Im moving to Buenos Aires in early June. I am taking the TEFL course for a month there and was hoping someone had advice on nice yet affordable housing or apartments to rent there. I have seen tons on the internet, but from someone who has spent a lot of time there, where and what would be the best route to take? thanks for the help!

Casey:
I recommend Reynolds Properties , they might be a little more expensive than others buts worthwhile, serious and friendly people.
Good luck and enjoy B.A. !!
Regards

hi
i can help you with that. why don´t you write me giving me more details about place you want to stay, hol long...etc
i have some options for you.
cheers

There are a lot of sources of apartments in Buenos Aires. Some reputable and some not so reputable. I came here 15 times before I moved here so I have used most of the companies in town before I moved here. I was disappointed almost every time. Just make sure you ask a lot of questions, get a copy of the rental contract, see several photos and find out if it's in the area you want to stay in.

In addition to the apartment rental websites you can go to places like www.yesba.org It's a free page you can sign up with. There are tons of expats that live here. They have some great prices on rentals but beware sometimes because you are just dealing with a one on one transaction. There is more risk of something happening with that kind of situation.

My advice is to go with a known entity. Just go on Google or search Fodor's and Frommers. There are tons of apartment rental companies. Just ask them how long they have been leasing properties. Good luck with your boss. You'll love living here.

Try the following websites:

www.bahouse.com.ar
www.bahomerental.com
www.argentinahomes.com (reynolds)
www.clasificadosclarin.com.ar

Apartment rentals we have several options, some are:
www.alojargentina.com
www.buscainmueble.com
www.rentalo.com
www.buenosairesapartments.com
, all of them offer different options.

Hey,
I have lived for 2 years in Argentina
If you know Spanish, check Clarin newspaper, www.clarin.com.ar There are apartments with prices for LOCALS.
I can recommend you the Spanish school where I improved my Spanish, www.verbum.biz
Good luck!
Claudia

Also, if you are moving to BA, you should check out this blog. The author took a lot of time putting it together. As someone that moved to Argentina permanently I can tell you that I did almost exactly the same things he did and had the same concerns. It is an excellent resource.

http://expat-argentina.blogspot.com/

Good luck.

Mike (aptsba) - What did you generally find disappointing about your 15 apartment rental experiences in B. A.? What kind of things should people know to look out for?

You say ask a lot of questions. Like what? You see nice pictures, so you book the apartment. It's hard to know what to ask until you're there and it's too late.

Please give some specific advice.

How is your agency better than the ones you dealt with?

Fashion Police,

I don't think these boards are meant to "plug" so I'll stay away from why we are better. You can email me privately at [email protected] and I'll give you 100 reasons why we are better but I'll keep it off the boards.

Generally, here are the bad experiences I had:

1) The apartment wasn't the apartment in the photos or it was significantly different. Maybe the photos were old and they never bothered to replace the photos. One time I arrived and the apartment was totally different as I guess they loaded the wrong photos on their site.

2) The apartment didn't have the amenities that were listed on the website. Make sure you look to see that Air Conditioning is included, cable TV, Microwave, Fridge AND Freezer, high-speed Internet. With these LOCAL companies..NEVER assume. Always ask them specifically what is and is NOT included.

3) The company answering my emails either took 3 or 4 days to answer my email or they simply never answered my email. I found most companies I dealt with to be EXTREMELY slow.

4) The company didn't have anyone that could speak/write good English. Or if they did, only the person answering my emails could. At the check-in the person that checked me in couldn't speak English so there were communication problems. While I realize this is THEIR country, it's a wise business decision to only hire employees that speak English.

5) The person that was supposed to meet me at the apartment either was late or they never showed up in one instance. Several companies never sent an employee to check-out and they sent the owners who were pain in the as*ses to deal with. Many companies had the attitude, the only time they wanted to see or hear from me was at the check-in when I paid their money and then I never heard from them again. Even when I called to ask questions.

6) Many companies don't have an actual office I could go to if I had a problem. Believe it or not, some never even answered their phones. They basically worked from home and a cellphone. Always use a company that has a physical office so you can go there if you have a problem.

7) When I had any kind of problem their attitude was "nothing I can do". The companies in town don't own their own apartments. They just list them on their website and collect a fee so they could care less after they got paid. It's a big difference if you're dealing with a company that owns their own apartments.

8) The furniture in several of my apartments I rented was horrible. The mattresses were bad and just appeared to be furniture that was passed down from generation to generation. One time, I sat in an old chair and it broke and I hit my head. The owner had the nerve to charge me u$s 200 for a chair that was worth maybe $5.

I told her in any other civilized country I would have gotten my money back and an apology for me hitting my head. Her attitude was nothing you can do. I was on my way to the airport so what could I do.

In fact, several times they kept part of my deposit for no good reason.

Basically, just ask a lot of questions. See how long it takes for them to email you. Odds are, if they takes days to email you it means they are understaffed. If they are understaffed, imagine what kind of problems you can face when you are actually here and have problems. If they can't take the time to email you I doubt they can run around town and get something fixed.

I'm not saying all companies are bad. There are some reputable companies but I'd say, more times than not you need to be careful. I live here full time and the way these locals do business is deplorable. There is a reason, Transparency International lists Argentina as one of the most corrupt countries in the world. (See - http://www.transparency.org/cpi/2004...n.html#cpi2004)

The locals like to compare themselves to their European ancestors but they have more in common with some shady African countries when it comes to business. Just ask questions and use reputable companies with a good reputation that get back to you quickly.

Good luck!

Hi,
The reply arrives a bit late, but for anybody interested in that matter, I would recomend to check at:
www.monsoro.com
It is a perfect spot in San Telmo, worth to be taken into account.
Newnours