[Tango-L] Abuse of tourists for rentals

Tue May 1 03:05:28 EDT 2007

Hola Listeros,
Deby certainly makes  realistic distinctions. Short-term rentals can 
never be compared to long-term. Here in Vallarta an apartment that might 
rent for $600 a month long-term (year's lease) will certainly go for at 
least $500 per week or $80 per day short-term (high season). Al and I 
rented a sweet tiny one-room apartment in Bs As in November in the 
center of town for $600 US for a month. It was immaculate and 
well-furnished with all conveniences such as a mate cup, phone, cable TV 
and high-speed internet. That seemed beyond reasonable as a short-term 
rental and we would hope to stay in the same place again the next time 
we go. Some of the prices quoted in the previous posting seemed pretty 
high, but there are various sources for Bs As rentals and an intelligent 
consumer should be able to find a good deal. In every market people will 
overcharge, a consumer of any product can research if (s)he wants to 
avoid rip-offs.

A number of complaints and warnings about situations in Buenos Aires for 
tango tourists seem to reflect simple naivete. Like don't walk down 
Florida wearing a Rolex watch, or count your money walking out of a 
bank.  A couple of the scams described have been common  for centuries. 
The world is not always the same as one's hometown (other places are 
often way more interesting and more fun, as well as maybe less secure!). 
I remember going to New York City in the early '70s and all the dire 
precautions that New York friends taught me. Pretty weird, walking only 
in the middle of the street with keys in hand ready to lash out and 
flee. A doorman on East 59th, not a bad neighborhood?) was freaked out 
when I arrived in a taxi at 3:30 am: he literally yanked me out of the 
cab and into the safety of the apartment building. However now whenever 
I feel that the neighborhood isn't entirely friendly, those old New York 
habits are useful. I understand that all this changed under Giuliani??

IMHO the best protection from street crime, in Buenos Aires, Paris, or 
Indianapolis, is tango posture, a purposeful stride and a confident 
demeanor (even the legendary Argentine arrogance). As for economic 
rip-offs, do your homework.
Abrazos,
Barbara in Vallarta
,

Deby Novitz wrote:

>I don't know of anywhere in the world that one can rent a fully 
>furnished apartment which includes cable tv, telephone, and internet for 
>the same price as a local can rent an empty apartment.  A local person 
>furnishes the apartment (which includes buying your own refrigerator), 
>pays all the expenses, AND plans to stay for more than a couple of 
>months.  Here in Buenos Aires to rent an apartment such as this one must 
>have a garantia.  This means there needs to be real property to hold 
>against in the event the renter defaults.  You also need to rent for 2 
>years.  This is true regardless of where you are from, and it includes 
>Argentines.
>
>If you don't have this, then you have to pay for the ENTIRE span of the 
>lease up front.  SO, if you want to rent an empty apartment for a year, 
>you need to pay the whole year up front, plus deposit, plus the 
>commission for the real estate agent.  This does not matter if you are 
>born and have lived in Buenos Aires your whole life or you are here from 
>another country.
>
>I am not saying that some of the prices aren't a little high, but you 
>need to look at facts and not emotion.  It costs to keep an apartment 
>nice.  Believe me, I know.  I rent two rooms in my apartment.  I use 
>quality linens and towels.  If something is damaged, I replace it.  My 
>guests do not sleep on torn or stained sheets.  The towels are not 
>threadbare.  The TV works. I need to keep the plumbing in order. I have 
>a maid to keep the place clean.  I have had guests stop up my toilet, 
>use so much toilet paper I thought they were eating it, destroy the 
>blinds in the bedrooms, lose the cell phone they are given, break 
>dishes, steal towels, (oh yes they do!)and many other things too 
>numerous to mention.  In two years my apartment expenses have gone up, 
>my cable has almost doubled, and because people do not like to turn 
>lights off - my electric bill sometimes hits the sky. 
>
>I am not complaining.  I rent my rooms as a business and because I 
>really do like having people stay with me.  However, someone needs to 
>support the expenses I incur doing this.  What that means is that I 
>charge more for a room in my apartment to a foreigner who is here for 
>usually a month or less, than I would for a person who would be here for 
>a year or longer - and of course they would supply their own sheets, 
>towels, etc.  They would pay half the bills.
>
>Let's be realistic.  A hotel is usually around $65 a day or higher. 
>(Usually higher) A youth hostel is $30 a day ( a decent one) with a 
>private room.  A nicely furnished apartment is less.  My rooms are 
>less.  Why is it people always want to complain about this?  Why is this 
>such a problem with people only here in Argentina?  I get so sick of 
>hearing people complain "I am being charged more for my accent:"  Any 
>Argentine will tell you that a bad person is a bad person and he or she 
>will treat whoever they can bad - Argentine or foreign.
>
>I used to live in Oakland California.  Right across the bay from San 
>Francisco.  A furnished studio apartment overlooking Lake Merritt rents 
>for about $900 a week.  The same apartment rents unfurnished for $1500 a 
>month.  I don't remember anyone ever complaining about this.  In San 
>Francisco a furnished tourist apartment rents for $1200 a week  The same 
>apartment rents for $1800 a month. 
>
>And while I am on a roll let me add one more thing.  Inflation is 
>rampant here.  Prices are skyrocketing.  Every time I go to the store 
>something costs more.  The same yogurt I bought 2 years ago for 79 
>centavos is now 1.69.  Tango shoes that were 160 pesos 2 years ago are 
>now between 210 and 240.  Restaurant prices, costs of milonga entrances, 
>taxis have gone up.  Everything has gone up but salaries.  I am still 
>making 25 pesos an hour teaching English.  I live in a 1 to 1 economy. I 
>just love to hear people who come here with 3 to 1 and 4 to 1 money 
>complain that we are charging too much.
>
>Alberto, shame on you.  You ought to know better.  That article about 
>the renters was filler for a Sunday.
>
>
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