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Argentina's Only English Language Radio Program! We finally launched BA Today, the only English language radio program in Argentina. Listen to it every Thursday at 1:00PM on Radio Cultura 97.9 FM, or via Internet at www.fmradiocultura.com.ar pressing the ESCUCHENOS icon. If you want to call us while we are on the air you may dial: 5031-9807/08 From BANewcomers: ebanuchi September 6, 2005 BA Today.. ARGENTINA'S ONLY ENGLISH LANGUAGE RADIO PROGRAMME IS MOVING! From: wbatradio Remember that Buenos Aires now has a 24 hour web radio; WBAT. You can listen to WBAT by going to www.wbat.com.ar In addition to having CNN News Updates every hour on the hour, and BA Today Live Monday thru Friday at 3:00pm, we also have other locally produced programs as well as programs from the US and the UK. These are just some of them: 1. Democracy Today - Monday thru Friday at 9:00am US produced program talking about key issues affecting the US and the world. 2. Cruising the Blogs - Monday thru Friday at 11:00am Locally produced (Buenos Aires) program which reviews current political and social issues/news as expressed by Bloggers worldwide. 3. BA Today Live - Monday thru Friday at 3:00pm Locally produced here in Buenos Aires, this magazine program includes local and international news, discussions of current issues affecting Argentina and the World, music, interviews and much more. 4. What's on BA - Monday and Thursday at 7:00pm This locally produced program gives you tips on things to do for the week and the weekend, here in Buenos Aires. 5. ESPN Sports Review - Monday thru Friday at 4:00pm US Produced program with the roundup of the most import sports' news of the day. 6. The Daily Telegraph - Monday thru Friday at 6:00pm This UK produced program brings you the most important news from the UK and the world. 7. Dianne Rehm's Show - Mondays at 10:00pm US Produced political program 8. Business Week Cover Stories - Thursdays at 10:00pm US produced program with the most important business stories of the week as reported by Business Week. 9. VOA Reports in Special English - Monday thru Friday at 5:00pm This is a US produced program designed to help non English speakers practice their listening skills. The reports are written without any complicated words and are read slower than normally. 10. Time Magazine Business Report - Friday at 7:00pm and Sat. 2:00pm US produced program discussing Business issues of the week as reported by Time Magazine. 11. Weekend America - Saturdays and Sundays at 12:00pm This program is produced in the US and it's intended to get you in that weekend mood. AND MUCH MORE..... Tune in or LOG IN and let us know what you think. Our emails are: info@wbat.com.ar or programdirector@wbat.com.ar From: mariefer, April 14, 2006 Soon we will have our own site, meanwhile you can catch it live at www.radiopalermo.com.ar (it´s 30´inside the 2hs StockWeek programing) Saturday from 12 to 12:30 noon 99.5 fm Welcome to Argentina! Bilingual radio show with information and services for english speaking tourists and expats !!! (click here to return to topic heading)
(click here to return to topic heading) www.argenprop.com.ar From: monacolv, April 07, 2006 Re: I am actually contemplating a purchase through ApartmentsBA. I have extensively researched them, and you can rest assured that they are 100% legitimate. I have to disagree. First, much of his information is worded almost identically to that on the Reynolds site. Ok, so he may have ripped off some info and passed it along, no big deal. He speaks of a client sending money to his personal bank account which he then uses to close. There would NEVER be any reason for a legit deal to go that way. You should never have to "trust" anyone with your money. Makes one wonder if he is trying to get other to do this. His prices are ridiculously high. He has "clients" write letters about him on the net. Fine except one of them is nearly identical to the story he writes about himself on his own website. At least one client is either him, or they freakishly wrote identical letters and have identical backgrounds. His claim all transactions are done in cash in just plain wrong. His suggestion to carry cash on an airplane is questionable. Security is bad and there are currency regulations. Not declaring is a problem, and depending on who you believe there may be taxes to pay if you do declare. There are reputable companies available to help with this if you need it. Just a few points, but I would be very leery of any guy self-proclaiming his expertise. Especially someone as new to the country as he is. Take the references with a grain of salt. I can write from ten different people how great I am also. From: Philip McDonald, April 03, 2006 Have you looked at the www.argenprop.com site? From: Daniela Melton, April 03, 2006 another good site www.buscainmuebles.com.ar (click here to return to topic heading) Don't move here because it's cheap, Argentines say it's either the most expensive place in the world to live or the cheapest. Right now it's cheap if you have American $$$ stored outside Argentina, but when we first moved here in 2000 it was very expensive, like living in California where I lived almost 20 years. If it was still as expensive as California we would still be here, now that it's inexpensive for us to live, it's just icing on the cake.
(click here to return to topic heading) From: Victoria Anda, June 6, 2006 Recycle is a US concept- www.freecycle.org , there is a group here in Buenos Aires http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FreecycleBA/ and it is open to all who want to "recycle" that special something rather than throw it away. (click here to return to topic heading) That's my article and I've wrote it because it's helpful let people know there is a difference from renting a place for long term: in Argentina is a two years contract and a warrantor is needed, the place is unfurnished and if you either don't pay the rent or cause any damage, the warrantor must respond (pay) and if not, his/her property will be claimed by the court to cover the damages plus interest, when renting a long term rental 2 months deposit + 2 months real estate agency commission should be paid.; furnished short term apartment rental: As I do with my apartments, we let an agent to advertise the property, the agent takes a 20% of the inflated price plus "administrative fees", in general many put on the apartment the garage sale furniture, old and used towels and they can easily furnish an apartment with a few bucks. This is known in Argentina as "alquiler temporario" easily traslated to "temporary rental". Many doesn't know, but this is actually ilegal, since the law establish the minimum term for rentals is 2 years. Many can baypass an acussation saying that this was an "exception" which is allowed on the law ONE TIME, but those who rent temporary apartments should pay extra taxes and declare their activities. Many illegal practices in Argentina are overlooked, but of course those people impliyed on this should know how to deal when they get cought. Anyway, when you rent short time furnished apartments, the rent (in general) also includes apartment services such as power & light, water, condo expenses, phone line (if has) and Internet (if has). Maid is not offered in order to reduce cost to the minimum and satisfy the demand for cheap rentals. Apart Hotel: The independency of an apartment and the services of an hotel (but restaurants) when all of the apartments are together on the same building. Apart-Hotel pay extra taxes and rates are similar to hotel, but offer a real apartment with kitchen (no frigo bar) so you can make your purchase on the supermarket and leave it on the refrigerator, or cook for yourself if you want. The cheaper apart hotels don't include towels and liens replacement (it is optional) But now the tendency it's like an apart hotel but with the apartments in different buildings. Many owns more than one apartment in different buildings so they can offer this service that includes even more services than hotels or apart-hotels, like cellphone, wi-fi, airport transfers, radio taxi service (in english), laundry, maid, breakfast, access to gym, and the standards plus a quality apartment with premium furniture and nice stuff. This is an HYBRID-APARTMENT. And I've wrote the note for people understand the difference from one thing to another. On my blog: www.barts.com.ar there are not only apartments, but thousands of photos that I've taken with desc, videos (produced and shooted by my lovely wife and myself), articles (written by myself, even being a very lazy writer, mine is visual), news about Buenos Aires, written by my friends, events updated by my secretary who actually works in another different thing, nighlife and you can also buy tickets in advance. I prefer call it blog because offers a close view to Buenos Aires and offers useful updated info to be close to BA. I've wrote it in english because I thought english is a common use language for many people who speak/ read english as a secondary language but I've realized that 90% of my visitors are from US / Canada. From: Sean, August 12, 2006 Rents periods of less than two years are not “illegal” as in against the law.. You are confusing the mis-leading verbiage in Spanish of “not being legal” as it pertains in this case to a contrast of a typical “legal rental contract” which is indeed two years here. Bottom line, it is perfectly legal to rent for less than two years, and special names are given to such contracts , for example “comodato” ,etc. If anything, the landlord has less legal protection in a short term contract than a 2 year typical “legal rental contract” and is taking a risk that he/she may not recuperate certain losses from a wayward tenant that may be easier to legally recuperate in a 2 year contract. From: R Tota, August 12, 2006 Hello Sean: The rentals law is the #23.091 and it's written as it follows: Art. 2do. - PLAZOS Para los contratos que se celebren a partir de la vigencia de la presente ley, el plazo mínimo de las locaciones con destino a vivienda , con o sin muebles , será de dos años . Dicho plazo mínimo será de tres años para los restantes destinos. Los contratos que se celebren por términos menores serán considerados como formulados por los plazos mínimos precedentemente fijados Traslated is: For any agreement the minimum term will be two years when destination is personal (non commercial), with or without furniture. The term will be minimum three years for anything else. Agreements for under these terms will be treated anyway as for those terms. There are exeptions but for sure "comodato" is not one of them. Comodato is a such different thing and is instrumented on the CC for cases as farm explotation, ways, water rights, etc. No apartment in the city may be passed on a court as "comodato". As in any other civilized country, in Argentina you may not sign an agreement which is against the law even if both parties agree. You may not sale an arm of your body. even if You and I agree. So when you take your case to the court and the judge read a "comodato" contract for an apartment rental he may declare the agreement as "ilicito" (illegal). The 7th article of the law express that NO PAYMENTS FOR MORE THAN ONE MONTH PERIOD MAY BE REQUESTED by the lanlord, as many of the "temporary" rentals ask the whole payment in advance, which is, as you said against the law. Baypass the minimal rental period is easy, but many lanlords, if they have trouble with the teneants should hire an attorney and of course pay him. In addition, Argentinean laws also attends the jurisprudiction which in some cases may be more important than the law itself. This is why the agreement must be very written with accuracy. I had luck and never had a trouble more than a broken glass on my apartments, but I always think about what if my teneant get killed at the apartment? what if he/she is a drugdealer? What if they cause a fire on the building? (as happened a couple of months ago in recoleta, and who has the liability?), I have insurance for this, but also that increases my cost, but I never had an email in 4 years that ask: "Do you have any insurance that covers my liability in case that I accidentaly cause a fire" By the way, I write my rental agreements in either italian and english, keep it in mind! From: Sean, August 12, 2006 I think it’s more about semantics than anything, but my point is that when a judge calls it “ilicito”, he/she is not declaring that the contract is against the law, but rather that it does not adhere to the law of a typical 2 year contract. Any landlord that tries to pursue a claim in court, and displays a contract that is less than 2 years, the judge will most likley laugh it off as being unusable to pursue the claim. Part of the issue is that Argentines love the phrase “por ley” – For example, escribanos love to quote that phrase when they want to charge the full amount they would like to charge From: goconnell347, August 12, 2006 Sean you are right. In order for the rentee to be legally protected under those protections given in ley 23.901 you are suppose to have a two contract. However it doesnt mean it is not a legal contract and often those protections (ability to hold deposit for damages, etc are explicitly written in a contract of a year or less). The other way around it (most lawyers advise) is a two year contract with a escape clause for the renter after one year..One year is doable and legal. From: R Tota, August 13, 2006 I'm sorry but with all respect let me tell you that your option makes no sense: 1. terminating the contract earlier is subject to indemization (one rental month) to the owner. 2. all contracts also require an eviction agreement signed together with the rental contract, this is an instrument that permits the eviction when 2 consecutive rental periods has not beign paid, besides of the civil liablity. 3. "Part of the issue is that Argentines love the phrase "por ley" - " again, with all respect, attorney and notary public fees are regulated, while they can quote their fees, if desagreement occurs you can claim any inconvenience at the "colegio de abogados" or "colegio de escribanos". Argentina is sometimes corrupt on politics and criminal issues, also on the provinces, but in the capital federal civil issues works pretty well and especially for small issues like rental contracts and such. I had several civil contracts treated on the federal courts and beyond that they are slow, all claims has been properly treated. Like in any city, big part will depends on your attorney's skills. 4. Finally, making a ONE YEAR contract is NOT LEGAL, if you sign for a 2 years contract and you terminate it earlier IS LEGAL but is NOT a ONE YEAR contract, is a two years contract terminated earlier. From: Sean, August 13, 2006 The most important thing that must be stressed here is that, despite your writings, short term rental contracts are by no means “against the law” in the sense that something wrong is being done. That’s the perception one could get from your writings, and it’s just not true. Other things where you persist being confusing is: 1) yes it is usually written into a 2 year contract that after a certain amount of months, for example 6, that the renter can exit the contact with typically a month cancellation fee. Why you say this makes no sense is odd, when indeed it is a very convenient way to exit a 2 year obligation should something arise, not to mention the fact that you will be saving lots of money compared to rates associated with “short term leases”. For example, if the short term rent is 1500 pesos a month, and the official 2 year rent is 1000 pesos a month (assuming rentee offers both rates) then after 6 months if you have to leave, you clearly still paid less even with the penalty. But, there is the constant challenge of finding someone to guarantee your rent, so 2 year rents are not that easy to get into if the rentee persists on a guarantee. Other rentees allow 6 months prepayment if you can negotiate it with them, on the 2 year rents. ALSO, 2 year rents usually don’t come with furniture, etc. So it’s important to state the differences clear. 2) Eviction clause? Funny you mention it but it’s the eviction clauses that are based on laws older than my grandma, that are precisely why rentees are so adamant about a guarantee. Eviction process have historically taken over a year to execute although know to execute earlier in some cases and more recently. 3) A one year contract, a 23 month contract, or a one month contract, are short term contracts. And they are perfectly acceptable, typical, traditional, and not “against the law” meaning in that something wrong or bad is going on. END From: victoria_anda, August 14, 2006 Hello I checked with the Ley de locaciones Urbanas (just in case) regarding this subject, and in its article 2 it says that rental Contracts must be of two years length minimum EXCEPT if a)rented by embassies, consulates, international organisations b)Rentals destined for tourism for a period of up to 6 months (if the contract is more than 6 months it wil be assume dit is not for tourism) c)Places were animals are kept, garages and such... d) Rentals in mercados (markets)and fairs 3) contracts in which the government take spart in.. From: R Tota, August 14, 2006 You should separate commercial stuff and legal issues. 23 months rental contract is TOTALLY ILLEGAL because it is forbidden to celebrate a contract for under 24 months. It is forbidden by rentals law #23.091 on the 2nd article. You should buy the law which is available at any kiosk in tribunales district of BA, read it, then post. The only official law it's written in paper and has an approved seal somewhere, or you may read it for free on the congress library. Any internet document from a non official (gov.ar) website could be maliciousy modified, here is the link for the congress library but I was unable to find the law online to save work for you http://www.bcnbib.gov.ar/ so it seems you will have to do it yourself. The article #2 admits exeptions which are rent for diplomatics, embassies, consulates, when the government is teneant, when destination is for animals holding, when rental is in a flea market, when rent to people for tourism propuses, but if the term is longer than 6 months will not be considered as tourism propouses. This is the law. Jurisprudence says that stills not valid when more than 3 months or consecutive rentals to the same person for more than 1 month period in Capital Federal, since visas for tourism are given for 90 days. You should also buy the "law #18.828" which regulates on the art. 4. "obligation of declare any room with destination of tourism any place destinated to lodge tourists" Perhaps, there are two contradictory laws here, so what rules is Jurisprudence. Of course I will not provide free lessons of jurisprudence here in public, but if anyone is really interested on this matter, they only have to buy the menctioned laws and read it, that's it. -- Eviction clause? NO. I did not said that. Eviction agreement, which is a separated agreement. You seem to be unnacurate again on the eviction concept since the law 25.488 (modificacion del codigo civil procesal) from nov 19th of 2001 (your grandmother must be a very young lady) establish on the arts. 680 ter. and 680 bis. quick eviction before the lawsuit sentence,"reconocimiento judicial dentro de los cinco días de dictada la primera providencia, con asistencia del Defensor Oficial." and also fines up to ar$20.000, so it takes 5 days not one year. -- Commercialy speaking: When it's possible to sign for a 2 years contract it is also important to consider the art. 8th, anticipated termination: "Resolución anticipada . El locatario podrá , transcurridos los seis primeros meses de vigencia de la relación locativa , resolver la contratación , debiendo notificar en forma fehaciente su decisión al locador con una antelación mínima de sesenta días de la fecha en que reintegrará lo arrendado. El locatario, de hacer uso de la opción resolutoria en el primer año de vigencia de la relación locativa, deberá abonar al locador , en concepto de indemnización, la suma equivalente a un mes y medio de alquiler al momento de desocupar la vivienda y la de un solo mes si la opción se ejercita transcurrido dicho lapso. " AFTER the 6th month and within 60 days in advance, the teneant should notify the landlord the anticipated termination. Perhaps, you leave the place on the 8th month, plus a penalty of one month of rent or one month and a half if passed this period. Commercialy speaking, renting an apartment for 6 SIX months means for an ar$1500 apartment: real estate commission (2 months) 3.000 8 months of rental 12.000 1 month penalty 1.500 st: 16.500 US $5.500 also, contracting services such as: gas, land line, cabletv, high speed internet, each one of these is US$100 installation fees + up to 3/4 weeks of waiting but the gas which is cheaper and faster. For landline and cablevision a DNI# must be provided to the company. In addition building expenses could be included or not, if not, add another US$100 monthly (I pay a lot more for my apt at las canitas) + extras for building mantainance or improving. Every month you should pay these services dues during your stay, plus power and light. There is also a month of deposit, and pretty much depends on the lanlord if he wants to refund it or not, if he is seriuos and honest he will, if not you must lawsuit him. + furnishing and repair it if needed + garantia propietaria + lots of hassle + hiring a proffesional to write the notifications properly Easily 10k+ for 6 months and a lot of time wasted. -- help people and do not provide advise when you are not sure about what you are talking about From: Sean, August 14, 2006 Hi Mr. Tota – you are quite a handfulJ Okay, I retract what I said about 23 months, because who does that. And, yes, to keep everybody from going to jail (lol), most short term contracts peak out at about 6 months and then some folks renew them if still available. I know a few people in BA who have been renewing 6 month contracts for years now. Of course they keep wondering why the rent keeps going up lol. Again, to keep things in perspective, nobody will be arrested for writing or signing unique rental contracts. Please stop insinuating this. “Celebrations” of short term contracts happen every day in this country. 5 days on a renter eviction in Argentina, even since some new law in 2001? Yeah right LOL. Please show me one case where it took 5 days to kick out some wayward renters on a 2 year contract. Please don’t promote people to pay 2 month’s worth of real estate commission to a 6 month short term contract, for this is downright ridiculous. As far as your additional scenario of all those expenses, us$100 install fees, etc – I’m not going to get into that with you – there are promotions and ways to work through this. I frankly don’t know why I am defending short term contracts to you since you write them yourself? What I am missing here? (click here to return to topic heading) Four years ago we enlisted the efforts of Olga Rico, to help us find and rent an apartment, she has since become a good friend. She is a one woman show (a powerhouse of energy) and doesn't work with any specific realtor. Her business is renting apartments to foreigners. We love Olga, she is Bolivian and has lived here 25 years, she doesn't trust Argentines, that's one thing we like about her, she's a very wise business person. A year ago we paid her a 3% commission to help us locate and purchase an apartment. Four years ago we paid her a commission to help us locate an apartment to rent based on the 2 year rental lease. Money well spent in my opinion. Unfortunately, Olga moved back to New York in August 2005 and is no longer renting apartments in Buenos Aires. Renting a furnished apartment is very common here, compared to the USA. I'm not sure which country you are coming from. Most furnished apartments we looked at here included everything, kitchen utensils, pots and pans, linens for the bed, towels, etc. Basically everything you needed to move in except your clothes. In Argentina, EVERYTHING is negotiable. If the bed pillows look really icky (ours did) ask for new pillows to be purchased. If there is no electric toaster and you like toast in the morning, ask them to buy one for the apartment. The owner showed us this little contraption to toast bread over the gas cooktop, something you would use while camping (I thought) and I politely asked for an electric toaster that I didn't have to hover over to be sure my toast didn't catch on fire. She bought one, no problems. There is usually an inventory sheet of items in the apartment, our realtor friend Olga said it's wise to count every dish and every fork to avoid problems when vacating, and take a whole roll of pictures during the inspection of every room, especially any existing damage there may be like tears in furniture or nicks in wood cabinets. We moved here 5 years ago and our landlord was hesitant to rent to us at the time without a guarantor, an issue if you are coming here on your own is that you don't have a company to be your "guarantor", someone who would be responsible for any unpaid bills. We ended up paying 6 months rent in advance to secure the apartment, however, Olga suggested we write up a contract explaining how the "advance" was to be paid back with smaller monthly rental payments in the 2nd year of the lease. This way the owner didn't have to come up with a huge sum of money at the end of the lease. For 100 pesos we had it signed and witnessed in front of a lawyer. I think the point is that whatever the owner requests, you can counter offer. The important thing is to come to an agreement you both feel comfortable with. From BANewComers: Geo August 18, 2005 I've had great luck with renting apartments from the actual owners through the web site Put in the dates you need (weekly rates available for some) and then set the search for your neighborhood. It lets you list availabilities by price. The rates are generally high by local renting standards but much lower than the standard hotel rates mentioned in an earlier post. $500 a month works out to only $17 / day. I have received my deposit back every time. The pictures are accurate and their service charge of $25 is much lower than the full month rate that other realty companies I visited want to charge. (I was told by one owner that he pays a 20% commission to the BYT... company.)
(click here to return to topic heading) From: Deby Novitz, July 2, 2006 I think people who come here for a short term have a distorted idea of what they should be paying for an apartment. When an apartment is used for 3 months and it is furnished, has everything you need to live there, the prices will be higher than if you were to rent an unfurnished apartment for 2 years. The prices are in USD as the hotels are. This type of apartment is for tourists not for Argentines. When someone says they are quoted $500 USD to rent a FURNISHED apartment in Barrio Norte, it is not expensive. It is probably actually a good price. If you were to rent an unfurnished apartment in Barrio Norte for 2 years the price would be more like $600 pesos. However, you would have to buy a refrigerator, furniture, dishes, telephone, and everything else. You would also most likely be paying the expenses, taxes, and everything else which would probably boost the $600 pesos to $900. Granted, at $300 USD it is still cheaper than the $500, but the stay is longer and again without any furniture. The same is true in the U.S. The costs are much higher. Where I lived in California, a studio apartment might rent for $900 month. As a residence Stay apartment it would rent for $125 a day. I think it is very important to keep things in perspective. As a short term visitor to this country you will not always be able to get the "Argentine" price. No one is trying to take advantage of you. They are conducting business in a generally accepted manner that all facilities do for short term visitors, regardless of the country. From: macfroggy, July 2, 2006 Apartment rentals have gone up 50% since I rented the one I'm in now 2 years ago. I currently pay 950 pesos per month (I don't pay the expenses) for a gorgeous large 2 bedroom-plus place on a lovely street in Caballito. The first year I paid 800 pesos. I didn't have the famous Garantia, so I paid the first year in advance. Now the same apartment would go for 1700 pesos + expenses, easy. (I HATE that I have to move, but the owner is giving it to his daughter.) Now in my searching I've learned not to even call a realtor, because they won't even talk to me without a Garantia. It doesn't mean a thing that I will pay one year in advance. I've been relying on word of mouth to deal with the owners directly, who SOMETIMES will agree to rent to me without a Garantia, but at very high prices. One owner wanted 2 years rent in advance, with a 8 month deposit: thousands of dollars upfront. When I began searching, I thought I could find a comfortable place for around 1200 pesos, but slowly the price has inched upward, and today I was even considering a nice place for 1600 pesos plus expenses. But I just can't do it; I've got to rethink and regroup. I know the reasons owners want the Garantia of property owners within Buenos Aires, sometimes they want 2 Garantias, and sometimes it has to be of a family member. They don't want to take any risks. But this pretty much prevents foreigners from renting longterm. For this reason, many owners have furnished their apartments with garage sale items and put them up for vacationers on Craigslist and every other internet rental site at high prices. It's an easy option for renters with lots of money. But it's time people realized that the days of lovely U$S200 apartments in good neighborhoods is over in Buenos Aires. Before you come here to live, you should know how it is. All my foreign friends who live here have bought. Oh if only I could! There's a 3 bedroom house across the street from me for sale for only $500,000 U.S. !! From: Richard, July 3, 2006 It's all about supply and demand... the factors are many (construction deficit, mortgage deficit, etc), but not really worth getting into. For people on fixed incomes the real problem is Argentina's tsunami style economic cycle. This has been mentioned before on the list. Buenos Aires is, at one time or another, one of the most expensive cities in the world. During the years I taught English, for example, my hourly fees varied from a low of 4 dollars to a high of 25 dollars. Trying to explain that to someone from a country with a stable economy isn't easy. I always thought, jokingly, that a person studying economic science in the first world should do his thesis in Argentina! (click here to return to topic heading) These are in no particular order! From: Philip McDonald, August 28, 2006 They have apartments and host families. Just had a glance at their site and there are apartments for under US$300 per month. There is an admin fee but I don't know what it is. (it was $20 when I used the agency a couple of years ago .... no matter how long you were going to stay. From: Sean, Sept 7, 2006 Try www.buenosaires.com.ar for additional reference and booking options From BANewcomers: Geo August 18, 2005 Just a FYI on hotels: I've had great luck with renting apartments from the actual owners through the web site Put in the dates you need (weekly rates available for some) and then set the search for your neighborhood. It lets you list availabilities by price. The rates are generally high by local renting standards but much lower than the standard hotel rates mentioned in an earlier post. $500 a month works out to only $17 / day. I have received my deposit back every time. The pictures are accurate and their service charge of $25 is much lower than the full month rate that other realty companies I visited want to charge. (I was told by one owner that he pays a 20% commission to the BYT... company.) From BANewcomers: Brian August 18, 2005 http://www.milanhotel.com.ar/home.htm This was the hotel where I stay two years ago for eleven euros a night. (This was a promotional rate, even at that time the normal rate was higher) But they are always sending out emails offering cheaper rates than their published rates. From BANewComers: Jim Black August 18, 2005 Actually you can also stay at the Hotel O'Rei on Lavalle for about $13-$14 dollars a nite. ($9 if you don't mind a shared bathroom) I stayed there about 2 months. It's a bit spartan... and the area is very commercial/busy But the price is right and you can get anywhere from there. From BANewComers: Michael Silver August 18, 2005 Now is the time for me to chime in and remind folks that I have a few apartments that I rent for short term, and I am an honest businessman that requires a modest returnable deposit and fare prices in recoleta/barrio norte. I have a studio on rodrigues peña/santa fe and a one bedroom on Cordoba/callao.
http://www.rentalsbuenosaires.com/
www.colonianet.com/posadamdelobo
http://www.friendlyapartments.com - Friendly Apartments rents exclusive gay friendly apartments in Buenos Aires, Argentina. http://www.buenosairesapartments.com/index.html http://www.letsgoargentina.com/home/propview.php?id=AP009 http://www.accomodationsrome.com/apartment_detail.asp?ID=1326 http://www.ba-h.com.ar/Loftin.htm http://www.buenosairesloft.com/ http://www.buenosaires.hotelguide.net/ A hotel guide (not all inclusive for sure) http://www.buenosairestravelrent.com/id_en/index.asp http://www.argentinahomes.com/props.php?t=1 http://www.2rentbuenosaires.com/ From: unaportena, April 04, 2006 is helpful if you are looking for accomodation, esp. in shared/roommate catagory. From: ningle_2000, Aug 1, 2006 Re: Can anyone recommend a good, reputable agency that may have a small apartment available in San Telmo? I have had very good dealings with http://alojaargentina.com . They have furnished apts., all over the city in all price ranges and are thorough and professional in their dealings. Email them with your requirements and dates and they will tell you what is available. (click here to return to topic heading)
This was from the BANewComers list: Let me clarify the 'resident' or 'non-resident' as far as the 'Assets Tax' (at least that one!) is concerned: (click here to return to topic heading) A DNI is not a work permit or a visa. It is like the social security number in the U.S. ALL Argentine residents have one whether they work or not. Without a DNI it is possible to live here, but you do have a more difficult time. There are many places and services that will not accept your passport as identification, they will only accept the DNI. From BANewcomers: Peter J. Macay September 24, 2005 Great information Deby, very precise, well worded and documented, just one more point you missed (oooops!) that I want to make sure others be aware of. Retirees that can verify they have at least a 2,000 peso monthly income (click here to return to topic heading) This is the name of the lawyer who helped us obtain residency: You can contact him, he is part of the paralegal staff. You can say that you know Peter Macay and Ronald Weaver and we recommended you to them to obtain residency. Once you get residency, you can apply for a DNI to work here legally. From: Belliappa Pattada, September 03, 2006 I have a very good lawyer recommendation for those of you i had promised to reply back to, regarding my lawyer hunt for the past 8 months ever since i came down to BsAs to start and run a business but only after getting residency. I did interview and consult with 6 lawers and law firms and eventually only 1 could deliver (i got residency within 4 weeks after i submitted the required documents to him). I paid just 25% in advance and the rest after i got residency, which many lawyers don´t usually accept. He also happened to be very inexpensive as compared with the others, so now that i know he delivers i can recommend him. His name is Nicolas Procopio (i met him when he was with BKG law firm, he however recently started on his own), and i got his recommendation from another expat from Costa Rica. He is a specialist on the rentista and retiree residency, but i got a work-related residency. He also did a lot of other work for me, company formation, tax consultations, etc., and for some other smaller issues he did not charge me anything including getting me my DNI appointments/CUIL/legal translations, etc., . You can refer my name if you need an initial free consultation, wherein he will explain how the system works at migrationes and any other issues or questions u have. You can contact him at nicolasprocopio@gmail.com His english is excellent! / belli (click here to return to topic heading) We moved here in 2000 from the USA. According to the Argentina Embassy in Los Angeles before we moved here it is perfectly legal to live here indefinitely as long as you leave the country every 90 days to have your tourist stamp "visa" renewed, this is not a "visa" really, just a stamp that automatically happens when you enter the country and pass through the custom's agent. You do not have to return to your country of citizenship, just take the ferry to Uruguay, and you can turn right around again if you like, you don’t even have to stay overnight. You can also go to the immigrations office and renew your tourist visa which is cheaper then taking the ferry to Uruguay, you can do this every OTHER 90 days, so you only have to leave the country twice a year. I have never done this at the immigrations office but others have said it's easy. We have been doing this for 3.5 years now and have never been questioned, not once, our passports are 90% Argentina stamps. I did contact several different Argentina embassies when we first moved here on the proper procedures to bring our 2 kitty katz in to the country, and everyone told me something different, sooooooooooooo, you never know if you're getting a proper answer, even from someone who should know the proper answer. (click here to return to topic heading) There are two ways of applying for any residency. One is going thro the Argentine consulate in the US (You have to use the consulate that your state comes under), and the second is at Migrationes here in Buenos Aires. I´m not sure which one takes longer. I´m not sure about the procedure for the regular police clearance certificate (which will require to be Apostilled), but if and when you apply for the FBI cert (info is online), you have to specifically ask for it to be Apostilled (total cost is 18 USD-credit card or money order, 10 days to 40 days approx, and u may have to go into ur local police station to have them fingerprint you on their card). So when they finally send you the FBI cert they will include a letter stating that it does not require to be Apostilled, which you will then translate to spanish (School of Public Translators is on the 1800 Block of Corrientes and if you ask the lady at the info desk for the names and contact numbers of the official translators in your area - although you have to tell her your postal code, for me it was 1425 in Palermo, and she will printed out a few 100 contacts for me to choose from), along with your all other required docs, and submit it to Migrationes. I may be wrong about this, but i think your proof of pension has to be made by an accountant along with the last few months bank statement showing that you got paid at least the minimum amount required (approx 1000 USD or probably even lesser for pensioners)...and then have that apostilled before coming here. I´m not sure if you need a Police clearance certificate from here too, but you can get that in 2 places, one is at the Migrationes office itself (Tramite Rapido 48 hrs -40 pesos, Tramite Normal 7 to 10 days, 25 pesos) get there by 8am, or also on the 1300 block of Tucuman in the Justice office (sorry i don´t know the spanish name) where you can get the same, (go there by 9-10am) , and also the super fast Tramite 8 Hrs - 50 pesos...the same day where i got mine 2 days ago....i recommend this as the bank is located within the office. The residency may take approx 6 weeks to obtain if you apply here in Migrationes. I think you have to pay 200 pesos as processing fees....not sure though. Now, the DNI is not directly related to the residency application process, it is usually necessary for working legally here, but also a very important document if you plan to live here and get gas, phone connections, etc.,....i would want one even if i am not working here!! You can apply for the DNI only after you have obtained at least temporary residency. I have not done this so i can´t tell you much, but you can check the previous posts. Remember, you may have to go to Migrationes more than once cause it depends on the person who is receiving your application and may ask for more documents. etc... (click here to return to topic heading) Check out the latest downloads of rules and regulations and requirements at http://www.mininterior.gov.ar/migraciones/permisos.asp From: Peter J. Macay For the “official” requirements on obtaining residency, I think it wise to visit the Immigrations building, they have a form that lists how you get started. The immigrations building has been remodeled and modernized, it is actually a very nice governmental office, however, like most governmental offices there are 50 different counters. Unless you are fluent in Spanish, I would highly recommend bringing a person fluent in Spanish with you. Every visit we have been there included lots of questions of authorities, pointing in multiple directions, rapid fire conversations, shrugged shoulders and waving arms. I couldn’t understand a word of it. National Migration Office, Av. Antartida Argentina 1355 Previously there were 4 ways to obtain residency:
Recently they have added 2 other options called a “Rentist” and a “Pensionist” for those with verifiable incomes as described in Susan’s info below. This is how we qualified, Ron has social security income and I have a condo that I rent out in California, USA. From BANewcomers: Susan Ramshaw sent on August 20, 2004 I have made further inquiries about foreigners who are steady stable income holders/pensioners from abroad and interested in getting a visa: (This is a free translation, so please bear with me). a) A foreign stable income holder is a person who will receive a monthly income for at least 2 years of not less than the equivalent of $2500 (pesos). b) A foreign pensioner is a person who receives a monthly income of not less than $2000 (pesos) as a pension generated abroad and to be remitted to his order in Argentina. * The documentation required for a) is a certificate issued by the entity used to remit the funds, as well as proof of banking investments abroad or proof of local investments as long as they have been obtained with funds remitted from abroad. Where it concerns a company a certificate from a notary public or public accountant will be required as verification. * The documentation required for b) is a copy of the document awarding the pension as well as copies of the last 2 monthly pensions. Then of course there is the pile of documents, birth certificates, good conduct certificates, passports, marriage certificates, etc. etc. which are also required. I also have that list for anyone interested. All of the above mentioned documents require an apostille as well as translation into Spanish and legalization in the Buenos Aires College of Public Translators. (Click here) to read the full Residency requirement document in Spanish. From BANewcomers: May 26, 2005 Charles Question: hello people I am living in the usa and im on social security. I was wondering if argentina has a pensionado visa program. does anyone have any info on this, id really apreciate any info. thanks http://infoleg.mecon.gov.ar/txtnorma/92016.htm ARTICULO 23. — Se considerarán "residentes temporarios" todos aquellos extranjeros que, bajo las condiciones que establezca la reglamentación, ingresen al país en las siguientes subcategorías: c) Pensionado: quien perciba de un gobierno o de organismos internacionales o de empresas particulares por servicios prestados en el exterior, una pensión cuyo monto le permita un ingreso pecuniario regular y permanente en el país. Podrá concederse un término de residencia de hasta tres (3) años, prorrogables, con entradas y salidas múltiples; (click here to return to topic heading) Ron and I live in Recoleta at Montevideo and Las Heras, most of the restaurants I recommend will be within walking distance of us. We don’t have a car, and basically I prefer to walk. This is not meant to represent a city wide approach, more of a Recoleta neighborhood scan. If it can help you out, great, if you have a favorite place to recommend, please send it to me to include to broaden the scope of these reviews. 788 Foodbar, Arenales 1877, Recoleta 4814-4788, Monday - Thursday, 8:00 am to 24:00, Friday and Saturday 8:00 am to 2:00 am. Review Update: Aug 2006 - We recently returned to 788 Foodbar and the quality of the food has seemed to have gone down. I mentioned this to a friend and he said that the restaurant was sold and has new owners. Our waiter was a disaster, friendly, but totally untrained and inefficient, bringing us bottle water and no glasses??. One meal never arrived and some brief explanation was given. For 6 people we ordered 3 desserts and the waiter gave us 3 coupons for free desserts on return visits because of the mishap with the late dinner, I would have preferred that he just took the 3 desserts we ordered off the bill. The food was ok, not a waste of time, just a noticeable drop in quality from before. Cabaña las Lilas, Avenida Alicia Moreau de Justo 516, 4313-1336 In Puerto Madero, prices are higher than the more authentic neighborhood parrilla. This is where Clinton had a steak when he was visiting, very elegant “yuppie” decor, but the steaks are unreal. Great “special occasion” place California Burrito Co. - From: diana glass, August 16, 2006 Lavalle 441 Neuvo Bajo. Excellent burritos... Campo di Fiori - From: alsante, August 24, 2006 Is an excellent italian restaurant. In barrio Monserrat, calle Venezuela y......? I can't remember the other street. Must call in advance for reservations. / Alfredo Casa Cruz, Uriarte 1658, 4833-1112, gm@casa-cruz.com Germán Martitegui is the owner. Forget “Sucre” for an “in” place to go (was not impressed at “Sucre” with the uncomfortable chairs and loud ambiance) “Casa Cruz” is everything a fine dining experience should be. Fantastic food in a truly romantic and comfortable setting. This is in Palermo Viejo and not near our home. Expensive but worth every penny. Don Julio - From: Rick Jones, September 06, 2006 My favorite parrilla is a place at the corner of Guatemala and Gurruchaga called Don Julio. That particular block of Gurruchaga (from Guatemala to Paraguay) is one that Borges allegedly called "the secret heart of Buenos Aires" in one of his poems. Ellen and I are standing on it in this photo: http://www.rjeb.com El Globo - From: alsante, August 24, 2006 Is excellent for Spanish (from Spain) cuisine, downtown B.A. / Alfredo El Salto de la Rana - From Michael Silver, August 17, 2006 Don’t forget there is a place called el salto de la rana on Rodriguez peña between santa fe and arenales that has burritos, it is not a taqueria, but I have asked numerous times to put everything they serve on the side, inside the tortilla, and it’s great! El Sanjuanino, I had never heard of locro, so for those that don't know, it's a type of stew with big chunks of fatty ham (it's SOOO good), beans and other assorted yummy cold weather ingredients, it's wonderful in the winter. Our good friend Olga took us to "El Sanjuanino" in Recoleta on Pasadoas 1515 right near the corner of Callao. It is a small family restaurant that seems like it has been there 30+ years. Antonio Bandaras ate there while filming "Evita" so his mug shot is on the wall. The food is mostly "traditional" with empanadas, tamales and the best damn locro I've had anywhere. This was taken from the http://www.guiaoleo.com.ar/ website: El Sanjuanino El Sanjuanino junta tradición con tiempos de cocina modernos, servicio de nivel con sonrisas de tierra adentro. Madera y cuero, promociones exploratorias... Argentina revaloriza sus productos, la comida en este caso, no se queda afuera: Las empanadas criollas encuentran en este restaurante el punto justo. Los dulces de postre nos remontan al sabor casero de la abuela. Para sentirse Patoruzú y comerse unas cuantas empanadas de "la Chacha" nada mejor que sentarse en el Sanjuanino. Especialidades: Empanadas, tamales, humitas, locro. Postre: Quesillo con dulce de alcayota, de mamón, miel de caña. Buen Provecho! El Yugo - Parrilla a lena – Recoleta, at Ayacucho 1663/75 in the middle of the block between Vicente López and Las Heras. 4806-2009. A real family restaurant, very comfortable, they have table clothes, linen napkins and waiters with white shirts and little bow ties, the cliental is locals and have probably been going there for 20 years. The menu is quite large, but I always order the parrilla here which is outstanding. As you enter the restaurant, the parrilla BBQ is on your right in a large open space so you can see all the fantastic delicacies already on the grill, to your left is a very well stocked salad bar with a nice selection of veggies, both raw and pickled, different kinds of lettuce and the usual tomatoes, onions and other noshies. The ambiance is more “family restaurant” then fancy date place, but I love the feeling, it’s one of my favorite places to take out of town guests as it’s within walking distance of our apartment and you also know you’re not in the USA, it just has a real “Argentina” feel. They have cochinillo on certain nights, YUMMMM! They also do a good delivery service and I found that for $62.50 (as of Aug 2006) we could get enough parrilla for 6 people (2 chorizos, 2 morcillas, mollejas, ½ deboned chicken, bife de chorizo, papa fritas, and 1 flan mixto, HEAVEN!). When I call to order it, I put the oven on 200C, then when it arrives I put the delivery on thick plates for 10 minutes and when it comes out of the oven, MAN O MAN, perfection! Then we get leftovers for the next two day’s lunch! I told an Argentine friend I have parrilla delivered and he looked like he just ate a lemon, I like it delivered so I can keep all the leftovers! Empire Bar - Tai food - Tres Sargentos 427, Retiro 4312-5706. I have not personally been here but this gets good recommendations http://economist.com/cities/displayobject.cfm?obj_id=787478&city_id=BEA Faena Hotel - Cocktails We had the opportunity to have cocktails last night at Faena hotel http://www.faenahotelanduniverse.com/ I have heard about this place for a long time and WOW, what an amazing hotel. The first cab we got into didn't recognize the hotel name or the address, so we jumped into another cab, I thought this strange since everyone seems to be talking about this place. Hereford Steak House - From: tango_kiwi, August 12, 2006 For all you carnivores out there...I can highly recommend the Hereford Steak House for a mouth watering, delectable taste experience of which I have yet to better in BA. And believe me; I have had my fair share of good steaks here in the past two years or so! The address is: Av. 9 de Julio 1465 (y Posadas) Under Av. 9 de Julio on the Recoleta side, al lado de Four Seasons Hotel. Arrive before 9pm without booking. Not only was the food and wine selection exquisite, but the service was exemplary. Modern with traditional decorum and an ambiance of class and comfort that made you feel genuinely welcome. The night was full of tasty additional extras that did not show on the bill!! And even when the bill came, it was with a glass each of bubbles! A wonderful night out, without having to break into the piggy bank!! La Carretería - From: Carla Horton, September 06, 2006 Brasil street between Chacabuco and Perù in San Telmo. They serve locro on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays Very inexpensive each locro serving is around 7 pesos. Great empandas and humitas too La Olla de Felix, Arenales between Montevideo and Rodriguez Peña, 4811-2873, open for lunch and dinner. Reservations required. La Parolaccia Trattoria, Riobamba 1046, 4812-1053, also locations in Belgrano and Puerto Madero La Rosa Inglesa, Juramento 2995, esq Conesa , Belgrano, 4788-1256. Monday to Friday from 8am to 9pm and weekends from 9am to 9pm. Reviewed Aug 2005. A friend mentioned this English tea house to us, this was our first visit. We made reservations for 1 pm on Sunday. The restaurant is not that large but had a wonderful assortment of cakes, pies, pastries, and scones. We were hungry for more then pastries so we ordered lunch. I had a special of the day, a wonder chopped meat dish served with dried tomatoes and potato crisps. Ron had soup of pumpkin and our guest had onion soup. Ron ordered the full mixed salad, which included tuna. Ron then ordered a slice of berry pie for dessert and gave it rave reviews (he’s the dessert hound in our household). The place is very comfortable, sunny, and well decorated and the staff was extremely nice, there is also a gift shop area to purchase all sorts of “English Tea” stuff like teas, cookies, trays with flowers painted on them, tea pots, etc. Very enjoyable lunch! / E-mail larosainglesa@hotmail.com From: Frank E. Almeida, September 06, 2006 I finally made it out to La Rosa Inglesa this weekend. It took me a very long time and I really should have made it out soonder. Sorry Lisa. I plan on making up for lost time by going back regularly. If you want a change of pace from the usual dulce de leche with (insert whatever flavor you want here) cakes then this is a must go to place for you. Just in case you are wondering, I am not affiliated with this establishment. I happened to have met the owner Lisa through Newcomer's and she told me about her venture. I had a chocolate, carrot cake with a white chocolate icing. It was not too sweet or heavy. I really liked it. It was a very home made dessert. My wife had the torta de cassis and it was also very good. It was very tart, the kind to make you want to pucker up after every forkfull. I personally would have liked it to be a little more sweet less tart but that is just a preference statement, not a quality issue. I plan on going back and try all of the other baked goodies from Lisas's kicthen. The place gets full on the weekends. I went there at 4:30 and had a 5 minute wait. By 5pm people were being told that the wait would be 35 minutes. Here is the link for those of you who would like to more: http://www.larosainglesa.com.ar/ Malfatto - Ristorante, my review on July 2005, Libertad 1623 between Libertador and Posadas, 4811-3775 - 4811-3942 A friend of ours said this is the 2nd restaurant from a famous Malfatto in Bariloche. They opened approximately in 2004. Fantastic atmosphere and ambience, large interior, there might be a non-smoking section but I'm not sure (one of our guests smoked). The cuisine is Italian and the explanations on the menu are mixed with Spanish / Italian words. The waitress asked if we wanted a menu in English but we said it wouldn't be necessary. The staff was impeccable to our every desire without being intrusive. There were 8 of us and they used 3 servers to bring out all of the dishes at the exact same time, VERY NICE TOUCH! I started with carpaccio, a delicious and beautiful presentation. For dinner I had wild Patagonia mushrooms with linguine, TO DIE FOR! Ron had roasted salmon, also TO DIE FOR! We were all full after our meal, but one hardy soul ordered a tiramisu and it received rave reviews! Prices are a little high, appetizers 9 - 21 pesos, main entrees from 18 - 28, with 2 entrees being 35 pesos, however, the quality of the food, presentation, ambience and service make this restaurant an excellent find and one that we will return to time and again. Marini, reviewed on November 2005, Buffet. located in Av. Sante Fe 3666, between Araoz and Av. Scalabrini Ortiz. Very nice decor and excellent choices. The place is very busy so get there early. Olsen, Gorriti 5870, 4776-7677, Palermo. Reviewed Aug 2005. Nordic food in Buenos Aires??!?! Who'd a thunk it? Our friend Olga wanted to take us here for quite sometime and we were finally able to coordinate a dinner together. There is outside eating in a really lovely garden in the front of the restaurant. The portion closest to the restaurant has outside tables and is covered with a fabric awning and also heated with gas lamps for year round enjoyment, summertime must be really nice to dine outside. The night we arrived was one of the unusually warm nights a week ago and we almost sat outside, however, I'm kind of a wimp and didn't want my food to get cold so we sat inside. The interior is not that large with maybe only 20 tables, there is a nice bar and some couches and comfy chairs if you just want a cocktail and some hors d'oeuvres. There is a loft / balcony area with more tables. The servers are young and professional and most speak English, there is a menu in English if you like, we stuck to the regular menu in Spanish. The menu is Nordic, lots of smoked meats and fishes. I started with 3 fried oysters and a wonderful mixture of greens that were perfectly vinaigretted! I’m kind of a vinaigrette snob and this was balanced perfectly. Really, when a vinaigrette is good, it’s really good, and when it’s bad, well, you get |
