This is negotiated on ahead of time before you sign the contract. It's preferable for you as the tenant to have it included in the prices as inflation can be very high here and it can jump up month to month in a high inflationary environment. So better to have the owner cover it. Typically, utilities would be covered by you as the tenant as it depends on how much you use it. But that can also be negotiated.
@Oatmeal you should push to have the monthly HOA covered in the lease. These HOA fees are going to definitely go up over the course of the next year. So it's wise to negotiate that. Some buildings include water in the HOA bills but on older buildings many get bills each month. But utilities are really not expensive at all.
www.expatsba.com
Realtors in BA are the scum of the earth. I am not sure what the going rate is as we were fortunate and found our tenant on Airbnb and then negotiated direct. I think before, realtors were asking 1 month fee but not sure what it is now.
Thanks for the info and warning. Is the one month fee the term of the contract? or monthly per year? Do you know renewal of contracts dedicate a commission again? I would think commission is a one time thing and not applied for renewals.
Everything is negotiable in Argentina. However Wally is correct that realtors here are slimy or lazy for the most part. Or they will try to get a piece of any future rental contract you do with the owner. You should ask the agent up front what the commission might be. But are you looking for a furnished or unfurnished place? Maybe just look at 4 Rent Argentina. Not the most high end but the rate should include all fees and utilities and no commissions. Prices tend to be much lower than Airbnb. I used them when I first moved here and they are nice people.
Realtors will try to get more if you renew. I would recommend you just book with the owner direct if you decide to renew the contract. The owner will be happy to deal with you directly. Everyone hates realtors in BA.
All solid advice on this post. A few friends have used this company and they are good. The properties aren't 5 stars but the prices aren't either.Everything is negotiable in Argentina. However Wally is correct that realtors here are slimy or lazy for the most part. Or they will try to get a piece of any future rental contract you do with the owner. You should ask the agent up front what the commission might be. But are you looking for a furnished or unfurnished place? Maybe just look at 4 Rent Argentina. Not the most high end but the rate should include all fees and utilities and no commissions. Prices tend to be much lower than Airbnb. I used them when I first moved here and they are nice people.
Buenos Aires Apartments for temporary rentals - 4rentargentina
Furnished apartments for rent in Buenos Aires. Browse our 1500 vacation rentals and book online your favorite apartment.www.4rentargentina.com
Wow I didn't realize utility bills were so low there! No wonder the President wants to raise them 3-4 X. @Oatmeal also you can try emailing that company and just telling them that you are looking for options for 12 months and prices will come down even further You can tell them the neighborhood you want to be in and your budget. Also, you can try on Airbnb to do the same thing but owners were mostly flaky on there.@Oatmeal you should push to have the monthly HOA covered in the lease. These HOA fees are going to definitely go up over the course of the next year. So it's wise to negotiate that. Some buildings include water in the HOA bills but on older buildings many get bills each month. But utilities are really not expensive at all.
Here you can see a copy of a water bill. It is only about 5,000 pesos per month.
View attachment 3948
Here is a recent electricity bill of an apartment in Recoleta about 700 sq. feet. You can see only around 8,113 pesos per month. They say utilities will go up 300% but even if they do, you will see it's quite inexpensive compared to just about any country around the world.
View attachment 3949
Here is another apartment that I own in Palermo Hollywood and you can see it's around 10,000 pesos.
View attachment 3950
What I have done on long-term rentals in my apartment is I pay for the monthly HOA bill and water and the tenant pays the electricity bill. I think most owners are going to want you to pay for all utilities as they aren't sure how those rates will be with Milei cutting subsidies. But even if rates go up significantly % it won't be much in USD relatively speaking.
And you can see a copy of a monthly HOA expense here at this thread below. I recently posted a copy of my last HOA bill.
What all is included in monthly HOA expenses on ZonaProp listings or for condos in Buenos Aires?
I was curious what all is included in the monthly expensas for listings I see on Zonaprop? For example, I am looking at this $295,000 USD property and it says the monthly HOA fees are only 55,000 pesos per month. Can that be right? I will ask my realtor but I was curious from those of you...
This is good advice. I sometimes get long-term requests on my apartments that I own but I almost always turn them down as I make much more money doing short-term rentals. Still, a few months ago I had a tenant that wanted to do a long term 2 year lease and I suggested that he stay a few nights in it to see how he liked it. That is always better if you can do that as you can see how you like the place, if the bed is comfortable, noise, etc. But some owners have future bookings that they might not want to cancel.
@Oatmeal where are you looking for the long-term rentals? Keep in mind that many locals will ask for a guarantia or guarantor that you need to co-sign on the lease. Renting can be a hassle here. A way you can get around that is pre-pay on the lease. Basically here in BA if a tenant stops paying they have squatter rights so it's difficult to get them out. Because of this many owners will ask you to buy a bond or ask for a co-signer.
My friend signed a contract last year and he is getting ready to renew. His realtor never would give him the contact info for the owner since the owner was in Spain. Realtors will try to cut off communication between the tenant and owner many times. Many owners don't live here. Do yourself a favor and ask the doorman for the contact info as they typically always have it. Make sure in the rental contract it doesn't have a clause about paying the realtor again if you renew.
Can foreigners buy this bond/insurance? A friend told me that they only sell them to locals not foreigners. Is that true?
You can check but typically it is only locals that can buy this coverage. You can see more details on this website below. Typically the company will ask to see if you have declared monthly income from AFIP. If not, then I don't think you can buy it but best to check with that company. I used to manage hundreds of properties and they wouldn't allow foreigners to buy the insurance so companies were co-signing or they were prepaying the rents.
I believe you have to have a DNI or have some income declared with AFIP. Hell, banks right now in Argentina are even threatening to close your bank account if you don't show you are making $$$ with AFIP to justify activity. So it is probably unlikely someone will sell you a policy with no income inside Argentina declared.You can check but typically it is only locals that can buy this coverage. You can see more details on this website below. Typically the company will ask to see if you have declared monthly income from AFIP. If not, then I don't think you can buy it but best to check with that company. I used to manage hundreds of properties and they wouldn't allow foreigners to buy the insurance so companies were co-signing or they were prepaying the rents.
Finaer - Sistemas de Garantías para alquilar
finaersa.com.ar
This is correct. I had a tenant for my apartment on a long 2 year lease and he tried to buy a policy but they wouldn't sell him one as he had no local income declared. What I ended up doing was taking pre-payment on the lease for one year. The tenant was thankful that he could wire to my account outside of Argentina with a bank transfer. He will pay me the remainder of the lease 4 months before the first year expires.
Utility bills have historically been low due to subsidies. But that is changing and quickly.
Thank you for the link. Very helpful.Everything is negotiable in Argentina. However Wally is correct that realtors here are slimy or lazy for the most part. Or they will try to get a piece of any future rental contract you do with the owner. You should ask the agent up front what the commission might be. But are you looking for a furnished or unfurnished place? Maybe just look at 4 Rent Argentina. Not the most high end but the rate should include all fees and utilities and no commissions. Prices tend to be much lower than Airbnb. I used them when I first moved here and they are nice people.
Buenos Aires Apartments for temporary rentals - 4rentargentina
Furnished apartments for rent in Buenos Aires. Browse our 1500 vacation rentals and book online your favorite apartment.
