Awesome that you are saving the fee (and especially the hassle) of dealing with cash. It is surprising how much is still in cash here.
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Banking Getting dollars into Argentina to purchase real estate
- Thread starter WillyMe
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Buying an apartment here was one of the most frustrating experiences of my life! Most that I have talked to also describe a stressful experience. In the end it worked out but in my purchase they also demanded cash. I jumped through a few hurdles to get the cash here. At one moment the realtor and lawyer told me to just carry it on the plane! Although it was legal if you declare it I could imagine someone robbing me once I landed or customs at EZE swapping out fake bills.
I did find an exchange house that would help me get it here. I paid about 2.5% of the total bringing it here. There was a final hiccup on the closing day. I just assumed they would deliver the money to the seller's bank where we were closing. But that was not the case! The realtor told me they would personally carry $260,000 dollars to the bank. I thought that was insane. He was trying to convince me to go and help me carry it. I asked him if he would guarantee it if he got robbed. Long story short he would not! The seller refused to close at the exchange house. I refused to carry it. I already paid a 30% deposit which I would have lost if I backed out.
I ended up using an armored truck that transported the money. It was 1% additional fee to guarantee delivery. The realtors ended up paying half of it and I paid the other half. Crazy having to pay $1300 at the last minute simply to move cash from one place to another.
When people tell me that things are improving here I laugh. This was a few weeks ago.
I did find an exchange house that would help me get it here. I paid about 2.5% of the total bringing it here. There was a final hiccup on the closing day. I just assumed they would deliver the money to the seller's bank where we were closing. But that was not the case! The realtor told me they would personally carry $260,000 dollars to the bank. I thought that was insane. He was trying to convince me to go and help me carry it. I asked him if he would guarantee it if he got robbed. Long story short he would not! The seller refused to close at the exchange house. I refused to carry it. I already paid a 30% deposit which I would have lost if I backed out.
I ended up using an armored truck that transported the money. It was 1% additional fee to guarantee delivery. The realtors ended up paying half of it and I paid the other half. Crazy having to pay $1300 at the last minute simply to move cash from one place to another.
When people tell me that things are improving here I laugh. This was a few weeks ago.
Wally
Well-known member
Unfortunately this is still the norm here when buying a property. I went through the same process when I bought my apartment. My wife is Argentine and they are accustomed to carrying around large amounts. I was nervous but my wife and her brothers just looked at me like I was crazy when I said I wanted to use a company to guarantee it. @Dick I laughed reading your post.
I am reading some foreigners that are bringing the cash from the USA all the way here to save money. I would never do that. I know too much about Argentina to know all the ways that can go sideways. When you declare that at EZE there are so many ways to have problems. Not to mention in the US customs can seize money and you have to hire a lawyer to get it back. Not something I would want to go through. It is not difficult to find a company to bring cash here safely but they all charge a fee.
BuySellBA is really good. The process in Argentina is absurd and we wouldn't have attempted it without their help. You also pay a lot of fees and taxes to different entities but the only one adding any value is BuySellBA. The rest of them just get in the way.
That has to be one of the dumbest things I ever heard someone carrying around hundreds of thousands of dollars all the way from the United States to Argentina. Talk about a recipe for disaster!
I just talked to them last month. They explained everything very clearly. I even met with the Notary they work with and she spoke perfect English and is getting my tax id number. I am looking for properties now and made a few offers. I wanted a fixer upper but they all expect cash. Even owners that have a US bank account still wanted cash. I haven't seen anything like Argentina.
Back home I never even deal with cash at all and use a credit card for everything. I have used Buysellba to send money down here and it was flawless. Cheaper than Western Union. I went downtown to a financial office and picked it up. My girlfriend here bought a car and the money transfer part was easy. I wired to an American bank. I felt nervous walking around with cash because we never do back home.
Agreed Wally, you could never get me to do that. I can't think of a worse risk vs reward scenario, other than maybe going to Venezuela as an American tourist 🙂
Such a great story Dick, thanks for sharing!
Wally
Well-known member
Agreed! People trying to save money could cost them the entire thing. There have been many cases were foreigners were robbed leaving EZE airport since I lived here. They are trying to clean house with staff at EZE but you can bet if you are coming through with a lot of cash someone is probably going to attempt to steal it.
Most people that get robbed don't want to make a big deal or it isn't in the newspaper either. A few times it has. But a very dumb thing to do going through airports with large amounts of cash.
Just Google how many people are getting cash confiscated on the highway or at airports. The presumption is that you are doing something shady carrying around that much cash even if you aren't. They confiscate first and you have to get a lawyer to get it back.
Attack on British tourist raises red flags about crime in capital
Long lauded as one of South America’s safest big cities, some fear Buenos Aires may see more attacks, at times violent, against tourists in the coming years.
www.batimes.com.ar
Simply not worth it for what amounts to 2% to 3% in fees.
Realtor: Most people bring cash with them from the US, it saves them 2-3% in fees.Agreed! People trying to save money could cost them the entire thing. There have been many cases were foreigners were robbed leaving EZE airport since I lived here. They are trying to clean house with staff at EZE but you can bet if you are coming through with a lot of cash someone is probably going to attempt to steal it.
Most people that get robbed don't want to make a big deal or it isn't in the newspaper either. A few times it has. But a very dumb thing to do going through airports with large amounts of cash.
Just Google how many people are getting cash confiscated on the highway or at airports. The presumption is that you are doing something shady carrying around that much cash even if you aren't. They confiscate first and you have to get a lawyer to get it back.
Attack on British tourist raises red flags about crime in capital
Long lauded as one of South America’s safest big cities, some fear Buenos Aires may see more attacks, at times violent, against tourists in the coming years.
Simply not worth it for what amounts to 2% to 3% in fees.
Buyer: What are the risks?
Realtor: You get robbed on the way from the airport. And maybe murdered.
Buyer: 😳
I can't emphasize what a roller coaster it was! It was one thing after another after another. I felt like it never stopped from the moment we made the initial offer.
First I had to negotiate the price. It went back and forth 3 times. I ended up walking away as they wouldn't agree to my price. I went to go pick up my $3k deposit. Then the same day they finally accepted once they saw I was backing out. So I had to go and bring the money back to the office!
Then next hurdle was the seller only wanted to declare about half of the real price on the deed. I refused. That went on for 2 days when I found out that most here declare less. I went down to 80% and did not want to go lower because of potential capital gains taxes if/when I sell. They refused so once again I had to pick up my $3k deposit.
The next day they came back and after speaking to a lawyer I was comfortable with declaring 30% lower. So I had to take my deposit back again. There was a steep learning curve. I did not know there were companies that could help. I hope my post helps some of you. This was the single most stressful and chaotic thing I have done in my life. And it is not even close. There were many times I thought I was making a mistake.
That last day having to pay another fee to close was a kick in the pants but to be honest I was so happy that all went ok. I was certainly not going to carry around money and if you could have seen the look on the realtor's face when I asked him if he would personally guarantee if we got robbed. My first initial thought was the $260k in cash sure beat the realtors commission. There was nothing stopping him from telling someone to rob us.
I hope this makes someone laugh because I shed a few tears during all of this chaos.
Is this for real? I refuse to believe that anyone is stupid enough to really carry this amount of cash on international flight. Can the US government really take your cash? Why they care? Even if you have paperwork from your bank that you withdraw it?
This sounds bizarre all of the cash.
Wally
Well-known member
Yes it can and does happen all the time. Many police departments are strapped for cash. This happens more than you think on highways and also at airports. No arrest record or conviction is required for them to seize it. Just look online and you can see many cases. Just look up civil asset forfeiture. It's not illegal to carry cash but just best not to put yourself into this situation.
All it takes is for a law enforcement official to believe it is tied to illegal activity. They don't need any proof at all to seize it.
There is a form you need to fill out when you carry more than $10k. FnCEN 105 and form OM 2249-A in Argentina. I wouldn't be too worried in the USA but the real worry is in Argentina. My guess is once you fill out that form and show it then it would be the most stressful time worrying about it. You could probably hire an armored truck to get it but my worry would be just leaving the airport. There are reported cases of money getting stolen inside EZE or swapped. Just not worth the stress.
Starfish
Well-known member
Some of these people just seem like they are asking for trouble. Why would you risk it? Only for the potential cost savings or can they not clear basic due diligence paperwork in Argentina? Someone taking these kinds of risks makes me think their money is shady.
What kind of checks do the banks or finance companies require?
Betsy Ross
Well-known member
Probably more detailed now but even when I bought my apartment in Recoleta over a decade ago there is a list that the financial firms will make sure you are not on it for any arrest that is drug related or financial crimes like money laundering. I had to also send in statements of my bank statements and they wanted to know origin of funds. I recall also having to fill out a form and they took my fingerprint.
They just want to make sure you're not on any lists to make the country look bad if you end up laundering money. Some are probably more careful than others to make sure your money is clean. Some might not care but all transactions go through an escribano so if there is a problem later their license is on the line is what I was told.
Wally
Well-known member
It is easy to get cash into Argentina without any hiccups but it was much easier before for foreigners. Now notaries have to fill out paperwork, buyers have to justify funds. Argentina will probably have some fringe of grey in the financial system but they have worked hard to get off the grey list. Less tolerance now for shady stuff. Anti money laundering enforcement is stricter now.
My brother in law is an escribano. Betsy is correct. Escribanos are personally liable. He told me foreign buyers get extra attention now vs. less attention. With an Argentine citizen they can't really buy unless they can justify the income.
Thank you so much! I just met with them last Thursday and they helped me wire in my payment for this month for our payment. It takes a lot of stress away now. I wired in on friday morning and the funds hit within a few hours to their financial company partner. The developer went to pick up the same day downtown at their office. Or they offered to deliver it for a small fee. I had no idea there were services like this where an American could just do a transfer to another American bank and pick up same day. This will take stress away while we make payments the next 2 years. Thank you @CraigM!
Great to hear, we're on the same payment program and it's pretty easy making transfers after the initial set-up.
@BuySellBA is a very dependable company. I have been working with the same team for over 20 years in Buenos Aires. They helped me buy two apartments in Buenos Aires. I still own one apartment in Palermo Uno that they purchased for me. They helped me sell one of my apartments in 2018. In all 3 of the transactions there was cash involved and they helped me get cash wired in and also when my apartment was sold the Argentine insisted on paying cash and they signed for me. No issues at all receiving my cash immediately the same day as they closed for me. I was not in Buenos Aires for any of these transactions. They signed with a power of attorney.
I would have never bought or sold without their help.
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