Investors’ centre

Buying in Buenos Aires, step by step.

How a property purchase works in the City of Buenos Aires, written for someone doing it for the first time and from abroad: what gets signed, when you pay, who does what and what it costs. A foreigner buys with the same rights as an Argentine.

Reviewed on September 27, 2026 · This is a general guide, not legal or tax advice. Rules and customs change: confirm each step with your escribano (notary) and, for taxes, with an accountant.

No restrictions on foreigners

A flat or a house in the City is bought without residency or special permission. The limits on foreigners apply to rural land, not to urban property.

You pay in US dollar bills

Prices are listed and paid in US dollars, almost always in cash, counted at a bank on the day of signing.

The buyer chooses the notary

The escribano is a public notary with their own liability: they check the title, draw up the deed, withhold taxes and register it. By custom in Buenos Aires, the buyer proposes one.

A month or two from start to finish

From reserva to escritura usually takes 30 to 60 days for a straightforward resale. A probate or a new building makes it longer.

How it works

The path of a purchase paid in cash. Each step has a document, a moment of payment and someone responsible.

1Day 0ReservaYou make a signed offer and leave a deposit. The seller has a few days to accept it.A small deposit: USD 1,000–5,000, or 1–5%
27–15 days laterBoletoThe sale contract. Paying it in full, the seller hands over the property in the same act.The full price, in cash
3The day of the boletoPossessionYou get the keys and sign a record of possession. The property is now in your care.Nothing more: from here you pay building fees and utilities
4When the title is readyEscrituraThe public deed before a notary: only now are you the owner as against everyone.Deed costs and taxes
51–3 months laterRegistrationThe notary registers it at the Property Registry and gives you the testimonio.Included in the costs
6For as long as you own itAfterRenting it out, paying the property’s taxes and, one day, selling.ABL, expensas, taxes

Before you offer

Four things worth having sorted before you sign the first page.

Your CDI

A foreigner without an Argentine DNI needs a Clave de Identificación (CDI) from ARCA, the tax authority (formerly AFIP), to appear on the deed. It is requested with your passport and an address in the country; the notary or a gestor (a paperwork agent) gets it in a few days. Ask for it as soon as you decide to buy: without a CDI there is no escritura.

The money, and where it comes from

Anti-money-laundering rules oblige the notary to document where the funds come from. Have bank statements, the sale of another asset or whatever justifies the payment to hand. If you are bringing dollars in cash, we explain how further down. ↓

Your notary

Choose one before the reserva and give them the property’s details: they request the Registry certificates while the seller decides. An agency can recommend one, but the notary works for you, not for the agency.

What it is really worth

Listed prices are asking prices. Compare with the comparables in the area before you offer: negotiating starts with knowing what is asked per square metre on that block.

Value an address

1 · The reserva

The reserva is a written offer to buy: the price you offer, how you will pay and by when, accompanied by a deposit. It is normally signed at the estate agency, which holds the money and takes the offer to the seller. If you buy directly from the owner, you can sign it before your notary.

The deposit is usually USD 1,000 to USD 5,000, or 1–5% of the price on larger deals. The offer is valid for a short time, 3 to 10 days.

What can happen

The seller does not accept: your deposit comes back in full.
The seller accepts: the reserva becomes a seña (a binding deposit) and counts towards the price. If you then back out, you lose it.
The seller backs out after accepting: they owe you double, as a penalty for withdrawing.

Read what the reserva says if the Registry certificates show a problem: the reasonable term is that your deposit is returned in that case.

2 · The boleto de compraventa

The boleto is the private sale contract: it sets the price, the payment, the date of possession and the deadline for the escritura. It is signed at the notary’s office, with certified signatures, once the notary has checked the title and the certificates.

With the price paid in cash

In a cash purchase with immediate handover, the whole price is paid on signing the boleto and the seller gives you possession in the same act. It is the usual path when the escritura cannot be signed straight away: the seller is finishing a probate, the building is new and does not yet have its horizontal-property regulations, or a document is missing.

Payment is made in dollar bills, almost always at a bank: in a safe-deposit room, with a counting machine that checks the notes. The notes must be in good condition; many sellers refuse ones that are very worn, written on or of old series. Arrange it with your bank or exchange house in advance.

What protects you until the escritura

With the boleto signed and dated, and possession taken, the Civil and Commercial Code (arts. 1170 and 1171) protects a good-faith buyer who has paid at least 25% of the price against the seller’s creditors, even in the seller’s bankruptcy. Even so, until the escritura you are not the owner as against third parties: that is why the boleto must set a deadline for the deed and a penalty if it is missed.

The most common shortcut on a resale. When the title is in order, many resales skip the boleto: they go from the reserva straight to the escritura, 30 to 45 days later, and the full price is paid that day. Others sign a boleto with a 10–30% deposit and pay the balance at the escritura. Your notary will tell you which suits the case.

3 · Possession

Possession is the handover of the property: you get the keys and sign a record of possession stating the condition you received it in. From that day you pay the expensas (building fees), the ABL and the utilities.

Before you sign the record

The property is empty and in the agreed condition: test the electricity, gas, water and appliances.
Note the meter readings and transfer the utility accounts.
Ask for a clearance of building fees signed by the building’s management.
Ask for the latest ABL (city property tax) and AySA (water) payments.
Ask for every key, remote and code, and change the main lock.

If you signed a boleto paid in full, possession is the same day. If you go straight to the escritura, possession is handed over in that act.

4 · The escritura

The escritura is the public deed that makes you the owner. Buyer and seller sign it before the notary, who reads it aloud, verifies identities and withholds the seller’s taxes.

What the notary checks first

The title study (the chain of previous owners), the ownership and encumbrance certificates from the Property Registry, that the seller is the registered owner and free to sell, any debts for ABL, AySA and building fees, and the building’s co-ownership regulations.

How it is signed

In person, with your passport and CDI, or through a representative holding a power of attorney. If you do not speak Spanish, the law requires a sworn public translator at the signing: the notary arranges it.

What the seller pays

Their agency commission, their share of stamp duty and the tax on the sale: ITI (1.5% of the price) if they bought before 2018, or the schedular tax on the gain if they bought later. The notary withholds it at signing.

5 · Registration

After signing, the notary registers the deed at the City’s Property Registry. That is what makes it enforceable against anyone. It takes one to three months.

When it comes back registered, the notary gives you the testimonio: the copy that proves you are the owner. Keep it safe; you will need it to sell or mortgage.

After you buy

Renting it out

Since late 2023, leases are freely agreed: the currency (you can let in dollars), the length and the adjustment. If no length is agreed, a residential lease runs for two years.

Short-term lets

The City requires short-term tourist rentals to be entered in an official register. And before buying to let by the night, read the co-ownership regulations: some buildings forbid it.

An owner’s taxes

ABL (city tax, every two months) and the building’s expensas. A non-resident also pays wealth tax (Bienes Personales) on the property through a local substitute taxpayer, and rental income is taxed by withholding. For all of this, an accountant in Buenos Aires.

Selling

On a sale, a non-resident pays tax on the gain if they bought from 2018 onwards, withheld at the escritura. Since 2025 individuals can buy and transfer dollars with far fewer restrictions than before; check the Central Bank’s current rules before planning to take the money out.

Buying from abroad

What changes, and what does not, when the buyer does not live in Argentina.

Your rights are the same

No residency, investor visa or authorisation is needed to buy urban property. The rural land law limits foreigners on farmland, and border zones need a permit; none of that applies to the City.

The CDI, again

It is the only step specific to foreigners. With your passport and an address in the country (your notary’s or an acquaintance’s will do), the notary or a gestor requests it from ARCA. It is not a tax number for working: it identifies you in the transaction.

How to bring the money

There are two usual routes. One is to wire the dollars to an account in Argentina — yours or someone you trust — and withdraw them as notes for the signing. The other is to bring the cash into the country: above USD 10,000 you must declare it at Customs on arrival, and it is always worth doing.

Avoid informal exchange and untraceable transfers: the notary will ask where the funds come from, and a payment that cannot be justified stops the escritura. Some sellers accept a transfer to an account abroad; that is agreed in the boleto and the notary records it.

Buying without being there

You can sign everything through a representative. The power of attorney is granted before a notary in your country and apostilled, or at an Argentine consulate. It must be specific to buying that property, or general with powers to buy real estate; send the draft to your escribano before signing it.

The language

Everything is signed in Spanish. If you do not speak it, the escritura needs a public translator. Ask for the boleto in translation before you sign it too: that is where what was negotiated is written down.

In a company’s name

A foreign company can buy, but it must first register with the City’s companies registry (the IGJ). It is slower and dearer than buying in your own name; it only makes sense with several properties or for reasons in your own country.

Financing

Argentine mortgages require residency and income in the country, so a foreigner almost always buys in cash. If you are a resident, see which banks lend. Mortgages

Buying costs

What the buyer pays on top of the price. These are the usual ranges in the City: the notary gives you the exact figure before signing.

Property price (USD)

Item	Of the price	Estimate (USD)
Agency commissionUsually 3–4% plus VAT. Buying directly from the owner, there is none.	3.6% – 4.8%	5,400–7,300
Notary’s feesBetween 1% and 2% plus VAT; agree it beforehand.	1.2% – 2.4%	1,800–3,600
Stamp duty3.5% in Buenos Aires City, customarily split between buyer and seller. The single-home exemption almost never applies to an investor.	1.75%	2,600
Certificates, registration and leviesRegistry paperwork and notarial levies.	0.5% – 1%	800–1,500
Buyer’s total	7.1% – 10%	10,600–15,000

On USD 150,000, allow between USD 10,600 and USD 15,000 on top of the price.

And the seller

Pays their commission (3–4% plus VAT if there is an agency), their half of stamp duty and the tax on the sale. It is not your cost, but it explains part of the negotiation.

What to check

Almost everything that goes wrong in a purchase can be seen before you pay.

That the seller is the registered owner, or holds a valid power to sell. If it is a probate, that the declaration of heirs has been issued.
That there are no encumbrances or attachments: the Registry certificates say so, and the notary requests them before signing.
The clearance for building fees, ABL and AySA: unpaid building fees follow the unit, not the previous owner.
The co-ownership regulations: what is allowed (short-term lets, offices, pets) and whether the building has works or lawsuits under way.
That the floor area matches the plan: the square metres advertised are not always the ones in the deed. Ask for the plan and compare.
An off-plan building is a different deal: you buy from a trust or a developer, and the risk is whether the building gets finished. Look at what else they built.
That the agency is licensed: in the City, an estate agent must be registered with CUCICBA.
Never pay outside the notary’s office or the bank, nor wire a deposit to someone you only know from a listing.

Frequently asked questions

Can a foreigner buy without being a resident?

Yes. With a passport and a CDI you buy urban property in the City with the same rights as an Argentine.

Do I have to be in Buenos Aires to buy?

No. You can view the property by video, sign the reserva remotely and leave the boleto and escritura to a representative with an apostilled power of attorney.

Can I pay in pesos or by bank transfer?

Property is priced in dollars and paid in dollar bills. Paying in pesos or by transfer is possible if the seller agrees; it is written into the boleto.

How long does it all take?

30 to 60 days from reserva to escritura for a trouble-free resale; registration adds one to three months, but you are the owner from the signing.

How much does buying cost on top of the price?

Between 7% and 10% through an agency, and between 3.5% and 5% buying directly from the owner. Use the calculator above for your case.

Can I get a mortgage?

Generally not: Argentine banks require residency and income in the country. Foreigners almost always buy in cash.

Can I let the property in dollars?

Yes. Since late 2023 the currency, length and adjustment of a lease are freely agreed.

Who chooses the notary?

In the City, by custom, the buyer. Choose one before the reserva and ask them to check everything before you pay.

Glossary

The words you will hear during the purchase, in the Spanish used here.

Reserva: A signed offer to buy with a deposit. If the seller accepts, it becomes a seña.
Seña: A payment on account that secures the deal. Whoever backs out loses it, or returns it doubled.
Boleto: Boleto de compraventa: the private contract that sets price, payment and deadlines. It does not yet make you the owner.
Posesión: The physical handover of the property, with the keys and a signed record.
Escritura: The public deed before a notary that transfers ownership.
Escribano: Public notary. Checks the title, drafts and executes the deed, withholds taxes and registers it.
CDI: Clave de Identificación: the number ARCA gives a foreigner without a DNI so they can transact.
ARCA: The national tax and customs authority, formerly called AFIP.
Expensas: The building’s monthly charge: doorman, lifts, cleaning, shared repairs.
ABL: Alumbrado, Barrido y Limpieza: the City’s property tax.
Libre deuda: A certificate that the unit owes no building fees, ABL or utilities.
Reglamento de copropiedad: Reglamento de copropiedad: the building’s rules, binding on every owner.
Poder: A document by which someone else signs on your behalf.
Testimonio: The copy of the registered deed that proves you are the owner.
ITI: Real-estate transfer tax: 1.5% of the price, paid by the seller, for property bought before 2018.

Carry on from here

Value a property What is asked per square metre on that block, with the comparables in view.See what is for sale Listings across the City, with the price compared against the barrio.Read the market Price per square metre, rental yield and how long things take to sell, barrio by barrio.Create an alert We tell you when what you are looking for appears, or when it drops in price.