Best Areas to Rent-Buy-Live in Buenos Aires

[Starfe]

" WERE NOT WORTHY " can sometimes be a VERY good thing.

Starfe

[Moore]

Saint,

I read your recent postings and exchanges with Exon. A lot of this is interesting for me since I have no experience in real estate investing. Local property is no doubt the place for Argentines to store any wealth, but I still don't understand why you think that Argentine real estate will be a great longterm investment play for foreigners. The tourism here has increased, you can see that on the street. But I doubt that BA will ever be a true tourist destination and/or derive a significant % of its GDP from tourism. There are 13 million people in metro BA. It's WAY too far from the large markets. All the major foreign destinations like Costa del Sol, Spain, Costa Rica, Cancun have something in common – they're a 2-3 hour flight from the markets they serve. The Managing Director from London makes multiple trips per year to his vacation house in Toledo, Spain, but I don't see the CEO from Chicago coming down to a BA penthouse for Labor Day weekend. And this is great for me since I don't want BA to ever be a major tourist place. I like my remote, isolated BsAs just the way it is.

My understanding is that the underlying economy of a market must improve for property values to rise. I don't see that happening here. As you write, there are so many fundamental problems with the system here and the general level of ethics, efficiency, and ambition ingrained in the culture seems quite low. Now add a political climate in which most of the continent is turning away from free market reforms and probably would have long ago save US intervention. Several countries such as Ireland and Spain were incredible success stories of the past generation. Much of their success was attributable to systematic reform and their strategically positioning themselves as attractive investment locations for foreign corporations. Again, I don't see this happening in Argentina!

When you write "I think you will find Buenos Aires a decade from now a much different Buenos Aires that you had since the devaluation.", what differences do you see?

[Saint]

Andres,

I'm not sure where your property is located or how much you originally paid. I know in some instances the prices are still lower but look at just about every transaction that is going on and relative property prices around the city in areas like Recoleta, Palermo, Barrio Norte (only areas where I buy) prices have gone up.

I still see prices going up. I think you will agree that for the most part in BA, property is priced by the sq. Meter and the price per sq. Meter has steadily gone up since the crash.

[Andres]

Property here has always been priced in USD, so get the devaluation out of your head. The reason you had a flood of selling after the devaluation is that banks were closed and people had no funding to their accounts. Imagine if the same thing happened in the USA. There would be blood in the streets! People would be blowing up banks. Here they were banging on pots and pans and were protesting. And oh yeah. Selling their real estate because it's a cash transaction and they needed cash. It was a unique experience that most people will never witness in their lifetime. You had a situation like that along with no one buying and property prices ARTIFICIALLY went down. The rise up is just things settling back to how they left off before the crash. Look at a historical real estate chart for Buenos Aires. Property has only caught up to where it left off. Only in February 2005 did it surpass where prices where before the crash. I have posted and I still believe that property is ripe here for a tremendous upswing over the next decade here.

Your comment applies to high-end property, but not necessarily to all.

I sold my apartment last year and the most I could get was 65% of the 2001 value, since local people cannot afford the real estate prices they used to pay before.

Andres

[Saint]

Hi Exon,

I've always believed intelligent discussion is healthy and beneficial for everyone. Thanks for keeping the conversation intelligent. I didn't mean any disrespect to you and I'm sure none was taken. As you mentioned, "we all gotta do what we gotta do". I was only pointing out that there are two sides to every situation. As long as people back it up with facts, that's what is important which I think we are both doing.

Kudos for your real estate plays in the Sunbelt in the USA. I am full aware of all of what you are talking about. Also, something that is important to me as an investor is CASH FLOW from the investment. Sure it's nice to have capital appreciation on an investment or real estate but something that is more attractive to me and many other investors is cash flow that pours out from the investment. It sounds like your investments have really worked out for you. I'm very happy when I hear stories like that. I'm not sure how much cash flow they are churning out but let's just say I'm very happy with both the capital appreciation of my investments in BA and also the cash flow. I wish I got involved in real estate a long time ago.

I'm NOT a realtor. I'm a real estate consultant. What you posted about me making money no matter what is NOT true. Investors/companies hire me for my expert advice on the real estate market here, my opinions, help them negotiate the purchase price. I'm not a realtor and do NOT make any commissions from someone buying. I ensure a smooth process and make sure that they are not taken advantage of. For most I have power of attorney to purchase for them. So contrary to what you posted or believe, I do not benefit financially by someone buying or selling. I am paid my entire consulting fee upfront whether they buy or not. I'm paid for my time and expertise. (Of course we do make money in renting out the property should they decide to rent it out but what people like is my business philosophy is simple...I don't make money unless I'm making them money as we make a % of the total rent).

Of course, due to the sheer number of transactions I am doing I AM thinking of opening a real estate company later this year. Not sure if I have time though.

As far as what you mentioned, I'm not sure anyone specifically wants their name or business plans mentioned so I won't comment on them specifically. I will say that I have been approached by several large companies to purchase my company. I have had 3 serious unsolicited offers from USA and UK firms. I'm not talking about pocket change either. I'm talking fairly good sized numbers. The way I figure it is that people are approaching me to buy my company and it's not even for sale. I'm good at what I do so if I really wanted to sell it I could get much higher than what they are offering me. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that some of their plans probably involve plans similar to what you mentioned.

Honestly, I believe there is more to life than money. For the first time I am actually in a business that I am totally passionate about and love. I don't answer to anyone, I own 100% of the company, I'm living in a city I truly love and making more than enough money to live a totally comfortable life (actually I live like a King). I didn't move to Buenos Aires to become rich. So my philosophy is to just live life working hard and in a business I truly love, I have wonderful clients, wonderful employees. I am still fairly young and I'm quite sure I'll be set for life even if I don't sell out now for a small fortune. I've always made money and I'm not worried about making money in the future. Nothing was given to me. Everything that I have in life I did myself by working hard.

Also, keep in mind this is a very new company and the growth rate has been amazing. I believe this is only the beginning and it will become a much more valuable company / business in the near future so there is no need to rush and try to sell now. Honestly, I don't know if I would sell even at any price. Still, I don't rule anything out. The deal making you are talking about don't assume I'm not already part of. I've helped put some fairly good sized deals together. The consulting gig for me has been very good. In fact, I spend most of my time now consulting.

I have several other ideas for other companies that I'm sure would do well and make a lot of money. The only thing I'm limited by now is time. I work a lot of hours a day. When I'm not working I'm with my girlfriend and when I'm not doing that I am traveling around the world. I just got back from a 6 week 6 country trip including traveling around Australia.

We both can go on and on about making money, selling out, etc. In the end, those that have followed my journey all over the world the past several years knows that for me life isn't about dollars and cents. It's about the journey, having fun and enjoying yourself which is what I am doing. Too many people b*tch and moan or complain about aspects of their work, life, relationships but they don't do anything to change it. The past several years has been the most enriching and rewarding of my life.

I wish you and all the other WSG'ers a very happy new year. Take care and stay well.

Saint

P.S. -Those thinking I'm posting trying to get business are just wrong. In fact, I have been turning away some business as I am selective who I want to work with and have refunded consulting fees for people I don't think will be a good match. In fact, I don't work with WSG members so if you contact me better not to tell me it's from WSG or I won't take you on as a client.

[Exon123]

Saint with all do respect "We all gota do, What We gota do"

Its "Your" money and or "Your Investers" money, you spend it anyway you want. As with any real estate agent, your in for a piece of the deal when an Invester puts down his money. One way or the other your going to do all right either buying or selling. Plus any rental commission you derive from renting properities you've already sold to Investors. So I'm not at all suprised with your comments about the Argentine real estate market.

I myself own substantual real estate here in the USA. I do so for a hedge against paper assets. I personally built it myself buying the land first then building on it. I have whats called " Vertically Intgraded Profits". That is to say I made a profit buying the land, subdividing the land, building out the lots, building the properties and finally holding and renting the properties. Plus of course substantual appreaciation.

All done in the "Path of Progress", in the South West, knowing full well there 70 million 'Baby Boomers" waiting to retire in warm climate's. And I'll have some "Product" for a few of them someday when I'm ready to sell. The deal is a "No Brainer", Exon doesn't "Gamble" with his money. I'll take "Risk" but I don't gamble. "Risk" being "Time", your going to make money no matter what, its how long is going to take and thats the "ROI" on the time the "Capital" is Employed. Also called the "Opertunity Cost of Capital", What could I've have done with that same amount of Capital? That would have made even more money.

Now here's my Question for you Saint.


There are hundreds of Thousands of US Investers that want "Off Shore" investments and the Idea would have been easy to "Sell to the "Investing Public". Hell, You could have even converted the Deal to "REIT" and taken the "Deal Public" and have it trading on the New York Stock Exchange, making even more Money, BIG MONEY.

With Your Belief in The Argentine Real Estate Market I'm Sure You Could Sell The Deal To A Large New York Investment House Yourself And Remember Thats What Those Guy's Do For A Living, They Put Deals Together, They Don't Care What The Deal Is. Now Your Talked About Making Some Real Money!

Just a Thought.

Exon

[Goblin]

Are statistics available on the annual increases in the market value of Real Estate in BA? What kind of annual upswing are we talking about for a typical Ricoleta one bedroom apartment in the $150,000 to $200,000 range?

Goblin.

Nothing for nothing Exon but you had the exact same arguments over a year ago when I started buying real estate here. You were saying how it was not a good investment then really using the same arguments as you are using now. I think it's clear you were proven wrong by the levels of property prices since I started buying. You need to understand the underlying investment principles here in Argentina. You say you do this for a living so I would assume you would see it more clearly than the average Joe. The fact remains that the banking system here is simply not trusted. It's also harder to get money out of the country for the average local because since 9/11 American banks make it more difficult to open accounts from abroad. Real estate has always been the safest form of investment in Argentina. They don't put their money in the banks. They put it in real estate.

It's a very stable play. Take all this cash and what do people do with it? They don't put it in the bank, or buy mututal funds or stocks. They buy properties. Talk to Roxana or any other local. They can tell you what I am posting is correct.

You are also wrong when you say it's not a liquid investment. I would strongly disagree with you. I find a one bedroom apartment in Recoleta very liquid. In fact, I'm one of the largest buyers of residential real estate in Buenos Aires than anyone in the world. It's darn tough to find a good one bedroom apartment for sale in Recoleta. When they come on the market they go off very quickly. All this new construction you are talking about. Much of it is pre-sold before it is even started. Every week I try to buy at least 1 apartment and it's getting tougher and tougher. What you posted simply isn't true. And in fact, it's like cash because when you sell it's also in cash on the table. Also, there are 0% capital gains taxes when you sell.

You are discounting the fact that real estate for this quality of a city compared to other cities around the world is very cheap here. Property taxes are very low. Utilities are very low. Many are buying as investments not only for the capital appreciation but also for the rental income. Tourism here has exploded and will be strong for a long time. Hotels are booked solid. Some are at 95% occupancy and many of the top ones are routinely sold out. More and more airlines are fighting to get routes to Buenos Aires. What do you think this will do to the tourism industry in BA?

Also, different people have different reasons for buying. Many want diversification away from the USA market and stocks / bonds / funds. Asset allocation is always a good idea. Many of my clients are purchasing here with money from other real estate they sold at very high prices in the USA, UK, Australia, and other parts of the world. They bought low and sold high. They see the same potential in Buenos Aires.

Everyone has their opinions. I'm not saying I am right and you are wrong. What I am saying is that you were wrong over a year ago when you were making the same arguments about real estate here and how it was a mistake to buy. Foreigners have accounted for up to 50% of the purchases here in Buenos Aires according to some private estimates. That trend will continue. More and more real estate every week is going into the hands of foreigners. Yes, many are individual players purchasing real estate but many are also very skilled corporations purchasing up big blocks of land and properties / buildings / apartments. Many are very skilled companies that all they do is buy real estate around the world for a living and have been doing this for over a hundred years and have been spot on. These are the kind of trends you might want to keep in mind.

Also, keep in mind there is no real mortgage system here. It's all cash. Unlike in the USA where people can get 5% down mortgages and you have all these people buying on speculation that aren't really risking any investment capital. The system is VERY different here. The real estate prices are real because people paid 100% cash for them. No loans, no credit. You have to consider things like that.

Property here has always been priced in you$s so get the devaluation out of your head. The reason you had a flood of selling after the devaluation is that banks were closed and people had no funding to their accounts. Imagine if the same thing happened in the USA. There would be blood in the streets! People would be blowing up banks. Here they were banging on pots and pans and were protesting. And oh yeah. Selling their real estate because it's a cash transaction and they needed cash. It was a unique experience that most people will never witness in their lifetime. You had a situation like that along with no one buying and property prices ARTIFICIALLY went down. The rise up is just things settling. Property has only caught up to where it left off in February 2005. I have posted and I still believe that property is ripe here for a tremendous upswing over the next decade here.

Also, look at their mortgage situation. Mortgages one day will be common here. I'm not saying it will be overnight. They just started introducing mortgages again here but at high interest rates (10% - 12%) and you have to have 50% equity and the period is only 10 years. Still, look at any other country in the world. When you introduce mortgages, it pushes up demand and demand pushes up prices. Add in to the mix that with the devaluation, it brought many, many, many foreigners here to discover Argentina that never otherwise would have come here. Unsurprisingly they fall in love with the city and decide to purchase real estate here. There is more and more foreign interest and purchases in the real estate market here. I am not talking about just a few bucks. I'm talking about hundreds of millions of dollars.

Argentina has some sort of crises about every ten years. The one safe play throughout the years for these Portenos has been real estate. Something you might want to keep in mind when you simply dismiss real estate here as a stupid investment. Exon- you might manage money for a living and you might be really good at it. But I always think it's fair to tell both sides of the story. I also manage a lot of money for people and I like to look at the big picture in any investment opportunity. Good luck all.

Saint

[Saint]

Nothing for nothing Exon but you had the exact same arguments over a year ago when I started buying real estate here. You were saying how it was not a good investment then really using the same arguments as you are using now. I think it's clear you were proven wrong by the levels of property prices since I started buying. You need to understand the underlying investment principles here in Argentina. You say you do this for a living so I would assume you would see it more clearly than the average Joe. The fact remains that the banking system here is simply not trusted. It's also harder to get money out of the country for the average local because since 9/11 American banks make it more difficult to open accounts from abroad. Real estate has always been the safest form of investment in Argentina. They don't put their money in the banks. They put it in real estate.

It's a very stable play. Take all this cash and what do people do with it? They don't put it in the bank, or buy mututal funds or stocks. They buy properties. Talk to Roxana or any other local. They can tell you what I am posting is correct.

You are also wrong when you say it's not a liquid investment. I would strongly disagree with you. I find a one bedroom apartment in Recoleta very liquid. In fact, I'm one of the largest buyers of residential real estate in Buenos Aires than anyone in the world. It's darn tough to find a good one bedroom apartment for sale in Recoleta. When they come on the market they go off very quickly. All this new construction you are talking about. Much of it is pre-sold before it is even started. Every week I try to buy at least 1 apartment and it's getting tougher and tougher. What you posted simply isn't true. And in fact, it's like cash because when you sell it's also in cash on the table. Also, there are 0% capital gains taxes when you sell.

You are discounting the fact that real estate for this quality of a city compared to other cities around the world is very cheap here. Property taxes are very low. Utilities are very low. Many are buying as investments not only for the capital appreciation but also for the rental income. Tourism here has exploded and will be strong for a long time. Hotels are booked solid. Some are at 95% occupancy and many of the top ones are routinely sold out. More and more airlines are fighting to get routes to Buenos Aires. What do you think this will do to the tourism industry in BA?

Also, different people have different reasons for buying. Many want diversification away from the USA market and stocks/bonds/funds. Asset allocation is always a good idea. Many of my clients are purchasing here with money from other real estate they sold at very high prices in the USA, UK, Australia, and other parts of the world. They bought low and sold high. They see the same potential in Buenos Aires.

Everyone has their opinions. I'm not saying I am right and you are wrong. What I am saying is that you were wrong over a year ago when you were making the same arguments about real estate here and how it was a mistake to buy. Foreigners have accounted for up to 50% of the high-end purchases here in Buenos Aires according to some private estimates. That trend will continue. More and more real estate every week is going into the hands of foreigners. Yes, many are individual players purchasing real estate but many are also very skilled corporations purchasing up big blocks of land and properties/buildings/apartments. Many are very skilled companies where all they do is buy real estate around the world for a living and have been doing this for over a hundred years and have been spot on. These are the kind of trends you might want to keep in mind.

Also, keep in mind there is no real mortgage system here. It's all cash. Unlike in the USA where people can get 5% down mortgages and you have all these people buying on speculation that aren't really risking any investment capital. The system is VERY different here. The real estate prices are REAL because people paid 100% cash for them. No loans, no credit. In the USA, just about anyone, including those with bad credit can buy property. You have these interest only loans and other schemes that have pushed real estate prices up and will eventually create real problems in the future, IMHO. Property prices here were paid with 100% cash so these prices are not some artificially valued real estate like many places around the world. You have to consider things like that.

Property here has always been priced in u$s so get the devaluation out of your head. The reason you had a flood of selling after the devaluation is that banks were closed and people had no funding to their accounts. Imagine if the same thing happened in the USA. There would be blood in the streets! People would be blowing up banks. Here they were banging on pots and pans and were protesting. And oh yeah. Selling their real estate because it's a cash transaction and they needed cash. It was a unique experience that most people will never witness in their lifetime. You had a situation like that along with no one buying and property prices ARTIFICIALLY went down. The rise up is just things settling back to how they left off before the crash. Look at a historical real estate chart for Buenos Aires. Property has only caught up to where it left off. Only in February 2005 did it surpass where prices where before the crash. I have posted and I still believe that property is ripe here for a tremendous upswing over the next decade here.

Also, look at their mortgage situation. Mortgages one day will be common here. I'm not saying it will be overnight. They just started introducing mortgages again here but at high interest rates (10% - 12%) and you have to have 50% equity and the period is only 10 years. Still, look at any other country in the world. When you introduce mortgages, it pushes up demand and demand pushes up prices. Add in to the mix that with the devaluation, it brought many, many, many foreigners here to discover Argentina that never otherwise would have come here. Unsurprisingly they fall in love with the city and decide to purchase real estate here. There is more and more foreign interest and purchases in the real estate market here. I am not talking about just a few bucks. I'm talking about hundreds of millions of dollars.

Argentina has some sort of crises about every ten years. The one safe play throughout the years for these Portenos has been real estate. Something you might want to keep in mind when you simply dismiss real estate here as a stupid investment. Exon- you might manage money for a living and you might be really good at it...but I always think it's fair to tell both sides of the story. I also manage a lot of money for people and I like to look at the big picture in any investment opportunity. Good luck all.

Saint

[Guiller]

It's reported in the Buenos Aires Herald today that Argentina paid the IMF us$9.5 billion cancelling its entire dept.

Things must be improving.

Unlike the previous debt cancellations of Russia and Brazil, this has been mainly a political measure, with almost no economic reasons: the message is: "Stop telling us what to do. Now you can't do that any longer. Leave us alone to decide what to do". All the major local newspapers reflect this viewpoint.

All the best

[Flexible Horn]

It's reported in the Buenos Aires Herald today that Argentina paid the IMF us$9.5 billion cancelling its entire dept.

Things must be improving.

[Hunt99]

I don't know, are you talking class A or be shares of BRK? Warren would probably hold 'em!

B shares? What are B shares? Something for the hoi polloi, no doubt.

Speaking of Wal-Mart, I own a boat-load of that, too. World's best retailer, stock has done nothing for 6 years while the earnings have tripled and the dividend doubled (or is it the other way round?). Coiled spring effect.

[Rudolph]

The Dollar is being supported at an artifically low price by the Argentine government in order to induce foreign trade and tourism by their centeral bank. This brings in "Hard" money which the Argentine government desperately needs to fianace the debt service on the remaining National debt.

As we all know they defualted on their national debt, when "Fucked" their bond holders out of 75% of their investments. Which in turn has ruined the country economicaly and turned the middle class into poverty.

The Argentine government must show a positive cash flow or balance of payments in order apease the IMF whom in fact holds the purse strings for the whole country. They due this by "Fucking" their population out of the true value of their goods and sevice's. Sorta like saying to the people "We Fucked Up" so everyone in the country has to work for less money than what the true value of what their "Work Product" would sell for on the world market.

This of course is the reason "We" all can afford to travel their. A $500 dollar "hooker" in New York, Chicago or Los Angeles can be had for $200 peso's, ($67 dollars) in Buenos Aires, cheaper in other cities.

Has anyone ever noticed that when you exchange money at the "Cambio" store on Friday's you get 3 to 5 peso's less than you would on Monday morning. The reason is no one wants to take a chance on the peso over the weekend, you pay a risk premuim over the weekend.

Or has anyone ever landed at a major United States port of entry with a few extra peso's? Then gone to the currency exchange window and tried to cash them in, or for that matter tried to buy peso's before leaving? Won't happen, they've got 20 or 30 different countries listed but no Argentina Peso listed. Even in Miami the major airport for South America no Argentine peso. They don't want to handle the peso and there must be a reason.

Finnally, recently you've noticed a small up tick in the exchange rate in Buenos Aires. We were getting about $2.85 to the dollar about six months ago. Now the rate is about $3.00 to the dollar. Thats the Argentine Centeral Bank "Tweeking" the Dollar against the Peso. What its telling you is that, " What Were Doing Is Not Working, So We'll Drop The Peso Even More".

Look for More Inflation in Argentine and Cheaper Peso's.

Exon

Got the same scam going on in the US just on a different scale. Say how does the income tax system work there? What is the rate of taxation?

[Exon123]

The Dollar is being supported at an artifically low price by the Argentine government in order to induce foreign trade and tourism by their centeral bank. This brings in "Hard" money which the Argentine government desperately needs to fianace the debt service on the remaining National debt.

As we all know they defualted on their national debt, when "Fucked" their bond holders out of 75% of their investments. Which in turn has ruined the country economicaly and turned the middle class into poverty.

The Argentine government must show a positive cash flow or balance of payments in order apease the IMF whom in fact holds the purse strings for the whole country. They due this by "Fucking" their population out of the true value of their goods and sevice's. Sorta like saying to the people "We Fucked Up" so everyone in the country has to work for less money than what the true value of what their "Work Product" would sell for on the world market.

This of course is the reason "We" all can afford to travel their. A $500 dollar "hooker" in New York, Chicago or Los Angeles can be had for $200 peso's, ($67 dollars) in Buenos Aires, cheaper in other cities.

Has anyone ever noticed that when you exchange money at the "Cambio" store on Friday's you get 3 to 5 peso's less than you would on Monday morning. The reason is no one wants to take a chance on the peso over the weekend, you pay a risk premuim over the weekend.

Or has anyone ever landed at a major United States port of entry with a few extra peso's? Then gone to the currency exchange window and tried to cash them in, or for that matter tried to buy peso's before leaving? Won't happen, they've got 20 or 30 different countries listed but no Argentina Peso listed. Even in Miami the major airport for South America no Argentine peso. They don't want to handle the peso and there must be a reason.

Finnally, recently you've noticed a small up tick in the exchange rate in Buenos Aires. We were getting about $2.85 to the dollar about six months ago. Now the rate is about $3.00 to the dollar. Thats the Argentine Centeral Bank "Tweeking" the Dollar against the Peso. What its telling you is that, " What Were Doing Is Not Working, So We'll Drop The Peso Even More".

Look for More Inflation in Argentine and Cheaper Peso's.

Exon

Hi Exon,

Effective yesterday, Argentina paid off all their IMF dept, and thus the IMF no longe has any infulence over the Argentine government, their banking practices, their monetary policy, etc.

For example, the are now free to pring all the Pesos they want. The provinces are also free to begin printing their own currency like the did immediately after the devaluation of 2001.

The international banking community justifiably sees all this as a bad thing, and the reaction is the recent davaluation of the peso.

Thanks,

Jackson

[Goblin]

Argentina's real estate is an all "CASH" market, there are "NO Term's" such as 30 year morgage's, bank Re-Finances or Home Owner Equity Loans.

I believe the major reason for this is the 12% inflation rate admitted by the government, which in fact is more like 20 to 25 percent Inflation in real life.

Since the above is True there is "No Liquidity" in Argentina's Real Estate, You can "Buy" but you can't "Sell". Once you own the property you can't "Sell" it so theres no way out. Your stuck with your investment pretty much forever, since the Seller needs Cash at Closing to protect Himself against the 20 to 25 percent inflation mentioned above.

Using a $100,000 cash as an example, (about what you'd expect to pay for decent place in or near Capital Federal) You'd be much better off using it as a down payment on a rental property here in the USA. Servicing the excess debt with the rental income and renting in Argentina. Sure you might have some debt you've leveraged, maybe even some negitive cash flow, but you've got "liquidity". You can get out of the deal, something that down the road will be priceless. You can't do that in Argentina, its all cash and in US Dollars to boot.

I recently spent a few nights in Jacksons apartment. As I was moving out a prominate Argentine was moving in. It turned out he was born in Recoleta a few blocks from Jackson's place and now is an investment banker in New York City. He works his trade only in Mexico & Europe, not in Argentina, he doesn't trust his country men. He went on to tell me that all his wealthy Argentine friends had indeed bought property at rock bottom prices after the devaluation and were now selling it as fast as they could. He went on to say that he had a friend whom is a director of "UBS" in New York (Union Bank of Switzerland) a very large international bank, And that they had very large loans in certain sectors of the Argentine economy. Jackson's new tenant went on to say that he asked his important banker friend where all the money was going. The banker told him their big clients were moving money out of Argentina just as fast as they could to Miami, New York, the Caymans, Switzerland and Europe, any place but Argentina. They didn't want to hold peso's, only Dollars or Euro's.

Now all of the above has got to tell you something. When you read the papers down there all you hear about in is strife and unrest coupled with strikes, protesters, inflation, corruption and a crooked government made up of "Home Boy's" that you could never trust.

Heed Exon's advice, Exon does this type of thing for a living and Exon is damn good at it. Matter of Fact all of Exon's mongering money comes from just this type of thinking.

Exon

With that rate of inflation you would assume a steady and constant drop of the Peso against the US dollar. Why is it taking so long to catch up to reality?

This country seems to be in a constant and very dramatic state of flux. What by the way is Jackson paying for that beautiful apartment of his? Are opportunities like that still available in BA?

What about the hotel business, I could barely find a room in BA during the off season must be brutal right now. Now there have to be opportunities in the hotel sector.

Goblin

[Orlandoirish]

Stop trying to become a manager at wal*mart and get real gents. Sorry I mentioned Google. OK, I am a migrant worker from Costa Rica on outdated green card, of which I plant roses at a nursery in Apopka FL, for 1.25 USD / hour. There, you brot the truth out of me.