Upscale apartments?

[jb5]

Can someone explain how renting large, upscale apartments/houses works? Is any of the really nice housing stock not geared towards the short term tourist market?

We are looking for a 3 plus bedroom, 3 bath, 250 plus sqm home in one of the nicer areas. We're willing to do a long term lease. Do we have to pay tourist prices? What's the best way to go about finding a home of this type?

 

[nikad]

I think you have to provide a little bit more information, such as who is " we " a family? a group of friends? Do you have garantia? Are you looking for furnished or unfurnished? Do you have a job and therefore a company that can back you up if you do not have a garantia? Are you willing to pay your contract in advance?

 

[jb5]

We is my family: parents and 4 college aged kids who will come and go. We will be running a sizable company there that we own and I would be happy to pre pay the contract if that's advisable.

 

[L_K_P]

I wouldn't pre-pay anything if i were you, they will totally screw you

The internet/hotwater/whatever breaks and you have already paid for 12 months, what motivation do they have to fix it? none..and its not like you can legally get your money back

 

[nikad]

We is my family: parents and 4 college aged kids who will come and go. We will be running a sizable company there that we own and I would be happy to pre pay the contract if that's advisable.

I will PM you the email address of an agent I worked with a few years ago. she usually rents out apartments to embassy personnel, executives, etc. If she doesn´t have anything available she probably will send you in the right direction.

 

[Sleuth]

Assuming you do not have a 'garantia' (another piece of property to put down as collateral against overstaying the lease), you may need to negotiate by paying 6 months to a year of rent up front. The standard lease term here is 2 years.

Renting unfurnished will probably be the best way to go as you'll find a lot more availability for an apartment this size. Also, when we were looking we did not find a lot of large, nice apartments in Palermo, but found quite a few in Belgrano, so you may want to check that area.

You may have better luck renting directly from the owners and negotiating something with regards to not having a garantia. You can find a list of owner-direct apartments on http://soloduenos.com.ar. Zona Prop (http://www.zonaprop.com.ar) is a much more extensive list of apartments with most of them from real estate agencies, but remember, money talks. If you're prepared to pay upfront a lot of landlords will listen to offers. A lot also like the idea of renting to foreigners.

We found an amazing 195 square meter apartment in Belgrano after looking for about a month. We had a garantia but paid 1 year up front in order to negotiate more favorable rental rates and increases. Expect to pay a one month commission to any real estate agent as well as have a percentage increase for the second year's rent.

 

[Roxana]

Covello and interwin are the main real estate agencies in Palermo, near the parks.

 

[jjsto]

I would like to simply re-emphasize what Sleuth says. If you do not have a garantia, be prepared to pay 6 months or one year in advance. Even if you have a garantia, it still might be a good idea to prepay so you can 1) get a discount and 2) lock in a lower future payment. It is also cheaper over the long term to lease and then buy your own furniture.

Also, if I had a large family, I would prefer staying in a house, or an apartment building with only a few tenants. Belgrano offers a much better selection and more residential lifestyle than Palermo, IMO.

 

[jb5]

Thanks very much to all.

I'm not very familiar with Belgrano. Is a house much of a possibility? Would security be as good with a gate as it would be in a well staffed building?

 

[jjsto]

A house is definitely a possibility in Belgrano. In particular, the part of belgrano called Belgrano R has a lot of english-tudor style homes. Also, the area borded by Luis Maria Campos, Cabildo, Maure, and Virrey Loreto has some upscale homes as well. A good idea would be to use the search engine on argenprop or zonaprop and search for Alquiler/Casa/Capital Federal/Belgrano. Then sort by highest price first. That should give you a good sense of homes in the $2-5000 usd range. I feel pretty secure walking in that neighborhood even at night. It seems like there are a few small booths with security guards scattered around the neighborhood as well. But, if you need a 24 hr security guard posted at your front driveway, then a high-end apartment is probably better.