Friday, May 12, 2006
Life is good
Well, I certainly can't complain today; this week I found out that my current employer will let me keep working for them, from Argentina! So, the job puzzle has been solved. I'll do my programming, and meetings, remotely. From Argentina. It's pretty incredibly mind-blowing. I had hoped for something like this, but was never sure it would happen. Now it has. Thanks be to God, he answered ours, and others, prayers.
What do I do now? Well, I've got to buy a house. I'm working on getting the funds for that ready. ...
We arrive in BA on June 26th. We'll be staying with my in-laws for a few months, until we can get a place of our own.... The housing market looks awesome in BA. Here's my take on the positives and the negatives:
1. Purchasing power- Few Argentians have any. So, the average price of houses is low. You can get a house for $60,000 in a decent to good part of town, that would cost $200,000 in Vestavia Hills, or $140,000 in Chelsea.
2. Low prices because of limited capital - Mortgages ain't in Argentina. I read an interesting article in the Tucuman newspaper - an Argentinian Province - and it said that Chile has 20 times as many mortgages than Argentina, and Spain 40 times as many. It also said that 1 in 10 houses are bought with a mortgage, compared with 9 out of 10 in developed nations. Why is this? The article speculated that the requirements of a mortgage in Argentina are beyond your average Argentinian-
1. Income level requirements: Most argentinians don't make enough to qualify for one.
2. The fact that 50% of Argentinians are payed under the table "en negro", and therefore their income doesn't even count towards a mortgage!;
3. The fact that banks require a down-payment of about 30% -
They don't make much money, and they don't have much savings! Now, the article also pointed out that experts expect to see 40% more mortgages this year than last, and that the economy is growing, so this problem will be improving.
3. Houses are built with cement. Thus, it is very rare for a house to be consumed by fire, maintenance is lower, and the houses last longer. No rodents eating through the house. No weather damage from not running the A/C in the humid summer.
So, all of these positives make me want to jump on the market, because I think that housing prices are literally 50% off international prices, or more!, and that's just not going to last for forever. In fact, prices are up 30% in the last year!
Negatives:
1. I probably won't be able to get a mortgage. I'm looking for alternate forms of capital. I may take out a bank loan. I'd like to get $15,000 - $20,000 in capital...
2. Renting is really cheap for traditional leases (2 year, unfurnised), so it is tempting. But, it's also a lot of hassle, since we'll have to get Romy's parents to put up their house as surety (garantÃa). Also, I'm afraid where prices might go in 5 or 10 years....
3. I'm new to the culture, and to buying a house there, so it will undoubtedly be hard. But, it should be worth the sweat and blood, right? :) Even just for the experience! Hail Argentina.
Phos
What do I do now? Well, I've got to buy a house. I'm working on getting the funds for that ready. ...
We arrive in BA on June 26th. We'll be staying with my in-laws for a few months, until we can get a place of our own.... The housing market looks awesome in BA. Here's my take on the positives and the negatives:
1. Purchasing power- Few Argentians have any. So, the average price of houses is low. You can get a house for $60,000 in a decent to good part of town, that would cost $200,000 in Vestavia Hills, or $140,000 in Chelsea.
2. Low prices because of limited capital - Mortgages ain't in Argentina. I read an interesting article in the Tucuman newspaper - an Argentinian Province - and it said that Chile has 20 times as many mortgages than Argentina, and Spain 40 times as many. It also said that 1 in 10 houses are bought with a mortgage, compared with 9 out of 10 in developed nations. Why is this? The article speculated that the requirements of a mortgage in Argentina are beyond your average Argentinian-
1. Income level requirements: Most argentinians don't make enough to qualify for one.
2. The fact that 50% of Argentinians are payed under the table "en negro", and therefore their income doesn't even count towards a mortgage!;
3. The fact that banks require a down-payment of about 30% -
They don't make much money, and they don't have much savings! Now, the article also pointed out that experts expect to see 40% more mortgages this year than last, and that the economy is growing, so this problem will be improving.
3. Houses are built with cement. Thus, it is very rare for a house to be consumed by fire, maintenance is lower, and the houses last longer. No rodents eating through the house. No weather damage from not running the A/C in the humid summer.
So, all of these positives make me want to jump on the market, because I think that housing prices are literally 50% off international prices, or more!, and that's just not going to last for forever. In fact, prices are up 30% in the last year!
Negatives:
1. I probably won't be able to get a mortgage. I'm looking for alternate forms of capital. I may take out a bank loan. I'd like to get $15,000 - $20,000 in capital...
2. Renting is really cheap for traditional leases (2 year, unfurnised), so it is tempting. But, it's also a lot of hassle, since we'll have to get Romy's parents to put up their house as surety (garantÃa). Also, I'm afraid where prices might go in 5 or 10 years....
3. I'm new to the culture, and to buying a house there, so it will undoubtedly be hard. But, it should be worth the sweat and blood, right? :) Even just for the experience! Hail Argentina.
Phos
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hey, don't get too excited about prices-they're starting to stagnate. another year of modest increases, followed by 2-3 years of going absolutely nowhere and then the completely inevitable crash in prices around 2010-2011. that said, you can still get the most amazing place in a really nice area for the equivalent of a doorbell in london. my brother's 35m2 flat in notting hill is currently on the market at us$18,000/m2...unbelievable...
if you need any info about how to buy here and how to go through the whole process then feel free to drop me an email. this has been my job for the past year or so but i'm most probably moving to chile with my girlfriend to pursue opportunities there at some point in the next few months. it's all coming to an end here to be honest, prices are, in my opinion, peaking and we're winding down the real estate work.
if you need any info about how to buy here and how to go through the whole process then feel free to drop me an email. this has been my job for the past year or so but i'm most probably moving to chile with my girlfriend to pursue opportunities there at some point in the next few months. it's all coming to an end here to be honest, prices are, in my opinion, peaking and we're winding down the real estate work.
Hey Matt,
It's funny, I can't see when you posted your comment. All it says is 2:15 P.M., but not the date :) Anyways - I emailed you once about something with buying a house, I can't remember - Maybe it was about getting money into the country? Not sure. Well, we did buy our house last October in Ramos Mejia, and we've been living here since January. It's great. Take care,
Jason
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It's funny, I can't see when you posted your comment. All it says is 2:15 P.M., but not the date :) Anyways - I emailed you once about something with buying a house, I can't remember - Maybe it was about getting money into the country? Not sure. Well, we did buy our house last October in Ramos Mejia, and we've been living here since January. It's great. Take care,
Jason
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