Newcomer Life in Buenos Aires after 1 month of living here as an expat

[Spend Thrift]

Hello from a 68 year-old Seattle native currently navigating Buenos Aires!

Getting cash has proven to be a challenge with ATM machines charging a whopping surcharge to withdraw and limiting how much I can take out. Following advice I went to Uruguay to secure US dollars, enduring a full day from 7 AM to 2 PM on a long boat ride. Round-trip flights cost $250, and the maximum I can withdraw from ATMs there is $1500. Unfortunately, Western Union couldn't process my debit card, and the process of registering as a legal long-term visitor here is taking some time.

After a month of hopping between Airbnbs, I've found a nice apartment. I'll be sharing warnings about Airbnb scammers in this area later. Now, regarding the apartment I'm securing for the next two years, the monthly rate is $1,700 USD. There's an offer of one month free for a year in advance or a $3000 discount if I pay for two years upfront. Uncertain about the expat economy under the new president and concerned about the prospect of a return of the previous one, I'm evaluating whether to invest $33k from my IRA or withdraw it to save 10%. I'm open to comments on this decision.

As a gay divorced male with a Spanish-speaking personal assistant who makes life here much easier, I'm curious about expat groups, preferably with a focus on gay males. I'm sociable and believe in the benefits of networking. For now, I'm grateful to have found this group.

 

[Betsy Ross]

What kind of rental contract did you sign? Did you rent this on Airbnb? Is it a formal contract? I wouldn't recommend pre-paying anything without having terms clear in writing or having a rental agreement. I have met some expats here who throw all common sense out the window and do things here that they would NOT do at home. If anything you have to be more careful here.

I met an American recently who did the same thing and prepaid for 1 year ahead of time. They did not sign a formal rental contract. And they paid $1,200 dollars up front. It turns out that was a thief that rented an apartment for 2 months on Airbnb and then made a fake listing and the American prepaid to some cueva and paid the cash up front. It turned out the person that put it for rent just made a fake Airbnb account to rent it and then illegally sublet the apartment. That American lost $14,000+ US dollars and nothing they could do.

 

[Huge Hurry]

Why are you going to Uruguay? Just to get USD? I suppose for the rental to pay the owner? Can't you wire the funds? The owner doesn't have an account abroad? If they are pre-charging for one year up front I'd be leery about paying in actual cash. Although that is common I'd be worried about the situation above. Ask to see a copy of the utility bill in their name and did you see the owner's ID or something? Unless they were a known entity or you rented directly with them on Airbnb first or something. I'd be worried. This is NOT Seattle.


While I do think it might be smart to lock in the price as prices are definitely going up, I would make sure you take precautions. I have gone and used Western Union with my debit card in Uruguay before. Also, there are reputable bankers here that will charge you a relatively small amount 4% to 5% of the amount of the wire and they US bank accounts that you deposit/wire and they will give you the cash in Buenos Aires. No reason to go all the way to Uruguay.

You are doing Buenos Aires wrong if you're going all the way to Uruguay to get USD.

 

[Frosted Flakes]

Wow, $1,700 dollars a month? That seems like a lot of money to prepay up front. Can you share some details? I don't expect you to share exact location but what neighborhood is this in? How many bedrooms and bathrooms? How many sq. meters? General location?

I'm tired of this Airbnb moving around and prices keep going up. I used to have several owners that I've been renting direct that I rented on Airbnb a few times but they are ALL full now. I realize it's high season but some of them are getting booked out into mid-2024. I am thinking of doing a long term rental soon and want to know what to expect.

The most important thing is a good location, fast internet, quiet and decent mattress and furnished and fitted out as I don't want to have to buy a bunch of things. For you or anyone else can chime in, has anyone had any luck paying the owner outside of Argentina? I can't imagine having to wire in a large amount of money to pay cash ahead of time with no paper trail of the cash. Is this possible at all?

 

[Starfish]

Wow, $1,700 dollars a month? That seems like a lot of money to prepay up front. Can you share some details? I don't expect you to share exact location but what neighborhood is this in? How many bedrooms and bathrooms? How many sq. meters? General location?

I'm tired of this Airbnb moving around and prices keep going up. I used to have several owners that I've been renting direct that I rented on Airbnb a few times but they are ALL full now. I realize it's high season but some of them are getting booked out into mid-2024. I am thinking of doing a long term rental soon and want to know what to expect.

The most important thing is a good location, fast internet, quiet and decent mattress and furnished and fitted out as I don't want to have to buy a bunch of things. For you or anyone else can chime in, has anyone had any luck paying the owner outside of Argentina? I can't imagine having to wire in a large amount of money to pay cash ahead of time with no paper trail of the cash. Is this possible at all?

I have sent money directly to the owner a few times. I have much preferred to deal and rent with a foreign owner vs. local Porteño. I've had BAD luck renting from local owners. Once I pay them if there is an issue they leave me to deal with it. For example, the internet stopped working and I realized it wasn't their issue as it was the company but I couldn't call in to the company as they needed some information and the owner wouldn't help me fix it. I already paid in advance. Also one time the owner forget to pay the bill for Internet a few months and they shut it off. Same with the cable.

All the times I have rented from American owners, no issues at all and they bent over backwards to help. The locals don't help with anything or barely respond or take days to respond.

 

[VINO]

I wouldn't recommend sending money in advance for a year unless they are on Airbnb for a long time or you can see their profile and they are a Superhost or something. I agree with @Starfish that most locals are not reputable when dealing with issues once you pre-pay a year in advance. You have NO protections if they are shady. I doubt a local will ever give you any money back if there is an issue like no gas.

My friend rented an apartment where the hot water went out as the gas heater broke in the basement. It had NO hot water for 6 months! The owner refused to give him a refund. He gave him $200 a month back and told him if he wanted to leave he could but he wasn't refunding. The legal system doesn't work here so nothing protects you. You can't sue like the USA. Well you can but it might take years to go in front of a judge and they can be bribed.

 

[Canada Goose]

@Spend Thrift you should contact @earlyretirement He has a lot of contacts. I did an initial consultation as I am buying an apartment here. He hooked me up with a very reputable banker that has an office in Recoleta. I just wire him and I get the funds. All for not too much money. Certainly NOT the hassles that you are spending going to Uruguay. I have been here 6 weeks now and used him a few times. You can use Western Union here to get pesos but his contact was the best to get US Dollars. I just go into his office in Recoleta to pick it up.

I needed some US dollars to make a deposit on an apartment.

 

[StatusNomadicus]

Charles Schwab ATM/debit card has been covered a lot in the past, but if you don't have one you should really get it! zero ATM fees, worldwide, just take out Pesos every few days as needed https://www.schwab.com/checking

 

[James Bond]

I used to go over to Colonia for years when I needed to get US dollars but the biggest issue was my ATM card limited me (or maybe it was the ATM machines) limited me to $400 USD each withdrawal and charged me $5 USD for each withdrawal. It was a huge hassle to go from bank ATM to ATM to come back with the few thousands I needed. Plus my bank would inevitably block my card even though I told them ahead of time what I was doing. Fraud filters constantly would make it so I had to call in each trip. Was a hassle.

I agree to find a local banker here. Cuevas are essential for getting USD here.

 

[Spend Thrift]

What kind of rental contract did you sign? Did you rent this on Airbnb? Is it a formal contract? I wouldn't recommend pre-paying anything without having terms clear in writing or having a rental agreement. I have met some expats here who throw all common sense out the window and do things here that they would NOT do at home. If anything you have to be more careful here.

I met an American recently who did the same thing and prepaid for 1 year ahead of time. They did not sign a formal rental contract. And they paid $1,200 dollars up front. It turns out that was a thief that rented an apartment for 2 months on Airbnb and then made a fake listing and the American prepaid to some cueva and paid the cash up front. It turned out the person that put it for rent just made a fake Airbnb account to rent it and then illegally sublet the apartment. That American lost $14,000+ US dollars and nothing they could do.

You are scaring me! You are making excellent points! I feel silly now. I am very close to signing but no I haven't seen a contract yet. My assistant told me this was normal to rent with cash. They just made a simple contract but nothing ironed out that it's all utilities except for electricity included. I heard utilities here are very cheap so not sure why they wouldn't include electricity but the owner said no and would send me the actual bill each month to pay. They also want to charge me one month of rent for damage deposit. Is this normal?? That seems like a lot.


I feel stupid now as I haven't even seen the owner's ID or anything. My assistant said a realtor he met told him about it. I will check about these things. You are right. I feel like an idiot now. I wouldn't do this in the USA so I'm not sure why I would do it here!

Why are you going to Uruguay? Just to get USD? I suppose for the rental to pay the owner? Can't you wire the funds? The owner doesn't have an account abroad? If they are pre-charging for one year up front I'd be leery about paying in actual cash. Although that is common I'd be worried about the situation above. Ask to see a copy of the utility bill in their name and did you see the owner's ID or something? Unless they were a known entity or you rented directly with them on Airbnb first or something. I'd be worried. This is NOT Seattle.


While I do think it might be smart to lock in the price as prices are definitely going up, I would make sure you take precautions. I have gone and used Western Union with my debit card in Uruguay before. Also, there are reputable bankers here that will charge you a relatively small amount 4% to 5% of the amount of the wire and they US bank accounts that you deposit/wire and they will give you the cash in Buenos Aires. No reason to go all the way to Uruguay.

You are doing Buenos Aires wrong if you're going all the way to Uruguay to get USD.

I haven't been here long. Just 5 weeks. OK, point made. I did ask if the owner had an account abroad and they insisted on getting CASH. And they said it MUST be newer $100 bills. I'm not sure what the difference is but they said they would not take any old bills? I didn't know about these private bankers. I will ask around.

Wow, $1,700 dollars a month? That seems like a lot of money to prepay up front. Can you share some details? I don't expect you to share exact location but what neighborhood is this in? How many bedrooms and bathrooms? How many sq. meters? General location?

I'm tired of this Airbnb moving around and prices keep going up. I used to have several owners that I've been renting direct that I rented on Airbnb a few times but they are ALL full now. I realize it's high season but some of them are getting booked out into mid-2024. I am thinking of doing a long term rental soon and want to know what to expect.

The most important thing is a good location, fast internet, quiet and decent mattress and furnished and fitted out as I don't want to have to buy a bunch of things. For you or anyone else can chime in, has anyone had any luck paying the owner outside of Argentina? I can't imagine having to wire in a large amount of money to pay cash ahead of time with no paper trail of the cash. Is this possible at all?

Actually there were many that were more than this. I saw a lot of cheaper places and went to see them. Many owners wouldn't let me see them ahead of time or just a quick visit. And on those quick visits I saw the mattresses were hard as a rock. I need a good quality mattress as I have a bad back. Some didn't have any closet space and I can't live a year with nowhere to hang my clothes! This was for a nice 1 bedroom apartment in Recoleta. Actually there was a small 2nd bedroom but not an actual bedroom. More of an office area. But that is not really useable as the internet signal doesn't work in there! It had no signal or telephone signal presumably as the walls are so thick but I showed them no signal and the owner said they can't do anything about that. So that room is useless to me!

It is near Montevideo and Vicente Lopez Street in Recoleta. It has a queen size bed and well furnished. They had an old TV in the living room but TV's seem cheap so I will buy a new one. I asked the owner and he refused. No smart TV and I want to have Netflix access. The Internet was very slow. I did a speedtest and I told the owner I would want a faster plan and he said if i want faster I can pay to upgrade. I'm not sure what they charge but I will pay it. He said I had to do that AFTER the lease started. The kitchen is not well furnished so I probably have to buy some things. But I like that location and honestly It's not that easy to find something for 2 years. I don't want to have to move around and keep looking for things. I would rather have something locked in.

@Spend Thrift you should contact @earlyretirement He has a lot of contacts. I did an initial consultation as I am buying an apartment here. He hooked me up with a very reputable banker that has an office in Recoleta. I just wire him and I get the funds. All for not too much money. Certainly NOT the hassles that you are spending going to Uruguay. I have been here 6 weeks now and used him a few times. You can use Western Union here to get pesos but his contact was the best to get US Dollars. I just go into his office in Recoleta to pick it up.

I needed some US dollars to make a deposit on an apartment.

Thank you! I will contact him. Who is he? Do you know him? I guess there must be a lot of trust to wire that much money as I assume I have to wire first. That is what I'm hesitant about.

Charles Schwab ATM/debit card has been covered a lot in the past, but if you don't have one you should really get it! zero ATM fees, worldwide, just take out Pesos every few days as needed https://www.schwab.com/checking

@StatusNomadicus NO this does NOT help me. I have that card already. As i mentioned I need to get US Dollars. This doesn't help me to get US dollars here in BA. The owner won't take pesos. I offered to pay the blue rate and he only wants USD due to instability of the pesos. I don't blame him!

Much thanks to all of you. This flaming hot cheeto has much to learn!

 

[Nasdaq]

Thank you! I will contact him. Who is he? Do you know him? I guess there must be a lot of trust to wire that much money as I assume I have to wire first. That is what I'm hesitant about.

@Spend Thrift he has a very well-established reputation. Most people that have been in Buenos Aires a long time know who he is. He is one of the only expats that has ever successfully started a large scale company and got acquired by a multi-national company. He is the only American that I know that has done it in Buenos Aires. - https://buysellba.com/news-/-media?blogcategory=ApartmentsBA. (He also owns this website!).

I first saw him many years ago on an HGTV show after he moved to Buenos Aires. He has done a few. I also saw him on an HGTV show as a buyer in Punta del Este as well. I thought that was funny he was on it for both the buyer and the "realtor". I know he wasn't a realtor so I figured that show is all fake. I always wondered.

I used to go over to Colonia for years when I needed to get US dollars but the biggest issue was my ATM card limited me (or maybe it was the ATM machines) limited me to $400 USD each withdrawal and charged me $5 USD for each withdrawal. It was a huge hassle to go from bank ATM to ATM to come back with the few thousands I needed. Plus my bank would inevitably block my card even though I told them ahead of time what I was doing. Fraud filters constantly would make it so I had to call in each trip. Was a hassle.

I agree to find a local banker here. Cuevas are essential for getting USD here.

Yes, I did this as well when I needed US DOLLARS. It was a big clusterf*ck. I haven't gone there since before Covid. But the nice thing was using ATM machines without worries. My bank back in USA had a huge limit. The biggest nightmare was Schwab didn't exist back then nor did any banks rebating the cost and even if they did they would probably fired me as a client. The fees in Uruguay were almost $10 US dollars back then and I could only take $300 dollars out each time.

The cost of the ferry over was expensive too. Colonia is a boring town so it's not even like there is much to do. But that was when I was a dumb American and didn't have any contacts to cuevas. But even if I did, I had too many bad experiences to trust anyone.

 

[earlyretirement]

@Spend Thrift he has a very well-established reputation. Most people that have been in Buenos Aires a long time know who he is. He is one of the only expats that has ever successfully started a large scale company and got acquired by a multi-national company. He is the only American that I know that has done it. - https://buysellba.com/news-/-media?blogcategory=ApartmentsBA. (He also owns this website!).

I first saw him many years ago on an HGTV show after he moved to Buenos Aires. He has done a few. I also saw him on an HGTV show as a buyer in Punta del Este as well. I thought that was funny he was on it for both the buyer and the "realtor". I know he wasn't a realtor so I figured that show is all fake. I always wondered.

Too funny! Yes, I did 4 episodes of HGTV House Hunters International. My first episode for whatever reason was the "highest-rated show in the history of the series". I'm not sure why. But after those ratings, they kept asking me to do more. They even had an "real estate experts" show and they had me on that too. As mentioned, NO I was NOT a realtor. I owned an investment company. HGTV House Hunters is ALL fake. The property is already purchased long ahead of time. They can't risk it with production budgets on a property falling through. The ratings were so high with my shows, they asked me to be the "buyer" too when they found out I recently built a home in Punta del Este, Uruguay. So my now wife (then girlfriend) was on that episode too.

What memories! But YES, HGTV is all Fake.

 

[Vero]

Wow that is a decent budget so it must be a nicely furnished apartment but slow Internet sounds like the owner is foolish and cheap. That tells me they are trying to save money when that is the most important thing to a tenant. So if they are cheap on that what else?

You should try to rent it for a short amount of time first. Ask if you can pay to rent it a week first. Do they rent it for short-term rental? Try that first. Then you can see how the bed is, neighbors, noise, doorman, etc.

For $1,700 per month you can get a nice Airbnb for that money but I understand the risk of not being able to stay. Most nice places ranked above 4.80 have future bookings already unless they are totally new. I would be hesitant to pay all the money up front for a year unless the owner is a SuperHost. You still don't say how you found the property? Your assistant isn't a good enough answer. Ask exactly how he/she found it. How long have they been your assistant and how did you find them? Often times they are in cahoots. It has happened here with realtors/lawyers.

Also, you have only been in BA for a month. Are you sure you will like it well enough to stay 1 year or 2?

 

[sergio]

Hello from a 68 year-old Seattle native currently navigating Buenos Aires!

Getting cash has proven to be a challenge with ATM machines charging a whopping surcharge to withdraw and limiting how much I can take out. Following advice I went to Uruguay to secure US dollars, enduring a full day from 7 AM to 2 PM on a long boat ride. Round-trip flights cost $250, and the maximum I can withdraw from ATMs there is $1500. Unfortunately, Western Union couldn't process my debit card, and the process of registering as a legal long-term visitor here is taking some time.

After a month of hopping between Airbnbs, I've found a nice apartment. I'll be sharing warnings about Airbnb scammers in this area later. Now, regarding the apartment I'm securing for the next two years, the monthly rate is $1,700 USD. There's an offer of one month free for a year in advance or a $3000 discount if I pay for two years upfront. Uncertain about the expat economy under the new president and concerned about the prospect of a return of the previous one, I'm evaluating whether to invest $33k from my IRA or withdraw it to save 10%. I'm open to comments on this decision.

As a gay divorced male with a Spanish-speaking personal assistant who makes life here much easier, I'm curious about expat groups, preferably with a focus on gay males. I'm sociable and believe in the benefits of networking. For now, I'm grateful to have found this group.

$1,700 a month! I thought Buenos Aires was supposed to be cheap! I guess good for property owners but bad for expats that don't already own!

 

[Pink Panther]

Hi querido Sergio,

Argentina is very very very cheap with one HUGE exception and that is rents! Rents are continuing to go up quickly. All my friends that had good relationships with Airbnb hosts and didn't have trouble finding a place to rent are now SOL and having to sleep on friends couches a few times when they can't find anything in the areas they want.

There are more cities around Latin America with higher rental prices than Buenos Aires. But that might not be the case for much longer. The flight here was completely sold out. They offered me $800 to fly on another later flight but I couldn't. They oversold the flight by 12 people. I haven't seen that in a while. All my friends that go back so it was full coming and going.

You may pay bargain basement prices on food and other things like Uber but I have a feeling rent is going to keep going up.

 

[sergio]

Hi querido Sergio,

Argentina is very very very cheap with one HUGE exception and that is rents! Rents are continuing to go up quickly. All my friends that had good relationships with Airbnb hosts and didn't have trouble finding a place to rent are now SOL and having to sleep on friends couches a few times when they can't find anything in the areas they want.

There are more cities around Latin America with higher rental prices than Buenos Aires. But that might not be the case for much longer. The flight here was completely sold out. They offered me $800 to fly on another later flight but I couldn't. They oversold the flight by 12 people. I haven't seen that in a while. All my friends that go back so it was full coming and going.

You may pay bargain basement prices on food and other things like Uber but I have a feeling rent is going to keep going up.

If property owners are getting rents like that for Buenos Aires then it means that BA is far from "inexpensive for foreigners"!!! I can't see why tourists would want to come here if Airbnb and long-term apartment rentals are so expensive.

 

[Larry]

If property owners are getting rents like that for Buenos Aires then it means that BA is far from "inexpensive for foreigners"!!! I can't see why tourists would want to come here if Airbnb and long-term apartment rentals are so expensive.

Rentals now are very expensive and I don't think worth it for the size and location. I think restaurants are also expensive and also at USA prices. It's IMPOSSIBLE to find a good one-bedroom apartment for less than $800 USD / month in goof premium locations. Even dumpy areas like San Telmo and the downtown area are about $600 USD a month IF you can find one for long-term rent. There are far much cheaper places in Latin America than BA.

 

[LongIslander]

Rentals now are very expensive and I don't think worth it for the size and location. I think restaurants are also expensive and also at USA prices. It's IMPOSSIBLE to find a good one-bedroom apartment for less than $800 USD / month in goof premium locations. Even dumpy areas like San Telmo and the downtown area are about $600 USD a month IF you can find one for long-term rent. There are far much cheaper places in Latin America than BA.

@Spend Thrift I would love to hear more details on the apartment you are interested in. $1,700 US for rent is on the high side for rentals in Buenos Aires. Yeah yeah I know there are much more expensive apartments but the average middle-class Porteño doesn't have the money to spend this amount of money.

 

[Vince]

@Spend Thrift I would love to hear more details on the apartment you are interested in. $1,700 US for rent is on the high side for rentals in Buenos Aires. Yeah yeah I know there are much more expensive apartments but the average middle-class Porteño doesn't have the money to spend this amount of money.

To be fair, NONE of you sound like the "average middle-class Porteño". Those people probably have a guarantor to co-sign for them. NONE of you probably have that. Prices ARE going up on rentals. Those that don't have something locked in are going to probably be in a pinch. There are almost non long term rentals on the market for a city the size of BA. Scary proposition unless you have a long term lease already signed or a contract that doesn't end for a while. I have friends that end their contract in the first quarter of 2024 and ALL the owners said they aren't renewing or doubling the rent!

 

[Finance Prof]

To be fair, NONE of you sound like the "average middle-class Porteño". Those people probably have a guarantor to co-sign for them. NONE of you probably have that. Prices ARE going up on rentals. Those that don't have something locked in are going to probably be in a pinch. There are almost non long term rentals on the market for a city the size of BA. Scary proposition unless you have a long term lease already signed or a contract that doesn't end for a while. I have friends that end their contract in the first quarter of 2024 and ALL the owners said they aren't renewing or doubling the rent!

Yeah. Ha. @Spend Thrift does NOT sounds like the typical Porteño. In no way, shape or form. A self described, "flaming hot Cheeto" I doesn't think quality for the typical Porteño.

There are many cheaper cities in Latin America. I have a criteria of things that are most important to me. That is language, heath care services, weather, metropolitan city (I don't like small towns), cost of living, cultural activities.

Buenos Aires always comes on top.

La Paz is cheap with rentals. Costa Rica, Panama, Santiago, is much more expensive. Montevideo is crazy expensive now!