Rent payment in foreign currency

[Soykoy]

While searching for apartments online I noticed a few price listings in USD. Is it possible to have a cheaper monthly rent and expensas when paying in a foreign currency such as USD or EUR? Any experience with this? Also, are there any legallity issues present when paying rent or any other bill (utility/phone) in foreign currency?

 

[Ronnie Hotdogs]

The price is in Dollars or Euro because they want Dollars or Euros. If owners accept pesos then it’s at or close to the blue rate.
If that happens to be less than what you see for pesos then go ahead.

 

[FrankPintor]

My understanding is that contracts in foreign currency are legal and enforceable in Argentina, there are even bank mortgages denominated in Dollars that have to be repaid in Dollars and this has been enforced by the courts here.

For many expats the ideal situation is a rental contract in Dollars paid offshore. Otherwise you will probably need to mule in the cash and (in the unlikely case that peso payment is preferred) change it to Pesos as well. The contract in any case would be legal, what the owner does with the rental payments is someone else’s problem.

Good luck paying utilities in Dollars though.

 

[Pianosteve]

My understanding is that contracts in foreign currency are legal and enforceable in Argentina, there are even bank mortgages denominated in Dollars that have to be repaid in Dollars and this has been enforced by the courts here.

For many expats the ideal situation is a rental contract in Dollars paid offshore. Otherwise you will probably need to mule in the cash and (in the unlikely case that peso payment is preferred) change it to Pesos as well. The contract in any case would be legal, what the owner does with the rental payments is someone else’s problem.

Good luck paying utilities in Dollars though.

How would this work in practice? I thought you could use Western Union to wire you foreign currency from your home country or have I misunderstood?

 

[Ronnie Hotdogs]

Some owners want ‘dollares billete’ well most who advertise in dollars do.
A lot of them don’t want bank transfers to an overseas account either. At least in my experience.

 

[FrankPintor]

I was a bit imprecise. You can get pesos through WU, but most owners will want cash Dollars. I’ve had better luck with an apartment owner who has a bank account offshore and was happy to be paid there. I found it was better not to have to deal in cash, things can go wrong, WU offices may not have Pesos on hand, maybe travel restrictions limited the supply of Dolkars. YMMV.

By the way,Steve, were you hacked? A bunch of zombie threads were resurrected by you, apparently.

 

[Pianosteve]

I was a bit imprecise. You can get pesos through WU, but most owners will want cash Dollars. I’ve had better luck with an apartment owner who has a bank account offshore and was happy to be paid there. I found it was better not to have to deal in cash, things can go wrong, WU offices may not have Pesos on hand, maybe travel restrictions limited the supply of Dolkars. YMMV.

By the way,Steve, were you hacked? A bunch of zombie threads were resurrected by you, apparently.

Oh I thought they were real people, not zombies. I had some free time yesterday and worked my way through the World Politics thread. Guilty as charged I'm afraid.

 

[antipodean]

With rent in ARS, you will always come out ahead if you have access to USD or ARS.

 

[Somewhereinba]

Prices listed in dollars mean the owner is targeting people with money which in most cases means you are paying a higher price than market rates or the price a local would accept.

 

[Smurf]

Is it usual to pay your monthly rent in Dollars in cash or more the exception to owners these days?
Any experience or tips from someone how this works in practice e.g. does the owner come in person to your home and knock on the door to pick up the USD in cash same time same day and are they obliged to provide a receipt to the tenant?
Have you ever heard of having to pay a daily fine of 60 dollars if you do not pay your rent on time?