A lot of foreigners buy property in Buenos Aires without any problems, even on tourist visas or as temporary residents. Usually you go thru a real estate agency, which will guide you thru the process. But all the legal parts of the sale must be certified via an escribano, which is a type of attorney that specializes in property transactions.

As for “laws to protect you”: due to historic immigration patterns, foreigners have the same property rights as Argentine citizens. For example, know that there are a LOT of people who have lived decades in Argentina but never became citizens after immigrating here; they’re permanent residents of Argentina (but citizens of Italy, Spain, etc.) These ‘foreigners’ all own property and have done so for decades with no problems. And there will be no problem for them in the future since permanent residents have the right to vote in local elections. Indeed, there’s a proposal floating around from the current govt to give permanent residents the right to vote in national elections. Permanent residents are a huge voting block, so I don’t see them losing any property rights. (As for temporary residents & tourists, you would still have the same property rights though I guess that aspect could always change for this category of foreigners. But, again, many people have bought property on tourist visas.)

The key is working with a good escribano. The escribano will make sure that the property legally belongs to the person who is selling it, that there are no liens against the property, etc. But you won’t deal with the escribano until after you selected the property. The real estate agencies handling the property should be able to recommend an escribano. I suspect there are plenty of English-speaking escribanos that can advise you on all the legalities of buying property as a foreigner here.

Otherwise, the dangers are like buying property anywhere….buyer beware, particularly with regards to the condition of the property, e.g., plumbing, electricity, water leaks, etc. Of course, renovation in Argentina is very cheap. So you could get a good value on an apt in rather bad shape and put in a relatively small amount of money and fix it up really well. The other thing is not being surprised at the general noise level of many apts in BA: the units on the front of the bldgs are incredibly loud due to street noise. The units in the middle are quieter but often don’t have much natural sunlight due to few windows. The units in the back are often preferable.

If you have the money to buy an apt, then I would say go for it. Good luck!

thanks a lot again

i am considering buying but my brother who knows much more than me says that it is risky for a foreigner because we can be easily taken advantage of.i sure would like to buy but if i can take my time and educate myself it would be best.

Apartments
- new: $1,500 – $1,700 (I think this category also included remodeled apts in older buildings?)
- used: $1,000 – $1,300

I don’t think San Telmo will ever be like Palermo but it is rapidly turning into London’s Covent Garden or, if we are lucky, Greenwich Village….

I’d still buy in San Telmo rather than Palermo because of the location, the architecture and the light.