vamonos2012 said:
Thanks, Mr French Jurist! As we are not counting on a garantia, we are preparing to work with the "paying up front" method. Any suggestions on how to find a trustworthy "escribano", which I assume is a notary?
Usually, it's the landlord who will choose the escribano.
Personally I'd just check that the escribano really is one (by checking the "colegio de escribanos" for instance). After all, it's not that difficult to put a sign on a door and say "hey, I'm an escribano".
The escribano will charge around 2 or 3% of the total contract.
Many times, the escribano won't pay a tax (which applies on rental contracts in the province of BA) in the name of the landlord (it's a "stamp" tax ? = "sellado" or something like this). And this actually is good for you since, if the landlord tries to screw you with the deposit at the end of the rental period & if you sue them, the Justice will check if those taxes has been paid and if they have not, then the landlord will have to pay them (+ a 50% fine if I recall = good argument not to screw you... he he !).
Also, like I did (paid one year in advance), I used the argument of the inflation to lower the rent (it worked for me) by 20%.
If I were you, if you come before your whole family, I'd rent a car & visit all the gated communities in the area you want to live in : speak to the guards & administration, leave your contact info + what you're looking for.
