Soon To Expat - Home Buying Info Sought

[bdk1]

Just something to consider - how will you plan on accessing the money from your rental apts? I'm sure you are aware of the challenges of the banking system here, you can't just transfer money into Argentina easily if you plan on setting up bank accounts, etc here. You can of course use ATMs but those have fees and you will get the official exchange rate (although not really an issue if you are withdrawing from a brasilian account with reals)

Actually, it is an issue if withdrawing from a Brazilian account with reais - it's exactly the same as withdrawing from a US account with US dollars, and just as expensive. The official real-peso exchange rate is currently 3.38, while the blue real is 5.10.

He has many options to withdraw his cash in foreign currency:

1. The main difference I guess is that it's much easier to fly to Brazil once a month than the US and bring the reais in cash (you don't even have to go to São Paulo, he could just fly to Porto Alegre, a 1.5-hour flight, or cross the border to Foz do Iguaçú). You can bring into the country the equivalent of USD 9,999 in reais, per person per flight.

2. Alternatively, you could also exchange your reais for US dollars in Brazil, and bring US dollars. Depending on the cueva, sometimes there's a slight difference between spread of the blue dollar and the blue real, but it's not really that significant (once you find a good and reliable cueva - since the blue real exchange rate is less widespread, it's easier for them to rip you off if you don't know what the day's exchange rate is).

3. You can also even transfer your US dollars to your Brazilian bank account (you will get reais). You can easily do this via PayPal, which works in Brazil just as well as in the US. This will set you back 6-7% per transaction (PayPal fee).

4. If you're planning to use Xoom, you could do the opposite: send your fiancée's reais to the US (via PayPal) and then wire your US dollars to Buenos Aires via Xoom. This is the priciest option though, for 2 reasons: 1. She'll need to use a Brazilian credit card to send the money from her Brazilian PayPal account to your US PayPal account, and she'll be charged "Imposto sobre as Operações Financeiras" (roughly 7%); and 2. the Xoom exchange rate is not nearly as good as the one you can get at the cuevas.

 

[thorsten]

Regarding insecurity: I never had a problem here, but I live in Palermo, use mostly taxis etc, which doesn't exhibit yourself too much to criminals. However, calling B.A. "very safe" is only true if you live in those safe bubbles. In my circle of local friends, in the last 6 month this happened:
- cell phone stolen (2 different people)
- armed robbery in the bus
- car stolen
- burglary
And those are all incidents from people that know the city/country, not the "stupid gringo tourist" who shows off his Rolex. Most crimes here are non-violent, so you probably won't get shot walking down the streets, but the media coverage about increasing levels of crime is not just a story agains the government, but also experienced by many people living here...

 

[Alicia karr]

I totally agree with Thorstens comment.The key here is minimizing "exposure". That requires the money to use non public transport and live in neighborhoods where you can "expose" yourself with a modicum of security so you don't have to give up the joys of living the life bonarense...

 

[PhilipDT]

There is a HUGE difference between safety in Capital and outside of it.

 

[Matiasba]

Insecurity does not depend on the neigbourhood. At least not in Capital. I mean, if you live in a villa you re probably in more risk than in Palermo, but thieves move, you know!! its not that they dont go to your supposedly safe neighbourhoods, in fact they do go there precisely because is where the wealthy people live. Thats why you have lots of peple begging for money, sleeping in the streets in Recoleta! (which is totally new btw)



They go where the people are, concerning to safety bubbles do not exist cause there are no barriers, everything is connected.

 

[Matiasba]

There is a HUGE difference between safety in Capital and outside of it.

Except for La Cava, which I mentioned, Zona Norte is very safe. The HUGE differences are with Zona Sur, or even the west.

 

[Jaredberryman]

I now personally live in Olivos in a house, which is zona norte. You definitely probably want to consider Zona Norte as that is the safest Suburban area. I live in a house and haven't had any issues so far, although my neighbor almost got robbed as he was opening the gate to his house to park his car (but he was attentive and backed out quickly, so nothing happened). Gated communities are not always perfectly safe, except for Nordelta (in Nordelta, you have one checkpoint to get into the area, and another to get into your gated community), which is a long way from from the city. Olivos is 10 to 15 minutes from the city and is mostly houses, while having a couple of main avenues that take you into the city quickly (and those avenues are ones that have a 'city' feel). Condos in the city are not any safer than anywhere else. My building where we own an apartment was recently robbed and so was the building next door. My advice is to choose a relatively safe neighborhood you like and stick with it. If you want to live in a house, pick Zona Norte, and if you want a condo, live in the northern part of the city.

 

[citygirl]

Learn something new every day - I had no idea there was a blue market for Brasilian real (reais?). Thanks!

 

[steveinbsas]

Hi All,

Rob here... I just joined the group and wanted to introduce myself. I'm really glad to have found you all and look fwd to interacting with and potentially meeting some of you one day!

I'm currently in the planning process and soon to expatriate the US. My fiance is Brazilian. We are both very interested in Argentina for a number or reasons, not the least of which is the presence of US expat communities, culture, weather, etc, We're considering moving there within the next year or so, and I've been researching and looking at the BsAs area as our destination.

Our current situation is thus: We're both in our early 40s, have no kids, speak English, Portuguese and Spanish, and own rental properties in Brazil. These rentals will be our primary source of income as we put our plan into motion. My fiance is currently in Brazil and living off the rental incomes quite well (has been for a little over a year now). I'm in the US, actively employed in a fortune 500, but ready to leave the rat race behind and "retire". I will continue working in the US until my expat planning is complete, at which time I will quit. Initially, I'll be moving to Brazil, but we subsequently plan to relocate to Argentina.

In terms of income, we should be realizing about 7-10k Arg. per month (at current exchange rates) which, based on what I have read thus far, should be adequate to cover living expenses if we own a home rather than rent. Please correct me if I'm wrong on that account. I should also note that we have monies set aside to purchase another home.

And, that brings me to my question - home buying: Where are the nicer, quieter, safer suburban areas to live, and what should we expect to pay, ballpark, to purchase a decent single family home in such an area?

I know things like "nicer" and "safer" are very subjective, so I'll expand by saying, we'd prefer to be outside the city, with something like a 2bdrm, 2ba, w/ garage, a yard for the dogs to play in and room for some gardens, etc. We'd like to be close enough to the city to commute and enjoy all it has to offer, yet far enough away that there's little noise pollution and we can enjoy serene, quiet evenings under star-filled skies.

I'd also greatly enjoy being nearby other expats who share a common experience and understanding so there's some level of community we can integrate into fairly easily and get the weekend BBQ crew going!

As a logical extension of this, if you know of or have worked with any reputable companies who assist with expatriation generally or home-buying specifically in suburbs of BsAs, please advise!

As you might expect, I have lots of other questions, but I think I'll leave it at that for now and follow-up in future posts with other fun. As you know, this entire process is pretty daunting, but we're enjoying the adventure!

Peace and love to you all! And, thanks in advance for any and all insight you may be able to provide! It's greatly appreciated!
-Rob (aka Vex).

If you want to know more about home prices in the northern suburbs there are numerous websites in which you can search.

Enter "casas en venta zona norte Buenos Aires" in a google search to get started. There is also a website to buy directly from duenos.

If you click on the sprocket nest to the magnifying glass near the top of this page you can use the advanced search of this website.

I suggest you search for all posts by Hybrid Ambassador (without key words-searching in titles only-as a topic list). You will see threads that include posts he made as he began his search for a home in the burbs and advice about specific locations and prices.

It looks like $150,000 USD is a reasonable starting price in "nicer" areas. Keep in mind that the legal way to bring funds into Argentina for the purpose of buying real estates is through the Banco Nacion and the funds will be converted into pesos at the official rate.

One thing you haven't asked about yet is getting residency in Argentina. Your fiance might be able to qualify for a temporary resident visa based on the rental income. The requirement is $8000 pesos at the moment but that could more than double at any time and without any warning. The last time the income requirement was increased was about four years ago when the peso was four to one with the US dollar and the amount more than doubled. There will probably be a similar increase in the next year. In order for you to qualify for residency if she his granted the residency you will have to be married. Owning a home in your name won't make any difference.

When the income requirement increased to $8000 pesos migraciones was asking applicants from the USA to prove a passive monthly income of $2000 USD. At the current "official" exchange rate that is now only $1000 USD per month, but I'm not sure if migraciones will accept the lower amount now.

I do know of one expat who helps foreigners find apartments in BA but I'm not sure if he offers his service for those searching for a house outside Capital Federal. If you do move to the northern suburbs you will not find yourself in the company of many other expats and you may also find that a monthly budget of $10K to live in and maintain a home for two is far from adequate.

 

[DontMindMe]

Hmm... barbed wire or armed robbery? Great choices! LOL I've lived in Brazil, which is no safe haven for gringos (or locals), so I'm no stranger to walled living and being smart about my surroundings, what I wear, how I act, where/when I use my phone, etc. That said, I was actually hoping to get away from the walled in / electric fence / dogs on patrol living of Brazil. So, it's sad to hear crime is so active in BsAs.

Perhaps to realize the dream in BsAs, we should stick to the gated communities or a condo? That's a big part of the reason I started posting here - for exactly this type of info. My experience in Brazil is that police are nonexistent and pretty worthless in the majority of situations. Home invasions are rampant as are broad daylight robberies and you really have to be cognizant of what's going on around you at all times. I was hoping Argentina was a bit better. Perhaps not...

I've lived in Buenos Aires and I've lived in one other large Latin American city (Bogotá). Buenos Aires is not even close to what you saw in Brazil, if you lived in the type of city with electric fences, security guards and cameras everywhere. You probably already have more advanced street smarts than most porteños, who are not exactly pollyannas. Crime is an increasing problem here, no one can deny that, but most people still live in buildings where you enter the front door by yourself with a key (no doorman), I've never seen an electric fence here (Capital or in the burbs), your average Joe stands out on the streets waiting for buses until around 1 a.m. during the week and even later on the weekends (I know I do if it's a large, well-lit road), children still play in inner city parks, I could go on. I got back here and marveled at the number of buildings with front doors made of glass and no security, something I had never taken notice of before. Someone could so easily throw a large rock and boom, they're in the building. But I suppose it hasn't gotten to that point.

Is crime a problem here? Yes. Bag snatching, guys on motos, more armed robberies, break-ins (big concern for anyone anywhere), those types of things are getting worse. We all have anecdotes to support that, and anecdotes are all we can go on because there are no reliable crime statistics to speak of. People differ on just how bad they think it is, as you've already seen on this thread. But no one thinks it's getting better. Then again, people are still out on the streets all the time anyway. It's just riskier than it used to be.

My opinion? And it's just that, one opinion among many-- Buenos Aires is different in that living in a nice neighborhood or escaping to the suburbs is not a guarantee of safety. I actually prefer flying under the radar, so to speak, and living in a middle class neighborhood. Living in Palermo and Recoleta made me feel like a sitting duck. I've both witnessed and heard about more crimes in those neighborhoods than I have anywhere else. But that's my own personal preference after having lived all over Capital Federal. To each his own. Living in a gated community out in the burbs? I don't know much about that, but in general, if you ask me, it's a lot harder to spend your way to safety here than it is anywhere else. But no, it is certainly not the walled-in lifestyle, not even close.