Short Term Apartment in BBAA

Here's a link to give you some ideas and to get you started:

http://www.justlanded.com/english/Argen … enos-aires

It would be a good idea to work with more than one realtor, as it's not unusual to receive quotes about the same location which differ greatly from one another.

Your situation sounds unique, in that your requirements are few. You could consider staying in a hostel, for a few days, while you take some time to seek out an apartment.

Suerte!

Here is a nice room for rent in Buenos Aires:

http://www.heartofargentina.com/rentals.htm

You can also go to www.goodmorningba.com , I have a lot of great resources listed there and a free services directory.  There is a listing category there for apartments for rent by owners as well as one by rental agencies.  There are other services, a community calendar, forum, Buenos Aires guides..........

I wrote a two part post on renting apartments in BA.  This is oriented toward renting an apartment from an agency with a western standard of living.  You can probably find better deals from local agents, but you have to weed through a lot of chaff to get to the good stuff, and it's hard to do from a distance.

http://www.micheleandtom.com/2009/04/pa … apartment/

Regardless, there are good checklists of things to look for and tips on what you can ask for based upon our experiences and those of some commenters.

Good luck!
Mich
micheleandtom.com

Great checklist Michelle.  I would add the following items:

1.  Check that all appliances work.
2.  Make sure they show you where all the light switches are located.  I have seen some apartments where some are tucked in the midst of built in bookshelves and cabinets.
3.  I larger buildings with multiple apartments on each floor you might want to check how close the apartment is to the elevator.  (It can sometimes be noisier next to them, particularly in apartments with younger persons).
4.  Make sure you have contact numbers in case anything is broken or needs repairs.  In some instances it will be the landlord, in some the apartment rental company, and sometimes the building porter will be the contact for such things.

Also, you mentioned the lower floors being noisier.  Sometimes you can find apartments that are contrafrente, facing the back of the building, and those are often much quieter.

Last but not least, be aware that the leases here are in Spanish and I have yet to see anyone give a translation.  So if you are interested in knowing the particulars and do not read Spanish, take a friend along who can.

samuel

Hi Beth, I'm from Holland and active in this field and agree with most of the writers above. Feel free to contact me by mail and I can help you further easily without any obligations.
There are a lot of players on the market, but not all the agencies and owners have the same standard or education as you probably will have.

Regards Mark

I know many people here that own agencies, work for them, and individuals who are apartment owners.  I am from the USA and know first-hand that these people all have comparable standards to ours and many have a better education than most people in real estate in the States.  Some of them are even from the USA or Europe.

Hey Everyone!

Thanks so much for the great advice. I am sure other travelers will find it helpful.

But here is how I found my apartment: I used Craigslist, and sent a ton of emails in the 2-3 weeks before coming to BsAs. I stayed in a hostel one night, and met up with various people I had contacted online to see the apartments.  Found one that was great, and moved in the next day!

I did work with an agency some, but honestly they were pretty rude and unprofessional.  And, I am very happy I found an apartment independantly. 

Thanks again for all of your help and suggestions!!

Chau,
Beth

Glad it worked out for you! It is lovely when you come to a foreign country and don't have difficulties finding housing.

I have two comments about Criagslist in general for those who are reading this and looking for apartments from afar:

1) When we came in 2008, there were next to no availabilities on Craigslist for apartments in Belgrano (near the girls' school) that were larger (we had 3 adults and 2 kids and needed a minimum of 3 bedrooms).  There is still a paucity of those types of properties on Craigslist.  And, when you we do see them, the advertisers usually post the weekly rate, not the monthly rate!  (You get pretty excited until you click through and see the real monthly cost).  Also, a lot of the ads in our segment turned out to be for agency properties anyhow!

2) If you are looking for something higher end, Craigslist is probably not the place to search.  I'm not saying it's impossible, just more difficult and time consuming.

Remember, if you can rent a studio or one bedroom, you have so much more choice, whether you are craigslisting or working with an agent, because these properties represent the vast majority of apartments on the market!  When we were looking, Tom and I were always talking about how easy it would be if we didn't have the kids!

Hi Beth,

I don´t recommend going through any agency.  You end up paying more money, and its really not necessary.  There are lots of great resources you use to find an apartment. 

If you are looking for a shared apartment (which I recommend, you can meet more people that way) try compartodepto.com.  Only some of the services are free, so I recommend those, but don´t pay for the extra service.  This is where actual argentines and  the rest of latino americans post ads and look for rommates.  Prices are cheaper, and you get a better cultural experience.  The other two best sites for finding shared rooms are OLX.com.ar, and craigslist.  OLX is less touristy, and therefore usually a little cheaper. 

You can also check out this apartment rental resources page for many other sites that are useful for looking for your own apartement.

Here is a page with the average cost for apartment rentals in buenos aires if you are wondering about prices you can expect to pay. 

Good luck.

Cheers,
Diego

My roommate has been researching apartment rates for the last couple of months, looking nearly every day using Nacion, Clarin, etc.  The numbers we are seeing are substantially lower than those posted on the article referenced by Diego. 

Here are the numbers we have been seeing for long-term apartments that are unfurnished and require a guaratia (or some sort of similar deposit).  These figures do not include building expenses, but upon checking into those they are around 200 - 300 pesos a month depending on apartment size. Also bear in mind if you rent in a PH, there are no building fees.

Studio:  700 - 1200 pesos
One Bedroom:  1000 - 1500 pesos.

Short-term vacation rentals, with internet and other services included, go for:

Studio:  1500 - 2250 pesos

The other rental prices we have been saying are about the same as in that article referenced before. 

I have the following adjustments regarding expenses as listed in that article: 

Internet:  (we used Fibertel for this quote): 
1 meg. 109.90
3 meg. 145.00
10 meg. 600

Cable and Internet (we are paying for the combined with Fibertel for internet and Cablevision for television as there is no such thing as Fibertel television):  we are paying 200 pesos a month and this is an introductory offer good for only 6 months. 

Electricity:  we have had prices ranging from 40 pesos a month up to 400 a month depending on the season and whether we used air conditioning or heating at all.

I have my apartment for rent. check it here and let me know if you are interested.
studiovis.net

ba-rent.com

i rented through them and had no problems !

Dear gentlemen, I'll move in May/2010 to live in Buenos Aires, for motives of my Job, but I have some concerns regarding to:

1) About taxes by salary incomes (percentage of it) and
2) If with 13,000.00 Pesos Argentinos of montly salary, I could survive alone in that city?
Thanks
Jose

with that amount you'll do more than survive !

We rented an apartment in Buenos Aires. I recommend. There are scores of Buenos Aires apartments to choose but not all are good or complete.  We chose this one, in the Recoleta neighborhood, for its location, style, reasonable price and full services and amenities. Are a good deal, fully furnished, free wifi internet, gym, swimming pool, 24 hrs doorman, etc more cheaper than a 3 star hotel. You can Take a look!
bairesapartments.com/apartments-buenos-aires-arenales-and-azcuenaga-vii-2161.html
please take it as a recomendation but not an ad. I'm from Germany

I have used the services of Baires Apartments in the past....... some of their prices are great, and some are not so great.  This one you listed Peter is about double what the market can sustain in price so I would definitely look around on their website or elsewhere.  Studios range from as little as about $500 USD per month to $700 USD a month.