The benefits of investing in Buenos Aires

As I have stated before, one of the major reasons I invested in Buenos Aires was to capture the upside appreciation of the real estate market. Prices of property are just now reaching the levels they had attained before the currency devaluation of 2001. Wow, if I could buy real estate today in California at 2001 prices! In most major US cities nationwide, housing prices have come close to doubling in that same 5 year period. In my opinion, the depressed real estate prices in Argentina are a short term phenomenon. Why do I say this? Yesterday, a 74 square meter apartment on our street, two blocks up just sold for $140,000. The apartment was in a 60 year old building and needed a complete renovation. I purchased my 75 square meter apartment in late October for $103,350! If you believe in comparables, that is a pretty exceptional return for 2 1/2 months. In my neighborhood (Recoleta), properties in the range of 75-100 SM are being snapped up the day they are put on the market -- Demand is very high. But why? I've noted before that Buenos Aires is an excellent city that has all of the amenities of any large capital city. Tourism numbers for Buenos Aires seem to validate this -- a 8% increase over last year. The upscale hotels are at capacity and have nearly a 85% occupancy rate. There is a need for short-term rental apartments to keep up with the swelling tourism and business travelers. We will rent our apartment for $150/nt, which is 1/2 the price and twice the size of a comparable hotel room. I believe I will make my total investment back in less than 4 years. In four years I also believe I will see an average of 20% appreciation per year.

Taxes

Annual property taxes in Argentina run about .75% of the fiscal value of your property. Unlike the US, you are not sent an annual property tax bill. As a foreigner, it is up to you to remember to pay this. Annually you need to have an accountant prepare your tax bill. Then you need to assign a local resident to go down to the tax office, stand in line, and pay this tax bill for you. This is where it helps to have a friend living in Argentina ;)

The capital gains tax in Argentina is 0%, yes 0%. Whether you choose to roll your profits into another property investment in Argentina or wire it out. There is a 1.5% tax called the "Transfer tax". It is 1.5% of the sales price. However, you can get this waived if you are using the proceeds and purchasing another property here in Argentina.

Labor Prices

In my last post, I discussed the work that was done to my apartment. Labor here is cheap compared to the US. The people I work with are very skilled tradesmen that take pride in what they do. To completely renovate a 1200 sq/ft apartment including a new kitchen, bath, walls, floors, electrical, plumbing, appliances, and even floorplan configuration plan to spend between $20K and $30K. Obviously, it is difficult to provide a rule of thumb, but generally, work is about 1/3 the cost of similar work in the states. I would also say that in my experience the quality of work is similar.

In my next post, I will be discussing a project I am considering -- Construction of a 10 story building in downtown Buenos Aires! Stay tuned.

Building renovation

My main purpose of purchasing a piece of property in BA was the exceptional rate of return that the investment would spin. I invested in a piece of property that would make me money, not a piece of property that I would live in. The short term rental business in BA is a very lucrative proposition. Besides investing in luxury mattresses, bedding, furniture, and electronics, I wanted to provide a first class apartment with twice the space of a hotel room. Additionally, I wanted to provide all the amenities and luxury of a 5-star hotel at the price of 3-star hotel. The apartment features:

• Ideal location in the Recoleta District
• High-speed, wireless Internet
• Cable with over 50 channels (both English, and Spanish)
• Unobstructed city views
• French balconies
• Remote controlled air conditioning/heating in each room
• Business center with integrated fax, color printer, copier, and scanner
• Four Season Luxury Mattresses
• The finest bedding and linens
• Wireless phone with Voicemail system
• Flat-screen television
• 5.1 home stereo system
• DVD player with Karioke capabilities
• Finest grade leather couches
• Fully equipped kitchen with all stainless steel appliances
• Microwave with integrated toaster, and coffee-maker
• Extra modern marble bathroom
• Custom designed furniture, artwork, and lighting throughout the apartment

Sound great? Well, let's just say that the apartment needed a lot more than the above when I purchased it. The apartment I purchased is nearly eighty years old. I have 12 foot ceilings and all of the original detail of a French-style apartment from that period, but I also inherited 80 years of use when I purchased the property. I renovated from ground up sparing no expense.

Painting, Wall reparation, and various other things

Carlos and his crew are the best in all of Argentina. Carlos knows everyone in the city, and was my best resource for finding just about anything I needed. He runs a very tight operation, and is focused on meeting deadlines without compromising the quality of his work.

El Jefe

Carlos and his team literally transformed the look and feel of our apartment in 10 days. He completely replastered the walls, repaired windows, stripped and restained doors, and more or less acted as a general contractor for all of the other workers. Carlos introduced me to all of the people below. It is very important for me to work with responsible people who are on time. In Argentina, you work with all types, and Carlos was of the highest caliber.

Electrical

On all of the electrical needs and woodworking, I worked with a pair of brothers, Roberto and Pablo. Although the previous owner had upgraded the electrical system in the 80's, I decided to completely rewire the apartment. Here's a picture of my electrician Roberto and my carpenter Pablo:

Roberto, wondering why he ever stepped foot into my project

Prior to working in the electrical trade Roberto was a very accomplished systems analyst who worked for a major Argentine conglomerate. One day, he decided to go into business for himself and he started a partnership with his brother, Pablo. Both are very talented people who decided to give up corporate life to work in a trade they enjoyed. Roberto and Pablo assisted with:

• The complete upgrade of my electrical system
• The design and implementation of my lighting scheme
• The installation of high-wattage outlets for the air-conditioning systems
• Lighting in the kitchen, bathroom, bar-area, and livingroom
• New outlets and dimmer switches in the business center and kitchen

Carpentry

In addition to all of the electrical work, the brothers helped design and install most of my custom furniture. This includes:

• Knocking down a wall and hand crafting a lighted bar/table area
• Turning a useless corner into a business center complete with a custom desk/lighting
• Hand making all of my kitchen cabinets in both wood, and glass/aluminum.
• Designing and implementing an ultra-modern bathroom vanity and mirror.
• Installing period matching floorboards throughout the apartment.
• Lowering a ceiling and installing lighting/wiring for a home stereo system.
• New wood frames for the old aluminum windows in the livingroom and kitchen.
• Ultra-modern custom made shelving furniture for TV, stereo, and DVD.
• Custom made coffee and end tables.

In Argentina (as in every other country), finding trustworthy, honest people to work with is of chief importance. The brothers worked through the entire holiday season to meet my timeframes, and provided excellent work.

Bathroom work

An 80 year old building has 80 year old pipes in the bathroom. Before I laid any marble down, I wanted to make sure that I had new, reliable pipes in place. The floor was ripped up, and the plumbing was replaced in 3 days.

Philipe thinking "Feliz Navidad A**HOLE!!!!!"

Once the plumbing was done, an excellent albinir, or tiler, named Philipe came in and installed my travertine in 3 days. He worked on the 24th and 26th of December to get our bathroom finished.

Floors

We had both wood flooring and a nasty raised cement area in the apartment when we purchased it. We refinished the antique slovanian oak floors and chipped out the old cement and replaced with polished, colored cement. This all took about 4 days with my team.

Coming here, I had been warned about the length of time it takes to do work in Argentina. I was told it was risky and expensive to work unassisted. I received several quotes from "architects" who said they would manage the apartment renovation for me. In Argentina, everybody is an architect, but the term appears to be used very loosely. I found that these architects generally tried to charge me a 60-70% premium, and really only acted as a general contractor! I was also quoted a 3 month timeframe for the work that I accomplished in under 5 weeks. I was extremely satisfied with the team of people I worked with, and the results they delivered. If anyone is interested in renovating property in Argentina, I would suggest consulting with Carlos and his team first. I can put you in touch with them.

If you're interested, our apartment will be available to rent in March 2006.