2005 General Reports

I will be cuming down to Bs.As. in oct/05, I understand there is too much pussy and you guys cannot handle it all. I would like to put together my budget for approx. 4-5 months. I need 1 bdrm apartment in nice safe and quiet area. close to transit and with all the amenities, eg. dishwasher , washer dryer for clothes ,real dsl for laptop, cable and satilite and good t/v,(being canadian i have to see my hockey games) (I won't be there if they don't get the nhl sorted out cause there will be mass suicide in canada if we have to go another year) (I think this is a terrorist plot,and you yanks are next when they take your nfl football away from you).

1-Apartment with all the bells and whistles , how mucho?
2-Golf course within 30 min. (got that)
3-Pussy at good price ,3-4 a week?
4-Gym for workout , 3-4 times a week?
5-A big wad of cash (getting that) ????

I really want to thank all of you for all the information on this thread. I have wanted to move to BA since the first time that I visited it in 1972-1975, when I was a courier for NSA delivering items to all the embassies and consulates throughout Central and South America. In November 2004, My wife and I took a tour through Brazil and Argentina. And although I didn't have a chance to check out the mongering, I was even more impressed with the BA as a world class city and have decided that I will move there in the next 3-5 years. So I have started learning Spainish again and starting to liquidate several properties I now own in different places and will take that money and invest in buying property in BA. But that will take some time, so I am only started looking into it.

I have read the entire forum and I either missed it and misunderstood it. Dickhead wrote that he lives in the Bario North area and I looked on one of Saints maps and couldn't find a Bario North. Could this be the same as Belgrano? Thank you for the help.

[QUOTE=Prokofiev]I have used YUPI.com which is now a part of the much larger Match.com. Tremendous listing of women of all ages for Buenos Aires. But I assume you can at least write/read fluently in Spanish. If not, you can forget it. Also I found that the BA women were more difficult to connect with compared to Mexico or Spain where I have had great success. Not sure why. But they seem rather picky and not the least bit impressed with Americans - unlike Mexico. In the end, I exchanged letters with 3 different ladies yet didn't meet any of them. Strangely, one of them finally wrote me back after a year +, telling me she was now in love with me. Go figure . . .

Good Luck, -P[/QUOTE]

Well... my first post here, and in general after a long while.

For FREE Internet dating sites, try:

- [url]www.ciudad.com.ar[/url] -> Te Busco
- [url]www.terra.com.ar[/url] -> Busca tu pareja
- [url]www.solitarios.com[/url] (paid service, but you can "tweak" the rules and girls contact you)

All in Spanish (maybe Solitarios, affiliated to a worldwide network, have profiles in English)

Try them. It doesn't cost more than some time to create the profiles and may provide GREAT rewards (I met some 4 non-pro girls willing to play, and a dozen willing to engage).

Caveat: These girls may end up really attached to you, so take into account the psychological side-effects of playing with them.

Hope this helps,

Andres

I will try not to be a pest, but since I am serious about moving to BA, I am looking to the many experienced people on this board for their wisdom. I have went through all the reports and haven't found any mention of available building sites. With some of the posts saying that some apartments are selling for up to $2,000 per sq ft, I was wondering if there are still good to great building lots available in Rocelleta (sp) or Bario North. And what would the average price range be for the lots?

In 1983, I was stationed in Korea. I was told that base housing was not available for me and that I should move to off base quarters and that I would receive a supplemental allowance for it. I looked and looked and could not find anything that I liked. Then I found several building sites that were perfect, so I checked into buying them. I found out I couldn't buy them since I was an American serviceman, so I went to a Vietnam buddy that was Korean and he purchased one of me in his name (which worked out great). I had to invest about $25,000.00 cash total for the lot and building. I built a three apartment house (two - 2 bedroom apartments on the first floor and my 3 bedroom 2 bath on the 2nd floor with large patios). I had my buddy have the base come out and inspect it, so it could be listed on base. It was approved and I signed a "lease" and received a $650.00 a month supplement to my pay. The bottom two leased for $575.00 a month and have never been vacant for more than a week since I built it in 1983. I built several others after this, and am very happy I did (although the cost of building them have went considerable higher than the initial one) My Korean friend makes 10% for managing these apartments for me, plus a very good maintenance fee. And now that I am retired from the service, they are all in my name.

All my properties have appreciated greatly over the years, but I don't think that with the cut backs in US Forces in Korea that I will continue to make the returns that I am currently making. It is probably time to sell and reinvest this money in BA where I will be living in the next few years.

[QUOTE=ImJustAvg] With some of the posts saying that some apartments are selling for up to $2,000 per sq ft, I was wondering if there are still good to great building lots available in Rocelleta (sp) or Bario North. And what would the average price range be for the lots?[/QUOTE]

I believe you may be speaking of 2000 per square meter. That's about $200 per square foot. (Aprox 10 sq feet in a sq meter).

I don't think there is a sp centimeter let alone a square meter of undeveloped land in Relocletta. However I'm sure you could find somebody you could bribe to let you buy a park. I really think you would have to get wayyyyy into the western suburbs to do what your thinking. I have some friends in Hurlingham and it's pretty nice out there.

I must have been reading meters, but thinking square feet! If it was $2,000.00 per square foot, it would make BA one of the most expensive areas in the world. At $200.00 per square foot it makes it equal with most medium to large size cities in the USA.

I wonder what the costs for building is?

[QUOTE=ImJustAvg]I must have been reading meters, but thinking square feet! If it was $2,000.00 per square foot, it would make BA one of the most expensive areas in the world. At $200.00 per square foot it makes it equal with most medium to large size cities in the USA.

I wonder what the costs for building is?[/QUOTE]

Construction costs were in average $500/sqmt (average quality) in 2001 before the crash. Now prices should be slightly lower.

Hope this helps,

Andres

Thank You Andres for the information.

During my July-August visit, I plan on checking this out extensively. Hopefully, everything will work out and I can find a neighborhood that I like with building plots and can get started.

ImJustAvg:

What most people do is to buy an old house on a trendy neighborhood and revamp it. Palermo Viejo used to be the place to do so, but now it got too expensive.

Before 1999-2000, people used to buy old houses in poor condition (structural or so) by $50,000-70,000 and then renew them for $30000. Today, I guess that prices of these houses increased by 50% in Palermo Viejo.

The good things of these houses are that you are relatively close to downtown and Recoleta while living in a neighborhood, and that some of them, if having a wide backyard, can fit a pool and a parking lot, something hard to find in Recoleta.

Hope this helps,

Andres

[QUOTE=ImJustAvg]Thank You Andres for the information.

During my July-August visit, I plan on checking this out extensively. Hopefully, everything will work out and I can find a neighborhood that I like with building plots and can get started.[/QUOTE]

ImJustAvg, a word of caution: the economy in Argentina is terrible compared to South Korea.

Who are your customers? Might your success in the Far East have something to do with the ready availabilty of GI tenants? Or the efforts of your local partner?

Andres;

Thank you for that suggestion. It is well worth looking into.


Hunt99;

It is true that the Argentina economy does not compair favorably with the South Korean economy at this time. However, when I started investing in South Korea it was in the early 70s and continued until their economy improved to the point that it was too expensive to build and then rent for a profit. All of my properties have increased in value over the years to the point that once I sell one I can invest in a lesser economy and purchase two, three and more apartments. I recently sold a building in Seoul with five apartments and turned around and purchased 12 apartments in Russia (granted not in Moscow but Saint Petersberg, Novorgord, etc.). Renters? True. in South Korea, I rent to DOD contractors and GIs. In Russia, I am renting to Consulate employees of several countries and also I have four on long term lease to a travel agency. With the growth of tourism in Argentina tourists are an opinion. Also many multi-national companies are doing more and more business there, so long term leases are possible also. Consulates and embassies also need long term rentals.

In my opinion, the South Korean property values are at peak or near peak values. Since I no longer plan to visit South Korea on a yearly basis and plan on moving to Argentina in the near future, it is time to start moving my assets to a place I will live and to locations I plan to continue visiting.

The bottom line is that I hit the best time to invest in South Korea, now I have hit the best time to sell my South Korean properties and invest else where!

Am planning to take a spanish class in BA for 6 months. But having just visited Cordoba, I might just move here instead.

BA is OK, but Cordoba has tons more chicas. All walking around with those tight pants and skinny stomachs. So skinny that there is that gap at the hip bones. You guys know what I am talking about.

Plus, it´s cheaper to rent an apartment here. US$400 per month for a really nice furnished one-bedroom.

Lots of hot girls walking around with fat boyfriends. Gives me lots of confidence.

Will post more later.

Yos

Fellow mongers,

Just posted info on Health Insurance under the "Living in Argentina" section.

Please let me know if you'd like further info.

Keep Safe! FormerGaucho

[QUOTE=Andres]Construction costs were in average $500/sqmt (average quality) in 2001 before the crash. Now prices should be slightly lower.

Hope this helps,

Andres[/QUOTE]

After the crash in late 2001 many things hapen, perhaps, 2005 model average for real estate it depends a lot on the neighborhood;

This is an average from a research made in 2005 by myself, only in Brand New Contrusction

Puerto Madero: USD 2.000,00 and more per Square Meter
Retiro: USD 1.700,00 / USD 1.500,00 per Square Meter
Recoleta USD 1.600,00 / USD 1.300,00 per Square Meter
Barrio Norte USD 1.300,00 / USD 1,100,00 per Square Meter
Las Canitas USD 1,500 / USD 1.700,00 per Square Meter
Belgrano USD 1.300,00 / USD 1.000,00 per Square Meter

Now, in my opinion, the best areas for buying now are in Las Canitas and Belgrano while Puerto Madero is an excellent option, seems like there is need of long time to recover the investment.