Moving to BA from Boston... need contacts!

[GregCrone]

Hi there, I am asking for help as my Spanish is almost non existent and ya'll know way more about BA than me! SO ... I am planning on buying a PH in Palermo and spending Jan, Feb and March every year in BA as a way to escape Boston winters.
I am traveling into Buenos Aires on August 21st to spend a week looking at properties.

QUESTION: Does anyone know a really good and reputable BA Real Estate Agent and/or Lawyer (Escribano?) I want to make a decision on which property to buy the week of August 21st and already have a list of potential properties.

Which brings me to my next question: Does anyone know a local contractor that can help with kitchen renovation and general handyman work OR Is there an equivalent store to the Home Depot in BA so that I can do the work myself? (I have renovated 30+ houses in the NE region.)

And finally, what is it with the little light scratchy comforters and paper thin pillows in Argentina? ... or is it just me?
I think I may look into importing some bedding under a new brand to sell into SA... thoughts?

Greg

 

[Ries]

Hi there, I am asking for help as my Spanish is almost non existent and ya'll know way more about BA than me! SO ... I am planning on buying a PH in Palermo and spending Jan, Feb and March every year in BA as a way to escape Boston winters.
I am traveling into Buenos Aires on August 21st to spend a week looking at properties.

QUESTION: Does anyone know a really good and reputable BA Real Estate Agent and/or Lawyer (Escribano?) I want to make a decision on which property to buy the week of August 21st and already have a list of potential properties.

Which brings me to my next question: Does anyone know a local contractor that can help with kitchen renovation and general handyman work OR Is there an equivalent store to the Home Depot in BA so that I can do the work myself? (I have renovated 30+ houses in the NE region.)

And finally, what is it with the little light scratchy comforters and paper thin pillows in Argentina? ... or is it just me?
I think I may look into importing some bedding under a new brand to sell into SA... thoughts?

Greg

Argentina has all kinds of places to buy materials and tools. They just dont subscribe much to the "home depot" style of marketing. The closest thing is Easy/Jumbo, which sells chinese trash, by and large. You need to learn to navigate the system, and you can find any tool (usually better quality cheaper than in the USA, especially hand tools) and while certain materials are not available, its easy enough to find metal studs, or sheets of plywood, plumbing or electrical supplies, paint, hardware, etc.
Most large stuff is delivered- bags of 1000lbs of sand, at your doorstep. lumber, steel, glass- they all deliver, they all are very used to crowded streets and small elevators, and have workarounds.
Like most things, quality exists, but the mass market is for low price, so you have to find the quality.
You can buy better bedding and pillows, but if its imported, its double what you would pay in the USA. So, sheets, sure, bring em. But if you start a company to import, most likely your retail prices will be too expensive for the majority of customers.
You can buy a brand new Porsche, or a Ducati, or a Miele dishwasher- but the prices are so high that the average argentine never can afford them, so the stores are small and discreet, catering to the upper class.

 

[GregCrone]

Thanks Ries. I have another question you may be able to answer... What is a "Reasonable" price for a set of queen sheets and pillowcases in BA? I think I can get 800 thread count Egyptian sets with fitted sheet and top sheet as well as 4 pillow cases that can retail for $150 USD Thoughts?

 

[Neil]

Queen sheets 600 thread count

Cost ~$250 USD....

 

[steveinbsas]

What is a "Reasonable" price for a set of queen sheets and pillowcases in BA? I think I can get 800 thread count Egyptian sets with fitted sheet and top sheet as well as 4 pillow cases that can retail for $150 USD Thoughts?

I just searched Mercado Libre for 800 thread count sheet sets of algodón Egipto. The highest thread count I found is 600. Here is one of the publications:

Sabanas Queen 600 Hilos Algodón Egipcio Colchon 1.60 X 2 - $ 345.782,88

Sábanas para colchón de 160 * 200 4 piezas Sabana plana sabana ajustable y 2 fundas de almohada de 45 Por 90 medidas 260 * 280

articulo.mercadolibre.com.ar

The retail price is about $269 USD. The price includes the 21% VAT as well as the cost of shipping to the buyer and the commission charged by Mercado Libre. I guestimate the seller paid 100 for the sheets including a 50% mport fees

Like most evey expat I have ever known, cannot sleep on scratchy sheets. I first bought two sets of these sheets shortly after I bought my apartment in Recoleta in 2006.

Juego De Sabanas Queen Size Hotel Premium Cotton Touch - $ 36.990

***SHOPPER***Juego de Sábanas Queen Size.Excelente calidad, no hacen pelotitas.Ultra Soft - Cotton Touch.Sabana de arriba 230x250cm Sabana ajustable ajustable: 150x190 + 35cm alto. 2 Fundas de almohada de 50X80CM-----------------------------------------------Respuestas a preguntas...

articulo.mercadolibre.com.ar

When I bought them in 2006 they were expensive compared ro other sheet sers. In the store (one Santa Fe in Palermo), I imagino there was a greater demand for cheaper sets. The current price of $27.00 USD is not much more than I paid in 2006 and I see no reason to pay more for sheets than thiese to use on my very high qualitu bed.

The only fault in the set is that the top sheet could be wider.

Beyond bringing a few things with you when you travel, I don't think it would be a good idea ito try to import anything to Argentina, especially high end versions of fairly common items with "acceptabe alternatives" which sell for so much less here, hoping to make a profit

Keep in mind that the retail prices here include 21% VAT and any import fees and sellers on Mercado Libre have residency and an established supply chain.

Regisrering the busuness with AFIP would be a stressful and expensive process and I beleive you would need to become a legal resident of Argentina, living in Argentina at least six months of the year and possibly have an Argentine partner, but I'm not certain about that.

I am reasonablycertain that if you applied for an investor visa you would be required to hire Argentinos. Good luck with that (said lke Jordan Peterson).

All that being said, I always admire the entrepreneuial spirt. All the best!

 

[jbeas176]

i bought new but got tired of waiting so i finished it out myself. i am a general contractor. ther are districts that sale quality materials but i would have to ask the friend that helped me. i am always lost in ba. bring a good paint brush none available in ba. my favorite is 3 in angled brush and thin handle. sure you will figure it out as i did. the stainless steel braided supply lines at easy a bull s###t. i found good light fixtures at easy. find one of the small material shops and ask them who they use. there’s one one the corner of ugarteche and las heras. thee was also a carrier a/c place a block down

 

[Ries]

for something like sheets, check mercado libre, as above. If its for sale in argentina, its on mercado libre. 800 thread count is above my pay grade.
I always buy local- argentina grows cotton. But I admit sheets are not my area of knowledge.
tools and hardware and making things, sure.
I would never buy anything at Easy. Its all crap.
you need to go to specific stores- a wholesale plumbing supply for plumbing, a building materials store for plywood or durarock, a paint store, a nuts and bolts specific hardware store, etc. No one stop shopping in Argentina.

 

[AussieSurfer]

How do you pro nounce "Chowder" ?

 

[sdsurfista]

Have you been here in the summer? I, like many of us leave the city. The heat, mosquitos (dengue), lack of adequate AC and total absence of window screens need to be factored in your decision. And remember, it is easy to buy, but very difficult to sell, if you change your mind.

 

[GregCrone]

How do you pro nounce "Chowder" ?

Chowdah