Buying Property in BA
Before buying property in Buenos Aires, you have to think twice. And after you meditated for hours and you came to an affirmative answer, think twice again.
This are a few things that you should know:
1. Realtor: Realtors in Buenos Aires are among the nastiest, filthiest creatures in the world, right next to the guys that kill baby seals by hitting them with a stick. I don´t like generalizations (that´s a lie, I love love love generalizations), but in this case, lets just say that an honest realtor is only the exception that confirms the rule. When they say "I give you my word" in realtor's language this means "I´m sooooo screwing this foreigner, hahahhhahhahaha". You must check absolutely everything the realtor says. Is he/she saying "the apartment is in Palermo"? Go to a map and check it. Is he/she saying "the roof is part of the property"? Check it with the notary. Is he/she saying "There is another person interested in the property"? Then you have the certainty that you are the only person interested.
This is how realtors look like in BA
2. The notary. The notary must be someone completely separate from the realtor. If the realtor says that he/she can recommend a notary, make sure that you won´t ever call that person in your entire life. It doesn´t matter if you trust the notary that the realtor is offering. You need your own notary. Get it? Otherwise they will team up and screw you (and make fun of you while they celebrate with the commission they got from you)
3.The neighbors. Neighbors are a pain in every part of the world, sure. But here, they can totally make your life miserable. Make sure that you read and understand the rules of your building before you buy the apartment, otherwise, you might end up cleaning your neighbor´s butt because it´s written in the rules.
Meet the neighbors
4. The administrator of the building. Every single one of them (administrators of the consortium) is a piece of sh.... Here there are no exceptions. Your roof has a leak? The entire apartment is flooded? The rats ate your pet? He/she won´t give a damn. You might think, "but he/she must solve my problem, I´m paying for that". Get real! For these people, that kind of argumentation is a joke. You might wonder, "What should I do them?" Cry. Or kill.
This is an administrator I know
If you still want to buy property, this is what you HAVE to do:
Call a porteño friend that has nothing to do with the operation. This means, someone who will not make any profit from it. This person can´t be related in any way with
A.The realtor
B. The notary
C. The administrator
D. The owner of the apartment
That friend will be in charge of finding out in advance in which way they can screw you and his/her job will be to prevent you from that. Believe me, they can screw you in ways that your not-porteño mind couldn´t even dream about.
So, you don´t have a friend? It doesn´t matter, I´m offering a new service. ANTI-Porteños advice. I´ll be the person who will make sure that those bastards won´t rip you off.
If you are reading this and you´ve already been screwed by this people, please share your story.
Best luck. You´ll need it
13 comments:
You are so right on, nice post and buyer beware! We have been hit with a lousy lazy portero, and our expenses keep skyrocketing and give special deals to the porter. Also think about noise before buying, our apartment is very noisy.
Fred
http://www.silverstarcar.com/
..Amazing, I was about to call a realtor, but wondered because they can be so slimy in the US. How does one get good property agents in BA?
Thanks for the reminder. I was contemplating a buy. Doesn't seem worth the effort after getting screwed in my current rental place.
Hello guys,
Fred, you are right. Visit the property and the area in the morning, in the afternoon and in the evening to make sure that you won´t have a secret nightclub right next door.
Reed and anonymous. Is not all about ripping you off, I´m always exagerating because I really think that foreigners should be warned. I would suggest you to deal with the big real state agencies, there are less chances that they will screw you up. And really follow my advice, bring a porteño friend with you so he/she can tell you everything that you might not be seeing.
Reed, actually, it is a good time to buy (after the elections). The prices have already dropped 20% and they will go down. Never buy for the price they advertise, specially now, that they can´t sell anything to nobody. Get your 20% discount (or more) in this times of crisis.
You know... I love your blog. Thanks for the time you put into it and sharing!
Great post. Let me add fuel to your loathsome generalization of realtors. I rented a loft for 2 years and then the owner decided to sell. So during my last 2 or 3 months, the loft was shown about twice a week (I agreed to this... I liked the owner and wanted to help her out). The thing is that I'd hear the realtors lie about the place. They'd say that appliances worked when I had clearly told them on the initial visit to appraise the place that they didn't. They said it was only 5 years old (it was probably at least 15 years old). They said that there was a gym on the roof when there was only one bench press in a tiny room. They lied about the square footage. And they had clearly not done their homework when it came to basic questions like "is cable included in the building expenses?" "is there a garage for cars?" "how much are the building expenses per month?" Utterly pitiful in every way.
So, even if you get a local to help you out, make sure you get one who is savvy. The realtors don't care where you're from. They'll cheat you and laugh about it even if you're their neighbor.
Ric, Thank you a lot. That´s a very nice comment.
Angela, thanks for sharing that story, it´s so acurate that made me laugh. Once I was visiting a property and the owner was there and he was a nice guy, so he kept correcting what the realtor was saying.
And also you are right about bringing a savvy friend, someone who has dealt with realtors and all that mafia.
And please remember:
NOT EVERYBODY OUT THERE IS FULL OF CRAP.
Thanks
I was recently stuck on the 9th floor of my BA apartment because the elevator was broken and I was not given keys to the stairs. The portero didn't care and didn't have a clue when the elevator would be fixed. Thanks to my super loud neighbor who I usually was annoyed with, I was able to escape!
Thank you, Diva, for the helpful post. And thank you for following through on my e-mail and recommending an escribana. Much appreciated!!
No problem. I wish you the best and make sure everything is ok before signing anything!
Yes, you have to be very careful when buying property or in the apartment rental buenos aires . Always make sure that the notary is doing a good job.
Last year I stayed in a furnished apartment in BA and the experience was satisfactory.
Mark
Hey man,
you are a great writter!!
I am porteña and your description is real and funny.
Please, don´t forget many Property agents "forget" say: "Like you are not an Argentino, you must pay an extra tax % if you buy a property"
Saludos colega !!
haha, you are right about everything you say. I remember when I was looking an apartment for rent buenos aires I knew that I had to find one in which the administrator would not be such a bad person. But they are you know, they do not care what is going on with you, they get paid but they do not do their job. Anyways, even though the administrator wasn´t
the best thing, I had a nice time there and made some friends in the building. That is good and they will help you because the porteño is a friendly and sympathetic person.
Cheers,
Summer
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