How can I find a nice apartment in Cordoba, Argentina?

May 30, 2010 10:59 AM

My girlfriend and I are moving to Cordoba, AR in October, and we're having trouble finding a way to search for apartments online from where we are (Austin, TX). Was wondering if anyone had any recommendations on websites or rental agencies in Cordoba. Any links help. Thanks!
posted by Eddy to Travel & Transportation around Córdoba, Argentina (8 answers total)

Are you sure you're spelling that right? Neither google maps nor bing thinks it exist.

But anyway, Google Maps shows places for sale and for rent. It's on the drop down menu "more..." That's where I'd start (I watch it closely so I can move fast when I win the lottery.)
posted by Some1 at 11:29 AM on May 30, 2010

Unless of course you Argentina in stead of Arkansas; but Google list a few places there too.
posted by Some1 at 11:36 AM on May 30, 2010

Eddy does mean Argentina; check the tags.
posted by DarlingBri at 11:44 AM on May 30, 2010

Best answer: As far as I remember, this is the biggest newspaper in Cordoba. They seem to have a whole subsite for real estate classifieds that you might want to check. As I live pretty far from there and have no other experience of the place than a few holiday visits, not much I can say about the renting there. However, as rental agencies in Argentina (at least the serious one, and you don't want to mess with the shady ones here, believe me) all adhere to the same rental codes, if you want a long-term rent (say at least a year long) you will be asked for a guarantor. This usually takes the form of a property title the guarantor offers to cover hypothetical damages and unpaid rent, and should be a property easily checkable so I doubt they will take something that is not in Argentina. In some cases they might accept salary statements from (I think) two people, also verifiable locally in Argentina. It is possible to get a temporary rental (say 3 months or so) with just a (hefty) cash deposit, in most cases, though I have no idea how is the temporary rental market in Cordoba right now.

(Minor point: are you moving to Cordoba city, or somewhere inside the province?)
posted by Iosephus at 8:11 PM on May 30, 2010

(Clarifying: I think they accept a property title from the renter without trouble as long as it's a local property, but the two salary statements/stubs need to be from third parties. It's not uncommon, though I think just an unofficial rule, that the agency might want to see the renter's salary statement/stub too to figure out if payment failure is likely or not. Yes, this is a big issue in Argentina.)
posted by Iosephus at 8:17 PM on May 30, 2010

Response by poster: We're planning on moving to Coroba City for about six months, so the cash deposit thing might work. I assume that all of the renters listed in the link you sent should be serious and not of the shady variety? Are there any signs I should look for (other than general feel) that would indicate that someone's less than forthright?

Thanks, this information's really helpful!
posted by Eddy at 10:24 AM on May 31, 2010

Cordoba is a big city so I don't think you would have trouble finding a temporary rental. If you can arrange such a thing all the way from the US, good for you, but it may take some long phone calls with owners that speak bad English, so... If you can afford a week or so at a hotel, I imagine you can then check the temporary rental places for yourself and see if they aren't trying to scam you. And from your temporary you can see more relaxedly whether/how to get a permanent rental, again avoiding being scammed. The classifieds in that link are like classifieds everywhere, impossible to say in general if they are shady or not unless you talk with the parties and see the places yourself. That's why I suggested the above route to your goal. (If this were Buenos Aires, I bet there's some expat group or association that might help better... I doubt there's such a thing at Cordoba City.) Otherwise, IMHO, it's too risky. We are a country traditionally plagued by shady landlords and even shady rental agencies, and trying to do all this from abroad might need tons of time and telephone costs to have some certainty you're not walking into a roach trap (or even a vacant lot, it has happened).

I get the feeling you are moving in a sort of independent way? Otherwise, I'd strongly advise you to get your employer to help with this, but if there's no such an empoyer, well...

Shady rentals detection: for private landlords, I'm afraid you MUST talk with them in person and see the place in person, it's too risky otherwise. For agencies, you might check that they are registered in their local chamber of real estate agents or some such. A brief googling seems to point to this site as the Cordoba chamber. Look under "socios" for a listing of agencies. This is not to say that a registered agent will not try to scam you, but it makes it unlikely, particularly when you check the rental in person as you should always do.
posted by Iosephus at 11:50 AM on May 31, 2010

Ah, I missed that. For 6 months, you should definitely be looking for a temporary rental contract. The standard here is a two year contract, otherwise. Still, 6 months is a bit on the unusual side for temporary, so you might need to explain your situation and bargain conditions with the owner/agency, otherwise they might not be convinced you're worth the risk unless, say, you were willing to pay the 6 months plus a standard deposit all in advance. Around here, ready cash always gives you a leverage when bargaining deals so don't be afraid to suggest it, Argentina is still in many ways a "cash preferred" country even for deals of a bigger size than your 6 month rental.
posted by Iosephus at 11:55 AM on May 31, 2010