The Hidden Struggles of Being a Landlord in Argentina (Part 2): When the Realty Company Fails You

Navigating my way through the ups and downs of being a property owner in Argentina was way more than I bargained for. It's why I hired a realty company to handle most of the administrative work and legal headaches. I thought this would make things easier. It didn’t.

The realty company did manage to find a new tenant for the first-floor apartment fairly quickly, though there were a couple of hiccups. For starters, I had to review the contract thoroughly to screen for any mistakes or hidden loopholes. I found a few — but more on that in my next post.

Now, let’s talk about what happened with the tenant living on the second floor.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I asked the realty company to prepare a new contract for the second-floor tenant of the two-unit building I own. The clock was ticking — we only had until the end of March before her old contract expired.

But of course, there were complications.

In the third week of March, I messaged the realty company via WhatsApp for an update. They had no clue how to contact the tenant or even what her name was. I was irate, to say the least. I calmly asked whether the sales rep I’d spoken to had passed along all the information I provided. A quick database check showed he had input the details — but hadn’t told anyone on the admin team. Brilliant.

They asked for the tenant's contact info, which I provided, and they promised to reach out immediately. But then I received an automated WhatsApp message saying the admin team was taking a “much-needed mental break” and wouldn’t return until March 26th.

My blood turned to lava.

I fired off another message demanding to know how the hell they planned to work on the tenant's contract if they were off until the 26th.

One of the reps assured me they’d continue working on it despite being officially on vacation.

“Fine,” I thought. At least they were getting the ball rolling. I wasn’t even worried — we still had two weeks left.

Well, by Friday I got a message saying the tenant hadn’t responded to their outreach. So I reached out to her myself via WhatsApp. No immediate response. I updated the realty company. All I got was a “keep me posted” type of response. Useless.

A few days later, the tenant finally contacted me. She said she was out of town and having trouble driving back to Argentina. In my head, I was thinking, How fucking convenient. She knew she had to be here to sign, and now suddenly she wasn’t even in the country — allegedly struggling to get back to Córdoba. But she promised to contact the realty company on Monday with the information they needed to verify her co-signers.

What royally pissed me off was her attitude — like we had all the time in the world until March 31st. I told her, No, we needed this done before the 31st.

You're probably wondering why we even needed this done if she’d already been living there for three years. Well, her previous contract was with a different realty company. We needed to verify her new co-signers to make sure she could actually afford the rent hike — from 87,000 pesos to 220,000 pesos.

On March 26th, the realty company messaged me saying they still hadn’t heard from her. I was beyond pissed. I contacted the tenant again. Nothing. Then on the 28th, the realty company told me they finally received her information. But it was 10 minutes before they closed for the weekend.

So we had to wait until Monday, the 31st.

Remember when I said we needed this done before the 31st? Yeah — at that point, I felt like both the tenant and the realty company had wiped their asses with me. I was ready to tell them both to fuck off.

Somehow, I managed to hang on to what little restraint I had left.

Obviously, the realty company now had to speak with the tenant’s co-signers, who — surprise — weren’t very cooperative.

By April 9th, neither the tenant nor her co-signers had made a fucking move to sign the lease.

At that point, eviction started to feel inevitable. But then — out of nowhere — the realty company told me the tenant had finally come in to sign, and two of the three co-signers had as well. Not ideal, but at that point, I’d take what I could get.

The good news? I could finally give her the total amount due for April: rent, water, and a past-due electricity bill.

Now, speaking of utilities...

This tenant and I have had multiple conversations about her failure to pay the damn light and gas bills on time — three separate occasions in just five months. Finally, I told her I’d lump all the unpaid utility bills in with her rent. Once she paid, I would take care of paying the service providers. Honestly, this is a courtesy I shouldn’t have to extend to a grown-ass adult.

But I’ve noticed a trend: tenants just don’t pay their utility bills. And it fucking sucks. I hate having to remind grown-ass people to pay their goddamn bills. And it’s not like they’ve ever claimed financial hardship. No. The excuses? “I forgot” or “I didn’t have time.” That’s it.

In summary: managing residential property in Argentina is like taking care of babies.

But for a brief moment, it seemed like everything was okay. The tenants from the other property had moved out, so we could begin repairs. We had a new tenant for the first floor. And the second-floor tenant had finally — finally — renewed her contract.

Then, a new nightmare surfaced.

The Hidden Struggles of Being a Landlord in Argentina (Part 1)

Being a property owner in Argentina is a lot tougher than I thought it would be. My parents have been managing properties here since they moved in 2007, and honestly, I have no idea how they've kept it up all these years.

I used to think it was as simple as telling tenants how much rent to pay, keeping contracts current, and handling repairs when needed. Turns out, it’s way more complicated than that.

Now don’t get me wrong—I actually enjoy administrative work. Back home, I had entire teams or companies supporting me, so everything was pretty straightforward. But here, it’s a different story. I'm on my own, navigating unfamiliar legal systems with limited knowledge of Argentine property laws.

Saying the last few months have been a steep learning curve would be putting it lightly.

For those of you who haven’t read my earlier post, we’ve been dealing with a serious issue at one of our properties. My parents tried to evict tenants without following the proper legal process, which backfired hard. We ended up going months without rent and with zero communication from the tenants. Fortunately, the situation was eventually resolved—but not without some costly lessons.

By March 2025, the tenants had finally caught up on overdue rent and most of their utility bills. Even better, they agreed to move out by the end of the month because they could no longer afford the rent.

Music to our ears.

But when they left, they didn’t exactly go quietly—or cleanly. The paint was peeling off the walls from the humidity. The front door was damaged and wouldn’t lock properly.

Normally, tenants are expected to return the property in the same condition they received it. But given the drama—legal threats, physical threats—it was just safer to let them walk away.

So, was this a win? Maybe. We got rid of tenants who were clearly a problem, but the property now needs major repairs before it can start generating income again. Time and money we hadn’t planned to spend.

And that wasn’t our only headache.

In early March, we hired a real estate company. They seemed okay—not great by American standards, but decent enough for Argentina, where service quality tends to be... inconsistent.

The company sent a salesperson to assess the first floor of a two-unit apartment in another location. He was friendly, seemed knowledgeable, and took a few photos while we filled him in on the unit’s quirks—most notably, the low water pressure, which is common in southern Córdoba City. He assured us it wouldn’t be a problem and promised to disclose it to any potential tenants before signing a lease.

While he was there, I also asked him to help renew the lease for the tenant in the upstairs unit. “Sure, no problem!” he said. “Just send over the details and our admin team will handle it.”

Everything seemed to be going smoothly.

Too smoothly.

I waited through the second week of March and hadn’t heard a thing. I assumed they were working behind the scenes to find a tenant for the first floor and drafting the new lease for the upstairs unit.

But when I followed up on WhatsApp, the administrative team had no clue what I was talking about.

I could literally feel my blood pressure spike.

After pressing for answers, they finally admitted the issue: the salesperson had entered everything into their system, but never informed the admin staff to act on it. Apparently, he only handles sales and hadn’t passed the info along.

I had made it clear—I wanted the first floor rented by early April. That would have been ideal, but not essential. What was essential was getting the upstairs tenant’s new lease signed before her contract expired at the end of March.

I told them that was non-negotiable. That contract had to be finalized by March 31st.

What happened next? Well… let’s just say it turned into a full-blown nightmare.

But I’ll save that story for next time.

Expat Report – February 2025: A Twisted Valentine’s and More Family Drama

Like most years, I try to see the beginning as a second chance to do things better. Keyword: Try. Things don’t always go as planned—that’s life. But I have to admit, aside from a few hiccups, 2025 has started off pretty well.

For starters, I have a fresh batch of new students, many of whom are more eager to learn than some of their predecessors. And new opportunities just keep falling into my lap.

This year, we celebrated our first Valloween—a combination of Valentine’s Day and Halloween.

We even set up a mini-Valloween tree decorated with red ornaments, some heart-shaped, along with an axe, a gun, and a few creepy pieces from Kripta, an Argentine online store that specializes in horror items.

Our Valloween movie lineup included:

• My Bloody Valentine (2008) (with Jensen Ackles)
• Valentine (2001) (I had no idea Izzie and Arizona from Grey’s Anatomy were in this film!)

Our dear friend Melisa joined in the celebration. She even helped us create a wall of hearts with some, uh… NSFW messages written on them. (Ha! Not going to show you!)

Of course, no Valloween celebration would be complete without food. We had homemade treats like cake and donuts, plus heart-shaped cheese and salami crackers—because what’s Valloween without a little sugar and a touch of decadence?

Meatball subs, chicken wings and fries were on the menu

Bloody Cherry Spritzers

But things haven’t exactly been all rosy.

In mid-January, my mom got pneumonia again. For those who haven’t read my other posts, she was hospitalized late last year when she first got sick—and almost didn’t make it.

This time, she chose to recover at home instead of going to the hospital. But her doctor screwed up and prescribed antibiotics with penicillin, which she’s mildly allergic to. While it wasn’t life-threatening, it certainly didn’t help her already weakened health. Over the past few weeks, I’ve spoken to her, and it’s clear she’s come to terms with the fact that she may not have much time left.

Meanwhile, my dad—who has dementia—is struggling with depression over my mom’s declining health. I find it ironic, considering that in 2023, his delusional mind convinced him that his (then) 75-year-old wife was cheating on him, and he actually threatened to kill her over it.

On top of all this, I’ve taken on even more responsibilities when it comes to managing our rental properties. It hasn’t been easy. My parents have no friends here in Argentina, and the few family members they have left are estranged. As for my husband and me, our circle is currently down to one friend, while all our other friends and family are back in the U.S. And before you ask—no, they can’t help. So, we’re on our own out here, which is both overwhelming and terrifying at times.

But we’ve managed to survive in Argentina for nearly 13 years. And while 2025 will no doubt bring big changes and losses, we’ll adjust course as each challenge comes our way—just like we always do.

Ringing in 2025: Our Expat New Year’s Celebration in Argentina

Happy New Year, everyone!

I’m so glad the husband and I survived 2024 so we could say goodbye to this b*tch of a year and welcome 2025 with open arms. This year, we made a ham with pineapple slices and cherries, along with beer rice and plantains. If you’re wondering where the plantains come from in an American family, let me remind you that my husband’s family is Puerto Rican, and plantains are a common food staple in his culture. Also, I’m from Miami—Hialeah, specifically—and I was raised in a community full of Cubans who also love plantains. Naturally, I developed a taste for this Caribbean side dish early in life.

For dessert, the husband and I made a coconut cake, decorating it with marshmallows and cherries to simulate the hours on a clock. We used half of a ladyfinger cookie as the hand of the clock, pointing to midnight. We also made chocolate pudding and wrote our wishes for 2025, like health, money, and friendship, on coconut cookies.

At night, the winds picked up violently. This wasn’t a problem for us; it allowed us to open the back door and windows, letting the winds flush the old 2024 air out of the house and replace it with fresh air.

For those of you who don’t know, we are Wiccan. We recited an incantation to remove negative energy from our home and our lives, replacing it with positive things like new opportunities, money, and health—similar to the affirmations we wrote on the coconut cookies. We always find these incantations helpful for protecting ourselves and our home from negative energy.

When the clock struck midnight in Argentina, we drank champagne. (It was the cheapest sh*t we’d ever bought and will never buy again.) For us, though, the New Year isn’t official until the ball drops in Times Square. Sadly, we can’t watch Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest from Argentina, but we managed to watch the ball drop via the NYE Live Webcast.

We waited until midnight in New York City, which is 2 a.m. in Argentina. In preparation, we cleaned 24 grapes. This tradition involves eating 12 grapes, one for each wish we have for the new year.

Since the champagne earlier was so nasty, we made a mix of Malibu coconut rum and pineapple soy juice. When the countdown began, the ball started to drop, and 2025 officially arrived. After a long, emotional hug and a kiss, the husband and I drank our coconut rum mix and ate our grapes.

Phew! We did it! We survived another year in this world and living abroad in Argentina. I don’t know what 2025 will bring, but we plan to take things one day at a time.

Until next time…

Creepmas 2024: A Spooky Twist on Christmas in Argentina

In case it wasn't obvious from my previous posts, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas are our favorite holidays. But if I'm being honest, there's nothing better than Halloween. Christmas isn't exactly chopped liver, though! So, this year, we decided to combine the two holidays and turn a regular old Christmas into Creepmas!

Basically, Creepmas is Christmas but with a spooky twist. I was surprised to learn it's a growing trend among horror fans. While some call it Creepmas, others refer to it as Navidark. We were thrilled to discover stores in Argentina selling horror-themed ornaments, making it easier to bring our spooky vision to life.

The most notable stores we found were Ghostly and Kripta in Buenos Aires. Ghostly offered unique spooky Christmas ornaments, like the Krampus bell. But this year, we decided to try Kripta and ordered from them instead.

We placed our order a bit late, and we were worried it wouldn't arrive in time, but luckily, Andreani (a delivery service similar to UPS in the States) came through, delivering everything on the 24th.

Here’s what the ornaments looked like in the box:

And here’s what they looked like on our Creepmas tree:

Creepmas Crafts

We also got creative this year and designed our own Creepmas Snowmen and a Creepmas Village using empty styrofoam ice cream containers. The stabbed snowman was store bought.

Here’s what we used:

• Faces: drawn with markers.
• Noses: cut from old birthday candles.
• Arms: cardboard spoons from McDonald’s frosty desserts.
• Buttons: made from black tape.
• Scarf (for one snowman): fabric from an old red shirt I wasn’t using anymore.

More Creepmas Decorations

Sweet Treats

With the tree and Creepmas Village all set up, our next focus was food. Luckily, my husband loves to cook, especially sweet treats. Here are some of the desserts we made together:

Peanut Butter Cup Ornaments

We made them by melting white chocolate. Then we coated a thin layer of the white chocolate onto each ornament design and froze the entire mold for about 15 minutes.

After taking the mold out of the freezer, we filled the ornaments up with peanut butter and covered them up with white chocolate. Then we placed them in the freezer for another 15 minutes and voila!

Homemade Christmas Cookies

We used cookie cutters to get the shapes we wanted and then placed them in the oven. Once they were done, we used food coloring and M&Ms to decorate the cookies.

Pancake Gingerbread Men

We made these using pancake batter and a gingerbread men mold. After they were done, we used white chocolate chips to decorate the eyes and M&Ms for the buttons on their shirts.

Cinnamon Donuts

We made these cinnamon donuts with the leftover pancake batter we used to make the gingerbread men.

Store-Bought Gingerbread Men

We also had these gingerbread men that we bought from Rapanui during Halloween but forgot about. As you can see, the bakery we got these from gave them a bloody makeover which went great with our Creepmas theme.

Apple Pie

Pies are a holiday staple, especially in the States, so we made this delicious pie with two stars in the middle. And if you look closely, there are two more stars, which have the first letter of our first names - "G" and "Z".

The Muffin Tree

And yes! There's more!

The hubby made a Christmas tree tower with delicious muffins! But we probably need to go on a diet after this or at least check to make sure we haven't developed diabetes.

The Salty Stuff

For salty food, we decided to skip a traditional Christmas dinner because we both came down with a bad case of the flu. Our appetites were limited to desserts and alcohol. We did, however, order chicken wings from an Ecuadorian restaurant in Córdoba City named Diablo Huma. Not only were the wings reasonably priced, but the sauces (especially the hot ones) were amazing!

We also made mashed potatoes, which, admittedly, didn’t pair well with the wings. We probably should’ve saved the mashed potatoes for another day, but as I said, we were sick and not really thinking clearly.

Our snack platter was a definite highlight, though. It consisted of:

• Cheese cubes
• Salami
• Rex Crackers (similar to Ritz)
• Cherries

Lasagna

Lasagna was supposed to be part of our Christmas Eve menu, so we made it on Christmas day instead.

Despite the fact that the layers looked like skin and the sauce looked like blood, we tried not to focus too much on that or we wouldn't have eaten this tasty dish.

Creepmas Movie Marathon

In keeping with tradition, we did a 25-day movie marathon leading up to Christmas. About half of the movies were scary Christmas-themed, perfect for the Creepmas vibe. A few were regular horror films, while others simply took place in winter. For example, we gave P.S. I Love You and While You Were Sleeping a Creepmas description makeover.

Here’s our list of Creepmas movies this year:

• Black Christmas (2006) - Decent
• Violent Night - Decent
• Krampus - Decent
• P2 - Decent
• Silent Night (2012) - Decent
• ATM - Decent
• 30 Days of Night - Decent
• Santa’s Slay - Decent
• Silent Bite - One-timer, but never again
• The Mean One - Decent
• Terrifier 3 - Decent
• It’s a Wonderful Knife - Decent
• Land of the Dead - Not a Christmas movie, but okay for Creepmas
• Cold Road - Lots of snow, Joy Ride vibes
• The Associate - Whoopi turns herself into a man to beat nasty men in the finance world
• P.S. I Love You - Annoying widow stalked by her late husband via letters
• Season’s Greetings From Cherry Lane - Decent
• Hot Frosty - A one-time Christmas rom-com that was okay
• Gremlins - Horrible! Never again!
• Home Alone - A classic!
• While You Were Sleeping - Creepy stalker convinces coma boy's family she's the fiancee.
• Freddy vs. Jason - Not a Christmas movie, but perfect for Creepmas
• Red One - Surprisingly entertaining but forgettable
• Heretic - Not a Christmas movie and possibly the dullest film ever
• Once Upon a Time at Christmas - Decent

Wrapping Up the Year

With Christmas (or should I say Creepmas) in our rearview mirror, we’ve now turned our attention to prepping for New Year’s Eve, which, as of this post, is less than 24 hours away. We’re still fighting off the flu and enduring the Argentine summer heat, but we plan to have as much fun as ever ringing in the new year.

Since this is my last post for 2024, I want to thank everyone who’s taken the time to read my blog. Sending you all lots of love and a big hug from our family to yours.

See you in 2025!