Job Discussion Forums

[carlos-england]

I'm here in England and I would like to
rent a nice flat (apartment) in Cabalitto
I can stay with mates but when I go out there
fulltime I would like my own pad...

There is no rush to get a place as I can stay
with friends but I would like to know how much
you are paying

In the future I will buy a nice apartment in Capital
Federal as prices are fantastic but for now I would
like to rent a nice 2 bedroom pad... a 2 bedroom flat
in Cabalitto is around 250 dollars a month... is that
too much or about right... thats according to...

www.argenprop.com.ar

Thanks in advance... I'm off to watch 'big brother'
(yes I'm a sad case I know!)

[matttheboy]

Well i don't know Caballito but from looking on the map and from what i've heard that sounds about right.

You should remember though that prices from argenprop.com are for long term rentals (standard contract 2 years) and the place will almost certainly be unfurnished. You'll also be liable for gas and electricity (both together around 60-80 pesos a month), and probably the service charge which could between 100 and 300 pesos a month. You may also have to pay 'council tax'/ABL which is around 20 pesos a month. Add on the phone at 40 pesos a month and maybe internet access at around 100 pesos a month and it's not so cheap.

You'll need a local guarantor to get the place and have to stump up at least a couple of months rent in advance plus the deposit. This would make your start up costs really quite high.

Unless, of course, the ad says the place is furnished and all costs included, in which case ignore what i just said!!

As for the housing market...there are still some bargains out there but prices have gone up majorly in the last couple of years and are continuing to rise. In places like Barrio Norte and Palermo flats are becoming unaffordable again. Not that the market's becoming overcooked, just that the true bargains have gone. Too many foreigners seeing the light at the same time coupled with rich Argentines putting their money in the only safe investment in this country has pushed prices way up.

[ElNota]

Matt you seem to know a lot about the housing rental market... I was wondering if you could help me figure out the best way to go about finding a place.

I am moving to Buenos Aires at the end of September and will be looking for a two bedroom place to share with a friend of mine. We want to live close to the action in one of the big neighborhoods (Palermo, Recoleta, etc.). We also want to keep rent reasonable and rent a place for a six month lease... keeping our options open if we want to move to Mendoza after 6 months. Of course it would be much better to get a furnished place, so we don't have to fuss with all of that stuff.

We're not looking for anything spectacular, just clean and comfortable would be just fine. Do you think we could find a decent place for $1300 - $1800 per month? That's kind of what we were hoping. If so, whats the best way to go about it? I saw a website for a place that charges 10 percent of the total contract, but does a lot of the leg work for you.

Also, assuming that we could find something in that price range, we would be willing to pay the entire six months up front. Does that mean that we don't need a guaranteeor?

[matttheboy]

There are loads of companies that offer short term lets to foreigners, anything from a day to a year. For 1500 pesos you should easily be able to find something half decent. These are a few of the websites, take a look to get an idea. Prices are higher than what argentines would pay but everything's included and there are no start up costs.

http://alojargentina.com.ar/
http://apartmentsba.com/system/index.php
http://letsgoargentina.com/

www.yesba.org also has accomodation listings (and there are some good offers there, better value than the sites above).


Also, check out these links for a look at the current situation for argentines.

http://www.clarin.com/diario/2005/06/25/laciudad/h-06015.htm
http://www.herramientas.clarin.com/galeria/galeria.jsp?notaId=957170&mtmStatus=procesada&mtmNombreTimu=infografia&havingEpigrafe=true&displayEpigrafe=false&mtmPath=http://www.clarin.com/diario/2005/06/25/fotos/

[ElNota]

thanks matt... I had never seen alojargentina before and it has a few places in our price range. Puts my mind at ease...

thanks for the prompt reply... I'll have to buy you a beer or coffee for all the help that I've received from this website... thanks in large part to you and others like you.

cheers,

el notarino

[matttheboy]

No problem.

There are quite a lot of websites offering rentals here. Prices have gone up since the last time i looked on those i gave above because the amount of tourists willing to pay higher prices has increased. These are a few more sites that may offer something in your price range as well.

http://www.bytargentina.com/
http://www.stayinbuenosaires.com.ar/
http://www.buenosairestravelrent.com/

Although personally i'd try to get something from the yesba listings or craigslist (http://buenosaires.craigslist.org/) as a lot of them are from private owners so you don't have to pay agency fees and it'll be a lot easier to negotiate a price. If you say to a private owner you're willing to pay the whole lot up front in cash you should be able to get a pretty good discount.

[guillebaires]

http://www.easyrentargentina.com.ar/
http://www.argentinahomes.com/

and do not forget to check http://www.globalfreeloaders.com/ perhaps you could stay in BA for free!

[joost]

globalfreeloaders?
i prefer hospitalityclub.org!
(they even say how many members they have)

[martyn madrid]

I will be in Buenos Aires in August, any recommended areas for flats? I�m thinking of a month, maybe 2 months? What do they mean by "garantia"?

martyn

[REDLEY]

the areas i like the best are Palermo, Barrio Norte and Recoleta. Saludos.
"Garantia" is a property acceptable as security for the payment of the rent. In other words, you need someone who owns a property to sign the lease contract with you as a collateral, so in the event of you defaulting the lease contract, the property will be sold to pay out the debts (rent).
Since you are foreinger and will stay for a short period, you will probably end up renting a "alquiler temporario amoblado" which is more expensive but doesnt require "garantia" and its all furnished. Suerte , saludos.

[martyn madrid]

thanks redley, if I do make it to Argentina, I�m sure to have a lot of Spanish renting phrases packed up as my Spanish goes below the Beginners level!

[Amanda Vertner]

Can you really rent a decent place for 300-325 euros a month? I was told that in Buenos Aires I could get a place all to myself for this price, what's that, roughly 1200 - 1250 pesos a month. Question is, how much do English teachers make, say on a 20 hours work week? Would you have to work for different schools?

Thanks,

Amanda

[sheena maclean]

Well if you teach in institutes to business people you`ll get $15 pesos an hour which means you need to work at least 22 hours to pay the kind of rent you are talking about so I`ll let you do the maths from there!!!
Sheena

[Amanda Vertner]

Oh dear, the calculator didn't give me an encouraging reply! Oh well I guess I have to look into sharing, started that way in Prague, then in Spain , just wondering maybe it would be nice to have a flat on my own. Thanks for the insight.

Amanda

[sheena maclean]

hi Amanda
don't even talk about the apartment situation in this city!!! It's a joke. As I've expressed on previous theads of this kind!! When you get here you will see flats that are good deals and you will think that there would be no problem in finding a flat in that range, what you don�t know until you delve a bit deeper is that you have to take out a 2 year contact and provide a guarantor in case you skip the rent!!! Also none of the cheap places are furnished so that is yet another expense.
I would say most efl teachers who are paying their own way out of their wages pay something in the region fo 500pesos a month to share a flat. But of course these places aren�t really advertised on anywhere a gringo might look before arriving in the country. I can�t see myself gettingout of the hostel that I�m staying in for quite a while!!
Sheena