mind blowing stuff..lot of greenery and trees. The bigger conventional USA type houses are in Belgrano R. But these are situated a bit off the main Subte routes etc ( I don't use Subte, but my friends do). Nuñez had some really beautiful houses but even further and closed to where the football matches are played and there can be a lot of ruckus by the football crowd returning back in foul mood from the matches.

Any decent house in Belgrano or Nunez, is priced from 2500 usd to 6000 usd/month..Any decent house in calle Ombu is priced from 3000 to 15000 usd/month.
Most of the house have heating from radiators and cooling from air conditioners. The hot water has a special unit to do it. The amount of space in the houses is almost mind-blowing. You can almost get lost in it.. Even the smaller houses tend to have 3-4 bedroom and 4-5 toilettes. Many have a pool and a garden. Many of the houses were previously rented by embassy or employees of embassy. In fact, everyone ( all real estate agents) assume, I work for embassy, when I approach them to see the house! ahem ahem!

The worst thing that all owners are in "hiding". One must go through a real estate agents who are really very very condescending and talk strangely. They refuse to let you talk to the owners . One must finalize every damn detail, with the agent. The owners are too "big" to talk to "ordinary mortals" like us. Some of the owners are famous politicians and public figures of Argentina.

Be prepared to be looked at weirdly when you declare "I am single with no kids or pets looking for a house". The property agents tend to panic and start calling their bosses.

The number of houses available are very limited.

I could not get to find out the security issues. But I did visit the streets ( where my preferred houses were located) at 5 am and midnight to get the feel ..but I did not feel "too scared" as yet.

Belgrano R is damn boring.

Calle Ombu looks damn central and interesting.

Hope this helps to searchers of house in CABA, like me.

 

[EL_TIGRE_de_Tigre]

A short "note" on "searching for a house in Capital federal as a "single" expat.

So it's no secret that I began my search about 45 days ago. Main reason being that I am paying a high price for a expensive "carcel" like apartment in a famous building in CABA, with all its amenities locked up for last 6 months or so.

I got derailed in my search as "fear" was transmitted to me via this forum,that nasty things will happen to me if I started living in house being a single expat.. I am ashamed to admit that the fear got better off me for a few days, and I lost a mind blowing beautiful house on O'higgins street at a "throwaway" lottery price..

Now, I am searching again. Some of the houses are obscenely priced ..when I say obscene, I mean, like at 15000 usd ( not pesos) a month. There are also some cheap houses, but they look downright ugly and situated in ugly neighborhoods of CABA.

The best bet, for an expat ( looking for a house) is look for in "Belgrano, Nuñez or Calle Ombu of Palermo. These are the three hotspots for houses in CABA.

I came across some funny facts during my search. Some of the owners of these fancy houses have just fled out of the country at first opportunity and asked the real estate agents to rent their house while they are away. Most of them want to rent out for 6-12 months which is not ideal for me. Many of the houses are filled with their shit mediocre stuff. Though the house is pretty, some of these guys have accumulated really shit items in their fancy houses and want to rent is like that and not agreeing to empty their houses.

some of the most "green" houses I saw were on street "Ombu" near Malba museum. Really mind blowing stuff..lot of greenery and trees. The bigger conventional USA type houses are in Belgrano R. But these are situated a bit off the main Subte routes etc ( I don't use Subte, but my friends do). Nuñez had some really beautiful houses but even further and closed to where the football matches are played and there can be a lot of ruckus by the football crowd returning back in foul mood from the matches.

Any decent house in Belgrano or Nunez, is priced from 2500 usd to 6000 usd/month..Any decent house in calle Ombu is priced from 3000 to 15000 usd/month.
Most of the house have heating from radiators and cooling from air conditioners. The hot water has a special unit to do it. The amount of space in the houses is almost mind-blowing. You can almost get lost in it.. Even the smaller houses tend to have 3-4 bedroom and 4-5 toilettes. Many have a pool and a garden. Many of the houses were previously rented by embassy or employees of embassy. In fact, everyone ( all real estate agents) assume, I work for embassy, when I approach them to see the house! ahem ahem!

The worst thing that all owners are in "hiding". One must go through a real estate agents who are really very very condescending and talk strangely. They refuse to let you talk to the owners . One must finalize every damn detail, with the agent. The owners are too "big" to talk to "ordinary mortals" like us. Some of the owners are famous politicians and public figures of Argentina.

Be prepared to be looked at weirdly when you declare "I am single with no kids or pets looking for a house". The property agents tend to panic and start calling their bosses.

The number of houses available are very limited.

I could not get to find out the security issues. But I did visit the streets ( where my preferred houses were located) at 5 am and midnight to get the feel ..but I did not feel "too scared" as yet.

Belgrano R is damn boring.

Calle Ombu looks damn central and interesting.

Hope this helps to searchers of house in CABA, like me.

Ceviche,

One question: (Maybe 2!)

Other than location or a stand alone property affording space from the next knucklehead (Code for an obnoxious neighbor and their less than considerate behavior such as making noise at inappropriate times of the day ...) why in the world do you want so much space for just yourself?

Wouldn't it be better to overpay for a smaller place (Yet overall a lot less expensive.) for a smaller, killer place?

Just wondering???

 

[jblaze5779]

I noticed the same thing while looking at houses here. All the big houses are furnished. The owners want a lot of money because it's furnished, only problem is that their furniture is pretty crappy. I wondered how much it would be without the furniture but it was impossible as the furniture is included. Oh well

 

[Ceviche]

Ceviche,

One question: (Maybe 2!)

Other than location or a stand alone property affording space from the next knucklehead (Code for an obnoxious neighbor and their less than considerate behavior such as making noise at inappropriate times of the day ...) why in the world do you want so much space for just yourself?

A house with a huge garden or backyard and pool will usually be very big.

Apart from the dealing with shit neighbors and their 100 dogs ( noise factor), dealing with shit admin ( and their millions laws after the COVID), Always lived in big houses in my home country. It is only in BA that I started living in apartments ( due to fear transmitted inside my head, once I arrived here that its the logical way). I have several other reasons but some are controversial which I prefer not to discuss. here.

 

[Ceviche]

I noticed the same thing while looking at houses here. All the big houses are furnished. The owners want a lot of money because it's furnished, only problem is that their furniture is pretty crappy. I wondered how much it would be without the furniture but it was impossible as the furniture is included. Oh well

Vow . you touched my raw nerve here. Yes, that's the main issue, Its almost impossible to find an empty house. Most houses are fitted with shit furniture and almost 33% of the price is for that shit furniture. The owners bought it for their own use many many "Centuries" ago ( pun intended). I am of a "minimalist" mindset and I prefer empty rooms, with lot of empty space. Most owners of the house, have refused to remove their furniture.

Another issue is that they have made too many divisions in the house trying to create many bedrooms or "office like" cubicles. I immediately reject these kind of houses. They give the feeling as if you are living in an office cubicle or room of Motel 66.

Some of the vacated houses have been vacated by multinationals which were using it as office space and the multinational has left.

 

[on the brink]

By law, short term rentals must be furnished. After many horror stories, owners have learned to remove their good furniture and replace it with the cheapest stuff they can find.

 

[Rich One]

From what I read most houses will have 3 or 4 Bedrooms at least.. This data will be also useful for families looking for a house to rent.

 

[on the brink]

Real estate agents keep the owners "in hiding" because there are unscrupulous renters and owners who close their own deals behind the agent's back. So realtors have learned to keep the two parties separate until a contract is signed. They have advertised and shown the property, and are entitled to get paid for their work.

 

[FrankPintor]

Thanks for the note Ceviche, I have nothing much to contribute, but I'll be following this topic with a lot of interest. If everything works out and we continue here next year we'll be looking for something similar, a house, hopefully with a pool or at least a jacuzzi.

 

[Iznogud]

Learning a bunch of useful stuff here, thanks.

So, if I wanted to rent a house with a pool and a backyard, within the city limits, where should I start looking?

Most likely for a month, now that summer is coming.

Iz