Do you live in the US? If you do, throw your view about transit out the window. I'm a transit guy too, but in BA, the cabs are incredibly inexpensive, plentiful, fair, quick, etc. Even when you keep to custom and keep your tip to change, it's hard to feel like you're not committing a crime.

Enjoy BA! I took one visit on a whim and now I can't stop thinking of the place. Nor can I stop going there.

Hey, I just made 100,000 views on this thread!!!!!

Thanks for the kind words. The others have answered all you questions, I can only second their suggestions. December is high season in Buenos Aires, but prices should still be more than reasonable in USD terms. Hope you have a great time here.

Has anyone stayed at Youkali (fka Boquitas Pintadas)?

It doesn't seems as swank as Bobo or Home, but looks pretty hip.

Also -- how is the neighborhood surrounding the hotel?

Wine purchased in Argentina
 

I have been to Buenos Aires three times. Each time was on United Airlines. Each time upon departure from EZE, I was required to remove wine from my checked luggage and to put it into my carryon. This was at a security checkpoint prior to checkin. I was told that alcoholic beverages were not allowed in checked baggage. Since we are no longer allowed to have liquids in our carryon, does this mean we will be unable to transport wine from Argentina?

My recollection of the neighborhood is....eh. I agree it looks pretty hip. Perhaps I'm wrong but I can't understand the AR$36 for a bottle of Trumpeter. It's barely US$9 here.

36 pesos for a bottle of Trumpeter is indeed outrageous.... unless that is a restaurant price. For a restaurant, if its a high end-ish place that price would be about right. At a wine store a bottle of Trumpeter has a suggested retail price or approx. $25 (pesos), so if they are asking for $36 in a non restaurant like setting then its a rip off.

United security in Buenos Aires is run by a bunch of idiots. They have inconsistent rules which they enforce at random. They are supposed to allow you to carry wine as part of your luggage as long as its packed properly. I suggest styro carriers although if one chooses to roll the dice and place wine in your suitcase I dont see why they should not allow it.

Apartment costs - in $ or U$S?
 

Gaucho,

As a recent newlywed my wife and I are going to make the jump and move to BA for a couple years (hopefully) to work professionaly and travel through parts of Argentina and South America we haven't already visitied, we hope to be there by the first week of October. My question. Apartement rentals, have they been dolarized or can we find something reasonable in Pesos for a long term rental? Areas we are looking at are Palermo Hollywood/ Chico or las Canitas (the later being more expensive I hear).
The 1.5 year that I lived in Argentina I lived in Recoleta (Augero y Las Heras)back in 2002 and I got my apartment for a steal $390/ month. I understand that I can't get the same price and now I will need an apartment with a bedroom (2 ambientes + cocina). Can you reccomend where to look for them?

As well, are commissions for agents still 2 months rent (that the renter pays?) - I had negotiated down to one month.

Any tips or advice would be helpful and of course I would reciprociate your help by answering more questions in this forum.

A LA ORDEN, MI SARGENTO!!!

:D

Congratulations on your joining the married team... Im heading there myself in December.

Real Estate prices have moved up quite a bit since 2002, so expect to pay a nice premium to what you paid back then (even in dollar terms). "Dollarization" (is that a word?) in the Real Estate market is not new to Argentina, its been like that all the time, even if prices are quoted and transacted in Pesos the reference value is always considered in dollars. Of course, when the FX rate was more mobile this came into play over non-indexed longer term contracts (if you could get them).... but thats another topic entirely. To answer your question, you will be able to sign a rental contract in Pesos, although it will most probably have some sort of adjustment clause in the wording, so that you will probably have to sit down and re-negotiate the rental every 6 months (or so). Unless you are willing to agree to an above market rental up front, I dont think you will be able to get a 2 year lease in pesos at a fixed price in the current market situation.

As for the realtors, if you plan to rent for longer than 6 months (and it seems it will be 2-3 years), then you may be able to negotiate down the comission to 1 month.... I guess it will depend on how desperate you are for the given flat/apartment. One issue you may have as a non-permanent resident will be the customary collateral (garantia) that is required to secure rental payments. I guess you have gone through that already as you have lived here... but, if your past experience was when working for a large or established company, you may find that renting "on your own" (if thats the case, Im assuming here) is a little more challenging. A lack of a suitable "garantia" will get in the way of a long term rental very quickly, unless you are willing to pay a huge amount of your rent up-front or are willing to put up a chunk of $$$ as collateral (which is kind of the same thing, although it can have important differences if you structure it correctly). Of course, this is all subject to a case by case negotiation but please do keep that in mind.

As I note above, EZE prime real-estate (which is what you seem to be looking for) is hot hot hot at the moment, so things may not be as straight-forward as you may think. I dont mean to rain on your parade, sorry if this sounds overly negative... its not, Im just pointing out a few places where the devil may pop up between the details.

As for realtor recommendations, Ive heard only good things about Apartments BA. I usually mention them first not because of affiliation or other specific issues, I do so because many other FT members have used them and have always given positive feedback. Im not sure if they specialize in long term leases, I think they mostly do short term stuff... but perhaps they are a source to check out.

Cheers,
Alejandro (Gaucho100K)

I can only echo Alejandro's comments.

I rented a one bedroom apartment in Las Cañitas for 3 years from 2003. The rental was done directly with the owner, and I only secured the apartment by offering to pay for 2 years in advance (and also avoid the garantia). The other people wanting to rent this apartment could only offer a garantia from outside BsAs province, and the owner was unwilling to do this.

The contract was initially for 2 years with a yearly increase. For the first year the rental was ARS$430/month, ending up in 2005 at ARS$750/month. Current asking price is ARS$900/month. So this will give you some idea as to the increase in apartment prices in a "hot" neighbourhood.

I remember reading a newspaper article about six months ago that said that rental prices on average in BsAs have increased at least 25%/year over the past 3 years - more in "hot" neighbourhoods.

Among the real estate agents in Las Cañitas, 2 months rent in commision is non-negotiable. The only "cheap" rentals around here are dives of minisucle proportion that go for not less than ARS$600/month.

I think the most important things to consider when deciding which area to look in are safety/security, noise, and maybe access to public transportion and distance to local shopping (since I assume you won't have a car). And air-conditioning ... as you know, summers can be brutal!

When I purchased an apartment 2 years ago, I stayed in Las Cañitas, since I value both the plethora of restaurants nearby, as well as being within walking distance of the Palermo Portal shopping center which includes a Jumbo supermarket and an Easy home improvement store.

Are you planning to rent a semi-furnished apartment? Remember, an unfurnished apartment for example will hot have any light fixtures, just naked bulbs hanging from the ceiling ...

As Alejandro mentioned, I think you best bet is going with a firm that is used to dealing with foreigners, and can guide you, and negotiate with the apartment owner.

Just ask if there are specifics that I might be able to help you with (I'm in my apartment in EZE at the moment ...)

John

Ditto with what John said, with perhaps a few side notes.

Not all unfurnished apartments will have no light fixtures, this depends on the owner. Also, remember you can negotiate with the owner to jointly select basic fixtures and have him/her (ie. the owner) purchase them, then place them on the inventory which will be checked when you return the property. As for the air-conditioning, central air conditioning systems in residential property are not common here in Argentina. Split-system aircons are the norm. This allows you to buy the units you think you need for each area of the house you think its needed. Similar to the light fixtures... I would suggest speaking with the owner and working out a deal whereby you would "invest" a couple of months rent in aircon units and those would become part of the apartment furnishings, etc. etc.

In the end, it all depends on how much time and work/effort you are willing to put into making the deal.

Thanks for all the advice!! I like the idea of investing into an air conditioned unit as I remeber the large bachelor apartment I had rented only came with a floor fan and it didn't really do the job for the extremely hot days. I will try and negotitate as much as possible. One more question, I'm fluent in Spanish as I'm was raised in Mexico City, would it better to bring a native Argentine friend when signing the offer just in case? An extra ear/hand could always be helpful I'm thinking.

If anybody hears of any good fares from the US do post them. I'm pulling up around $667 from Miami and I would still have to add the YYZ-MIA segment.

Thanks again.

I think having a local friend to assist you is an excellent idea, although unless he/she is a seasoned real estate person or a lawyer this wont help you much in terms of the legalese... still, for the commercial issues of the negotiation its good to have someone that can confirm what the local business practice is. Good luck with your pad hunt.

I also recommend consulting with someone knowledgeable in local business practice (more than just someone who rents an apartment).

I actually found the contract legalese easy to understand (having dealt with many such documents in English and German) - actually much easier than written colloquial Castellano. The boilerplate language was very formal and precise.

John

Greetings from EZE. I'm another flyertalker that has made the jump and is living here through at least December. It's been challenging to find reasonably priced apartments even short term, i'm seeing rents of $800-$1600 all over the place. They are still cheaper then boston, but for example i pay $1000 per month for my two bedroom apartment in palermo, it includes everything (SLOW internet 128k). That's a one month lease.

For anyone interested in moving here, drop me a line, there are some websites i should steer you too.

Chris