Property Confiscation and other paranoid concerns

[Escapee5150]

First, Argentina has no significant history of confiscating property from foreigners.

People say things on this board that contradict that, and they say it like they know, but don't give any details. When I ask around, I hear, in general, no they have not confiscated property. I. E. Real property. Which is what I am told, but also by real estate types. But I do think that is actually in general acurate, but only in BsAs. Out in the country, it is probably more like a lottery. Very easy to erase a line in a computer. Or heck, paper, probably out there. I'd like to get my citizenship, then be Mayor somewhere, and steal property too. That would be cool.

I do know of a guy that had some kind of mortgage business and they took the whole thing, and bankrupted him. This was a friend's uncle. But this was back like in the 70's. Maybe during the military dictatorship.

Heck, those dictator guys even tried to take the Faukland Islands. What idiots. I think I heard Jackson say something like the Fauklands were a British colony before Argentina existed. I would not be surprised. How ridiculous. That helped cause the downfall of their dictatorship (my understanding) in 1983.

On a side note, an AR musician friend told me that you could not even have long hair until like 1983, after the dictatorship. Which explains all the long hair, beatlesc, hippie, guitar, rebellion style you see here. God, I love that.

Sorry. Apartments. Apartments. I'm going to get in trouble. Shhhhh The board police and all. Hi Jackson:)

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Hi Escapee5150,

Yes, I'm going to move this to a new thread titled "Property Confiscation and other paranoid concerns"

Thanks,

Jackson

Thanks,

[StrayLight]

The Things that worry me the most about purchasing is:

1. The drug deal cash transaction. The fear of losing all your money at once.

Well, in my case, it was in a bank. I had a realtor I trusted through and through (the sister of an Argentinian collegue at work) It was a little spooky, but at some point you need to trust something or someone.

2. The government confiscation of foriegner's apartments, which I am not that worried about, but maybe that is naive. The fear of losing all your money at once.

I did a fair amount of research into this before I bought, although that's been well over a year now. First, Argentina has no significant history of confiscating property from foreigners. Second, the applicable Argentine laws apparently say that failure to pay property taxes are the only grounds for seizing property anyway. Third, if you knew the Argentine testate and inheritance laws, you'd know that property ownership is a big fucking deal, and that the government is probably not going to risk a popular uprising by starting to seize property. Finally, there is some U. S. Law or something that precludes certain kinds of foreign aid to countries that do not respect private property rights. I don't remember all the details now, but it's basically in Argentina's best interest not to be fucking with foreign citizens' property.

[Escapee5150]

The Things that worry me the most about purchasing is:

1. The drug deal cash transaction. The fear of losing all your money at once.

2. The government confiscation of foriegner's apartments, which I am not that worried about, but maybe that is naive. The fear of losing all your money at once.

3. What if they decide to take down my building, and only want to pay me half of what I paid?

4. The possibility of them building a building next to me that blocks out my sun. Maybe tearing down the old building a building a giant one. Cutting my value in half.

5. The neighborhood changing. Like all the good restaurants closing because their leases were too high. Or a bunch of different type of people moving in. Like fat mamby pamby European or American tourist types. I prefer Argentines by far. They are more fun, more sexy, more honest, more real, thinner, cooler, and oh yeah, more sexy.

6. My tastes changing. Maybe I decide I want to live in a more natural environment and not base my happiness on the excitement of living in the city with all the parties, restaurants, and other people. And then I end up wanting to sell in a down market.

7. The Federal Reserve raising interest rates too much and the worldwide housing boom imploding. Thus, cutting the value of my property 30% , and leaving me stuck with it forever, and only being able to rent it out for a small amount.

8. Possibly discovering something, maybe out your neighborhood, that you did not know before that is negative.

9. Zoning Changes that again rob your sun.

10. Technology changes that make it way cheaper to print a much better building.

11. Other people's perception of your neighborhood changing, where they deem it to be no longer desirable.

All of those are the biggest gotchas that I can think of. And yes, they are all very paranoid. But it is good to think of everything before you buy.

Think of all these things first.

And then when it is time to buy, turn your mind off and let your feelings rule the day. You have got millions of years of evolution telling you what to do. Those hairs on the back of your neck better not be standing up.

Also, consider how this plays into your lifestyle and financial stuctures. Is it going to be more of a drag than it is a benefit. Or too much of a time suck.

As one guy put it. Don't buy to make money. Buy because you like the lifestyle.

My experiences in looking for apartments keep giving me new information. I keep discovering better values the longer I look, even though prices have risen. It is very difficult to even know exactly what you want. I am generally a location location location person. But here, almost all locations are not that bad. Or good.

Good luck to all.