I'm still looking, so many flats/estudios/lofts on sale! But none I like so far. I'm not looking for a Ikea-furnished place to buy, I know there's no Ikea here but 99,9% of the places I've been seeing are so ugly inside, so many bathrooms and kitchens with these awful light blue or rose walls, nice in the '70 but not now. And the worst is the bla bla talk of Argentinean sellers, pretending (euh? that seems to be very common here) they're selling something great!
Besides, I've increased the scope of the areas: Palermo Soho, Recoleta, Barracas (around Lezama), San Telmo, CAballito (around parque Rivadavia), around parque Centenario. Max price 120.000 dollars.
Mariano:
To find my apartment, I literally probably looked at about 150 different places. Finally I settled on getting something a estrenar that was finished being built in order to get it a bit cheaper, and stayed in a temporary apartment while it was being finished. This is risky, but in my case it worked out okay.
It takes extreme patience to find a good place because every place is in terrible condition. Most people won't sell the newer places, and they don't pay for the upkeep on the older places and let them get run down. You really have to dig around, and there is something you are just going to have to sacrifice. If you buy a place that is brand new and ready to move in, it will be more expensive. The worst part is that sales are really very slow right now, and most people are not putting their properties on the market for fear of the AFIP getting their information and then digging into their history. If the AFIP gets a hold of you, most of the time it does not matter if you have all your ducks in a row. You are probably screwed regardless. They'll find something. That is why so few are actually selling.
The key here is patience. Keep looking and looking until you find the right place that you are happy with. Remember that if it's just furniture and paint, then those are superficial and can easily be fixed. The most important factors are access to light in the apartment and the layout of the apartment walls, all things which you cannot modify. You may not want to mess with renovations, but if you can put that on the table at least somewhat, it greatly expands your options.
Be careful also with the state of the building the apartment is in. If a place has high expensas due to bad management, think twice. Ask the Portero about the state of the building and if anything needs fixing.
To buy, the real estate agents are really superfluous and try to avoid dealing with them if you can. Good escribano is a must. You can't trust a single Real Estate business in this country--they will screw you royally if it's possible.
I don't think the properties are going to come down here unless disaster strikes hard. 2001 was a historical low that probably will not occur again. They might go down a bit, but I highly doubt it. Property will always, for the most part, in Argentina be a decent investment. Over the long haul, 10, 15, 20 years, properties in Argentina have always been worth more than they were before, even if you factor in 2001.
