Real Estate in Uruguay

Hola Houstin,

Ive lived in Montevideo since 06. If you want to import a car it has to be new and the taxes are 84% of the tag price of the car.

Cars are very overpriced here and of poor quality. Most people walk, take a taxi, or bus.

What economy?

Jobs are scarce, most college grad students move to Spain or other countries where they can find real work.

Its a very calm country a bit slow and a bit conservative in culture. Its a socialist country.

Ciao,
O

Last edited by odeliza (2009-06-05 15:25:21)

I am sure that at some point Re-Max will become a player in Uruguay, but for the time being I am not aware of their actual presence in the market.

Like everywhere, the purchase of real-estate in Uruguay has its own rules and features. Number one to distinguish it from the U.S. is that there´s no buyers or sellers agency, but rather, realtors work for both parties, meaning you have to be vigilant for your own interests.

Number two is that few realtors will respond to email enquiries in a timely manner, or in any manner  , at least until you´ve established personal contact. That doesn´t mean that they can´t find you the best property or deal, so not a good reason to rule them out if priority is getting the best property.

Number three, maybe should be number one, is that you never ever ever sign or pay anything without your escribano having approved it. Escribanos are transactional attorneys here, the ones who draw up the contracts for any purchase or sale, from cars to real-estate property. Also, you never accept a recommendation for an escribano from a realtor. If they insist on pushing an escribano on you, you ran as fast as you can...

Real estate taxes are indeed negligible when compared with the U.S. and other jurisdictions.

Cars are indeed expensive, about double what they would cost in the U.S., but if you compare the "savings" of buying and keeping real-estate, that car price difference may become irrelevant in the whole package. It depends on your overall budget for setting up.

Jobs, no, not a place to come looking for jobs.

Hi

My wife and I will be coming to Montevideo in February or March of 2010 with our 8lb Yorkshire terrier. I was an independent R.E. appraiser for 35 years in San Francisco. We are thinking of moving to Montevideo so this will be an exploratory trip. I would like to meet with you as we are interested in buying a condo in the city. In addition could you tell us if dogs are welcome in public places like restaurants? When we were in Switzerland we were happy to see there was no problem taking them in to restaurants, and we have been told that it is the same in France.

                   Roy