Looking for advice to put my Condo solely in my name

[hazlo]

So, in 2000 I met an Argentine and in the haze of love, married her in 2003 and then bought a condo in BA. I was ignorant about real estate law and and took the advice of the escribano's.

We moved away directly afterward and rented the place out.

Then we got an overseas divorce, noting that I would get the condo.

Now, today, I would like to put my affairs in order and ensure the condo is 100% mine. But this is what I have learned what the status is and it is looking very complicated to get this done.

a) Bought condo after married in Argentina, so my wife's name is also on the deed
b) Wife's cousin was named in the Title, as my wife had recently gone bankrupt in BA
c) Argentina does not accept overseas divorces, so I am still married in Argentina!
d) Both wife and cousin are willing to sign whatever is needed
e) In the contract it says the cousin is buying the condo with my money and at a later date, I will "accept" it from her.

Ultimately, I would like to sell, but I would settle for getting the title in my name and removing the wife's name.

I am just a 90-day tourist here and do not plan to stay for long, but the advice I was given was to get my DNI before proceeding. Is that true? Can not a non-resident own property?

Any advice or pointing to a source I can hire to facilitate this would be very much appreciated!

David

 

[DavieW]

David, I'm really sorry that I can't offer any useful advice, but I'm sat here reading your post and shaking my head pityingly. You've got a lot of pain ahead dude and I wouldn't want to be in your shoes. Good luck!

 

[DavieW]

Oh, and once you've got it sorted, would you be wanting to continue renting it out?

I'll be looking for somewhere once my current contract is up in 20 months, which could well coincide with your completion. ;-)

 

[DavieW]

Actually, a friend of mine recently sold up here and she was told to get her DNI sorted before selling - I think it was something to do with tax and having to pay a sh1t-load more if you don't have a DNI? I'll email her and see if she can shed any more light.

I guess she might also know a good lawyer who deals with this sort of thing. I'll find out.

 

[el_expatriado]

Wow, you are really screwed. Here's all the problems with the situation you are in:

1. If the original escritura says you are married, you will have to get your ex-wife's consent to sell your part of the condo. If you don't get her consent, you have to have your overseas divorce registered in Argentina and validated by an Argentine judge. Then with your divorce, you'll be able to sell your portion.

2. You'll have to get your wife's cousin to sell her portion.

3. You also need a certificate from AFIP to sell as a non-resident.

Man I don't envy your situation. You are probably never going to sell this apartment unless your wife and your wife's cousin really like you and want to help you out. Otherwise you are really f***'d.

 

[DavieW]

You are probably never going to sell this apartment unless your wife and your wife's cousin really like you and want to help you out. Otherwise you are really f***'d.

d) Both wife and cousin are willing to sign whatever is needed

Of course, saying they're willing is one thing....actually doing it is another!

 

[Bill.Cochabamba]

Send me a message....you need a good lawyer and an even better CPA. The CPA is critical. You are in for a nightmare.

 

[Floppy]

see private message

 

[earlyretirement]

Wow, you are really screwed. Here's all the problems with the situation you are in:

1. If the original escritura says you are married, you will have to get your ex-wife's consent to sell your part of the condo. If you don't get her consent, you have to have your overseas divorce registered in Argentina and validated by an Argentine judge. Then with your divorce, you'll be able to sell your portion.

2. You'll have to get your wife's cousin to sell her portion.

3. You also need a certificate from AFIP to sell as a non-resident.

Man I don't envy your situation. You are probably never going to sell this apartment unless your wife and your wife's cousin really like you and want to help you out. Otherwise you are really f***'d.

Excellent advice. And exactly correct.

a) If you bought AFTER you were married then it doesn't matter whatever a document might say in the USA. In the eyes of Argentina you're still married and your wife still owes her 50% of the property. (However your post is confusing as you didn't clarify what % her cousin owns).

b) You mention your ex-wife's cousin is listed on the Escritura. What % does she own or is this stipulated on the title deed. Why in the world would you list her cousin on the title deed??? I don't understand how your wife going through a bankruptcy has anything to do with you listing her cousin as an owner on the title deed? Can you explain?

c) Yes, you're still married as far as Argentina is concerned. My advice is be VERY nice to your wife and her cousin and don't get on their bad side. I met an American girl in your situation and she also bought after she got married. It ended ok with her situation but then again she didn't list her ex-hubby's cousin on the title deed.

d) Both SAY they are willing to sign whatever is needed. Like I said....stay on their good side until everything is over with.

e) I don't understand what you are saying? What contract are you referring to? I assume you mean you wrote up some contract that says the cousin was borrowing the money from you. Be careful in assuming that this contract will be enforceable. If you were silly enough to list her cousin (for whatever reason) on the title deed she would have claim to her portion and you will need her permission to sell as well.

I still don't understand why in the world you would list her cousin as an owner. Doesn't make sense to me.


The reason people are advising you get a DNI first is so you can avoid having to get a non-resident permit to sell from AFIP. It's difficult these days and AFIP is going after owners if they haven't paid all their fair share of taxes including ABL, annual asset taxes as well as rental taxes while you owned the property (21% of gross rentals).

I'm not sure if you've been renting it out or not but the permit process isn't easy and it can take several months to get.

You have the other issue after all of this that getting the title in your own name is expensive. You have to go through the process just as if you bought the property so you have legal fees for a new escritura, taxes, etc.

They say love is blind and it sure sounds like you were as well. I don't envy you.

I'd still be curious as to why you put part of the ownership in her cousin's name. Sounds strange.

 

[earlyretirement]

Edit: Of course the potential pitfalls I forgot to mention are (a) your ex-wife and cousin refusing to sign unless you pay them more money or they get part of proceeds of any potential sale. Or (b) one/both of them decide to stay in the apartment and live for the foreseeable future rent free as they are true owners of the property. There wouldn't be anything legal you could do to get them out of there.