How I ended up in Argentina
Here is my story:
I was a corporate executive (Partner) in a successful company in the USA. I made the big bucks, lived in the huge house, drove the BMW, etc. One day I asked myself, "what would I honestly do if a doctor told me that I only had 3 years to live"? I mean what would I seriously do. How would I change my life?
The answer was I'd travel and see the world. I made a list out of all the places in the world I always wanted to visit but never did because I was too busy working. I made a list of cities/countries all over the world. I followed through on my plan. I acted as if I only had 3 years to live. Of course I still had to work so this "what if" scenario did have some limits. Basically I told my Partners that I wanted a ton of vacation time or I would quit. Luckily I was a rain maker so they gave in and I got the vacation. This all started at the end of 2001.
Argentina was the first place on my list. I fell in love with Buenos Aires. I bought an airline ticket on Hotwire.com so I couldn't extend the trip. I was down here for 10 days initially. Hotwire doesn't allow you to change the ticket at all. I was having such a great time that I ended up buying a round-trip ticket (from Argentina back to the USA) to extend and stay a few more days. It was expensive at around $800 but it was worth it. After all, if I only had 3 years to live... what's another $800??
There was something about Buenos Aires that I really loved. I couldn't describe it to friends in just words. I loved a lot of different things about the city. The fashion, the sense of style, the architecture, the food, the beautiful women, the people. The city is extremely safe contrary to the warnings I got before the trip.
I felt like coming back to the USA, quitting my job, selling my house and cars and moving to Argentina. The only problem was that I wasn't anywhere near retirement and I couldn't speak Spanish. Two big obstacles if you want to move to a foreign country.
I gave up the dream but I kept traveling around the world. I would travel to Switzerland come home to work for a few weeks. Travel to Peru. Come back and work a few weeks. Travel to Cuba and follow the pattern for almost 3 years. I hit almost every country in South America. Traveled around Cuba, Mexico and much of Europe. Still, Buenos Aires was always in my heart. I came to Buenos Aires almost every month. I was staying in expensive hotels. I was spending a fortune.
I started to try apartment rentals and I had a horrible experience or got cheated almost every time. One time I sat in this old chair and it fell apart. I hit my head on the wall. The company had the nerve to take u$s 200 of my deposit. I told them in any other country not only would I get my deposit back but they probably would have gotten sued! There wasn't much I could do. I noticed that the locals have no concept of repeat business. They try to extract as much as they can out of you with the first transaction and don't care if they ever see you again. It went against everything that I learned and followed in my professional business career. In the USA, we build up relationships and hope to have a mutually beneficial relationship with our clients for many, many years. Here in Argentina, they try to make the most they can one time.
I kept returning down to Argentina. Not wanting to stay in an expensive hotel everytime and not wanting to deal with the hassles of a short-term rental, I decided it was cheaper and easier to just lease an apartment for a few years. I went out and found a posh luxury apartment. The problem here is that you can't pay month to month for the most part without a "guarantor" that will basically put up their property in case you stop paying. Good luck finding that. I had to prepay a 2 year lease with cash. Plus security deposit. I'm talking about u$s 25,000 up front!!! Before signing the lease, I asked the owner if I could sublet the apartment when I wasn't there to use it. He was hesitant at first but finally let me once I told him that I wouldn't sign the contract without that clause. It was hard for him to say no with $25,000 in CASH sitting on the table. We wrote in that clause in the contract. I never thought about making money or a business out of it. I just wanted to cover my expenses of the u$s 1,000 per month. I figured I could rent it out to friends that came down.
Leasing that one apartment would be a decision that changed my life forever. I started a website – http://www.apartmentsba.com/--I was amazed with what I found out. People were really looking for a luxury apartment that was larger than a hotel room and more comfortable with more privacy. I not only was covering my monthly rent but I was making money. I was amazed at what I discovered. I furnished it nicely, got a US style expensive mattress and it was in a luxurious building. I charged about $100 a night and it was still about $200+/night cheaper than the Four Seasons or the Alvear Palace. I quickly went out and subletted 3 more apartments. All in a nice section of Recoleta. My apartments stayed full year-round and I built up a reputation of nice apartments, honest service and not ripping people off. I never seriously thought about moving down here. Still, I put together a business plan for a few years and told myself maybe someday years down the road, I’d quit my job and move to Argentina.
In my extensive travels around the world, I mostly stayed in 5 star hotels. After all, if a doctor told you that you have 3 years to live, wouldn't you want to stay in the best places? Not just because of that reason. Think about it. What is the reason people shell out up to $300+ per night for a room at the Four Seasons or other 5 star hotels? Because it's a known entity. People know they can count on good quality service, a nice mattress, clean sheets, hot water, AC and a really good experience. When they are flying halfway across the world, they don't want to have to deal with a problem. That kind of peace of mind is worth something. I told myself in the back of my mind if I could create something like that -- I would have a real business. I knew my competition would not be other cheap apartments for backpackers or budget travelers. I decided to go after the market that usually stays in the Alvear Palace, Four Seasons, Caeser Park or other expensive hotels.
Basically, after about 47 international trips in 3 years, and I don't want to mention how much of my savings I spent by traveling around the world --my “doctor told me I have 3 years to live” scenario played out. 3 years had passed and I traveled the globe. Buenos Aires was still in my heart. Without really thinking about it, I quit my job where I was making big bucks, had 4 months of vacation a year (yeah….I know I know), sold my house, sold my cars and decided to move to Argentina. I knew that I had a solid business plan that could make money. I moved to Argentina and I started looking for property to purchase. I had already researched the laws here. I knew that I had a business model that would work. I built up a network and paid for surveys from foreigners that purchased here. A funny thing. Almost all of them made mistakes or were cheated, lied to or worse. I paid about $150 per survey and I did dozens and dozens. I was spending a few thousand dollars but I figured that it would be worth it if I didn’t get cheated.
I asked these foreigners what mistakes they made, how they got cheated, what taxes they paid, which realtors they used, what lawyer they used, etc. I asked them what they would have done differently. I asked them if they regretted their real estate purchase in Argentina. Even though a good majority of them got cheated or paid false taxes or fees, they still loved Argentina. They warned me about the horrible business practices of the locals but told me that they did not regret buying in Argentina. This planning and the money I spent with these surveys was invaluable to me.
I have been posting publicly on various message boards since 2002. So far, I have been perfectly correct on three things: (1) tourism, (2) real estate and (3) the exchange rate. I continue to see real estate and especially apartment rentals to be a viable business. I see real estate rates here exploding in the next several years. There is more foreign interest. Also, keep in mind the locals can’t trust the banks so the one stable investment for them is real estate. All the wealthy people I know here in Argentina have one thing in common. They ALL own multiple properties and they all are renting them out.
Those that are thinking about investing in Argentina might do well to think about real estate. I believe that conventional type mortgages will come into the picture in the future. When that happens, real estate here will be like anywhere else in the world. Property rates will explode. Also, keep in mind once you establish rentals in your property, you are turning your real estate into a business. I have apartments that I charge about u$s 130/night and they stay booked about 25+ days a month and they are booked solid 3 or 4 months in advance. Why? I put about u$s 25,000 into EACH apartment in high end furniture, mattresses, bedding, high-speed Internet, USA phone lines, cell phones, lighting from Italy, etc. I use the same mattress that the Four Season's Presidential suite uses. I'm talking a 3,000 peso mattress($1,000+). Most local apartment owners are using their grandmother's mattress that was passed down from family member to family member.
The locals can’t and won’t make that investment in furniture and amenities. The majority of my clients aren’t looking for a cheap apartment. The backpacker type isn’t my clientele. I figured out a long time ago that there are hundreds and hundreds of cheap apartments with furniture that has been passed down from family to family. However, there were no real luxury property rentals. I went after the people that usually stay in the Four Seasons or Alvear Palace, the Loi Suites Recoleta, etc. There is a market out there of people that simply are tired of hotel rooms. Many want to live like a local but they don't want to do that at the cost of sacrificing comfort.
Moving to Argentina was the best decision of my life. I’m working much much harder here. In the USA, I never worked more than an 8 hour day. Here I routinely work 12-14 hours a day but I find it rewarding. The biggest challenge is that the business environment here is difficult. Many people/companies are totally unethical and you have to know and understand the laws or you will get taken advantage of.
Still, moving to Argentina was the best decision of my life and I never see myself moving back to the USA. The USA is one of the best countries in the world. I don't miss it though. I didn't move because I had to or I was going through some mid-life crises. I moved because I truly believe that you should be with the person you enjoy being with, you should visit the cities you've always dreamed of visiting and you should live in a city that you are passionate about. Most people lead very ordinary lives. They have an ordinary job, live in an ordinary house and do ordinary things. I found that if you want an extraordinary life you must do extraordinary things. Moving to Argentina was one of those things and after moving here I knew I made the right decision. I certainly didn't move to Argentina for the money. If I wanted to make a lot of money I would have stayed in the USA. Still, I figured if I could be in the city that I love and have a successful business, I would fulfill my dream. It's hard work but very fulfilling.
I was a corporate executive (Partner) in a successful company in the USA. I made the big bucks, lived in the huge house, drove the BMW, etc. One day I asked myself, "what would I honestly do if a doctor told me that I only had 3 years to live"? I mean what would I seriously do. How would I change my life?
The answer was I'd travel and see the world. I made a list out of all the places in the world I always wanted to visit but never did because I was too busy working. I made a list of cities/countries all over the world. I followed through on my plan. I acted as if I only had 3 years to live. Of course I still had to work so this "what if" scenario did have some limits. Basically I told my Partners that I wanted a ton of vacation time or I would quit. Luckily I was a rain maker so they gave in and I got the vacation. This all started at the end of 2001.
Argentina was the first place on my list. I fell in love with Buenos Aires. I bought an airline ticket on Hotwire.com so I couldn't extend the trip. I was down here for 10 days initially. Hotwire doesn't allow you to change the ticket at all. I was having such a great time that I ended up buying a round-trip ticket (from Argentina back to the USA) to extend and stay a few more days. It was expensive at around $800 but it was worth it. After all, if I only had 3 years to live... what's another $800??
There was something about Buenos Aires that I really loved. I couldn't describe it to friends in just words. I loved a lot of different things about the city. The fashion, the sense of style, the architecture, the food, the beautiful women, the people. The city is extremely safe contrary to the warnings I got before the trip.
I felt like coming back to the USA, quitting my job, selling my house and cars and moving to Argentina. The only problem was that I wasn't anywhere near retirement and I couldn't speak Spanish. Two big obstacles if you want to move to a foreign country.
I gave up the dream but I kept traveling around the world. I would travel to Switzerland come home to work for a few weeks. Travel to Peru. Come back and work a few weeks. Travel to Cuba and follow the pattern for almost 3 years. I hit almost every country in South America. Traveled around Cuba, Mexico and much of Europe. Still, Buenos Aires was always in my heart. I came to Buenos Aires almost every month. I was staying in expensive hotels. I was spending a fortune.
I started to try apartment rentals and I had a horrible experience or got cheated almost every time. One time I sat in this old chair and it fell apart. I hit my head on the wall. The company had the nerve to take u$s 200 of my deposit. I told them in any other country not only would I get my deposit back but they probably would have gotten sued! There wasn't much I could do. I noticed that the locals have no concept of repeat business. They try to extract as much as they can out of you with the first transaction and don't care if they ever see you again. It went against everything that I learned and followed in my professional business career. In the USA, we build up relationships and hope to have a mutually beneficial relationship with our clients for many, many years. Here in Argentina, they try to make the most they can one time.
I kept returning down to Argentina. Not wanting to stay in an expensive hotel everytime and not wanting to deal with the hassles of a short-term rental, I decided it was cheaper and easier to just lease an apartment for a few years. I went out and found a posh luxury apartment. The problem here is that you can't pay month to month for the most part without a "guarantor" that will basically put up their property in case you stop paying. Good luck finding that. I had to prepay a 2 year lease with cash. Plus security deposit. I'm talking about u$s 25,000 up front!!! Before signing the lease, I asked the owner if I could sublet the apartment when I wasn't there to use it. He was hesitant at first but finally let me once I told him that I wouldn't sign the contract without that clause. It was hard for him to say no with $25,000 in CASH sitting on the table. We wrote in that clause in the contract. I never thought about making money or a business out of it. I just wanted to cover my expenses of the u$s 1,000 per month. I figured I could rent it out to friends that came down.
Leasing that one apartment would be a decision that changed my life forever. I started a website – http://www.apartmentsba.com/--I was amazed with what I found out. People were really looking for a luxury apartment that was larger than a hotel room and more comfortable with more privacy. I not only was covering my monthly rent but I was making money. I was amazed at what I discovered. I furnished it nicely, got a US style expensive mattress and it was in a luxurious building. I charged about $100 a night and it was still about $200+/night cheaper than the Four Seasons or the Alvear Palace. I quickly went out and subletted 3 more apartments. All in a nice section of Recoleta. My apartments stayed full year-round and I built up a reputation of nice apartments, honest service and not ripping people off. I never seriously thought about moving down here. Still, I put together a business plan for a few years and told myself maybe someday years down the road, I’d quit my job and move to Argentina.
In my extensive travels around the world, I mostly stayed in 5 star hotels. After all, if a doctor told you that you have 3 years to live, wouldn't you want to stay in the best places? Not just because of that reason. Think about it. What is the reason people shell out up to $300+ per night for a room at the Four Seasons or other 5 star hotels? Because it's a known entity. People know they can count on good quality service, a nice mattress, clean sheets, hot water, AC and a really good experience. When they are flying halfway across the world, they don't want to have to deal with a problem. That kind of peace of mind is worth something. I told myself in the back of my mind if I could create something like that -- I would have a real business. I knew my competition would not be other cheap apartments for backpackers or budget travelers. I decided to go after the market that usually stays in the Alvear Palace, Four Seasons, Caeser Park or other expensive hotels.
Basically, after about 47 international trips in 3 years, and I don't want to mention how much of my savings I spent by traveling around the world --my “doctor told me I have 3 years to live” scenario played out. 3 years had passed and I traveled the globe. Buenos Aires was still in my heart. Without really thinking about it, I quit my job where I was making big bucks, had 4 months of vacation a year (yeah….I know I know), sold my house, sold my cars and decided to move to Argentina. I knew that I had a solid business plan that could make money. I moved to Argentina and I started looking for property to purchase. I had already researched the laws here. I knew that I had a business model that would work. I built up a network and paid for surveys from foreigners that purchased here. A funny thing. Almost all of them made mistakes or were cheated, lied to or worse. I paid about $150 per survey and I did dozens and dozens. I was spending a few thousand dollars but I figured that it would be worth it if I didn’t get cheated.
I asked these foreigners what mistakes they made, how they got cheated, what taxes they paid, which realtors they used, what lawyer they used, etc. I asked them what they would have done differently. I asked them if they regretted their real estate purchase in Argentina. Even though a good majority of them got cheated or paid false taxes or fees, they still loved Argentina. They warned me about the horrible business practices of the locals but told me that they did not regret buying in Argentina. This planning and the money I spent with these surveys was invaluable to me.
I have been posting publicly on various message boards since 2002. So far, I have been perfectly correct on three things: (1) tourism, (2) real estate and (3) the exchange rate. I continue to see real estate and especially apartment rentals to be a viable business. I see real estate rates here exploding in the next several years. There is more foreign interest. Also, keep in mind the locals can’t trust the banks so the one stable investment for them is real estate. All the wealthy people I know here in Argentina have one thing in common. They ALL own multiple properties and they all are renting them out.
Those that are thinking about investing in Argentina might do well to think about real estate. I believe that conventional type mortgages will come into the picture in the future. When that happens, real estate here will be like anywhere else in the world. Property rates will explode. Also, keep in mind once you establish rentals in your property, you are turning your real estate into a business. I have apartments that I charge about u$s 130/night and they stay booked about 25+ days a month and they are booked solid 3 or 4 months in advance. Why? I put about u$s 25,000 into EACH apartment in high end furniture, mattresses, bedding, high-speed Internet, USA phone lines, cell phones, lighting from Italy, etc. I use the same mattress that the Four Season's Presidential suite uses. I'm talking a 3,000 peso mattress($1,000+). Most local apartment owners are using their grandmother's mattress that was passed down from family member to family member.
The locals can’t and won’t make that investment in furniture and amenities. The majority of my clients aren’t looking for a cheap apartment. The backpacker type isn’t my clientele. I figured out a long time ago that there are hundreds and hundreds of cheap apartments with furniture that has been passed down from family to family. However, there were no real luxury property rentals. I went after the people that usually stay in the Four Seasons or Alvear Palace, the Loi Suites Recoleta, etc. There is a market out there of people that simply are tired of hotel rooms. Many want to live like a local but they don't want to do that at the cost of sacrificing comfort.
Moving to Argentina was the best decision of my life. I’m working much much harder here. In the USA, I never worked more than an 8 hour day. Here I routinely work 12-14 hours a day but I find it rewarding. The biggest challenge is that the business environment here is difficult. Many people/companies are totally unethical and you have to know and understand the laws or you will get taken advantage of.
Still, moving to Argentina was the best decision of my life and I never see myself moving back to the USA. The USA is one of the best countries in the world. I don't miss it though. I didn't move because I had to or I was going through some mid-life crises. I moved because I truly believe that you should be with the person you enjoy being with, you should visit the cities you've always dreamed of visiting and you should live in a city that you are passionate about. Most people lead very ordinary lives. They have an ordinary job, live in an ordinary house and do ordinary things. I found that if you want an extraordinary life you must do extraordinary things. Moving to Argentina was one of those things and after moving here I knew I made the right decision. I certainly didn't move to Argentina for the money. If I wanted to make a lot of money I would have stayed in the USA. Still, I figured if I could be in the city that I love and have a successful business, I would fulfill my dream. It's hard work but very fulfilling.
http://www.mikesapartmentsba.com
posted by ABA at 5/13/2005 09:22:00 AM
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