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Uruguay as a Retirement Destination

Posted on July 4, 2007
Filed Under Real Estate, Cost of Living, Immigration | 11 Comments

A reader asked me to compare retirement incentives offered by the Uruguayan government versus incentives offered by other countries such as Costa Rica, Panama, Belize, Nicaragua, Honduras etc. Since I don’t know much about those countries, I decided instead to write more generally about the advantages and disadvantages of Uruguay as destination for retirees. Even though the incentives offered by the Uruguayan government to foreign retirees aren’t many, there are several other factors that may be just as important when comparing countries. Read more

Can You Take the Heat?

Posted on July 1, 2007
Filed Under Real Estate, Cost of Living, Weather | 9 Comments

The subject of heating has already been covered very competently by several expat bloggers living in Montevideo; see here, here and here for example. So why do I feel the urge to write about this subject again? Because despite all the information available, I think many North Americans and Northern Europeans will still assume that because the Uruguayan winter is milder, there is nothing to worry about. And they may wrongly assume that all homes are heated and they will have the same comfort they are accustomed to back home. This would be a big mistake. Read more

Has Punta Peaked?

Posted on June 2, 2007
Filed Under Real Estate, Economy, Places | 7 Comments

Could the region around Punta del Este be heading into a real estate decline? There are many indicators that seem to suggest this may be the case. Over-development, costly infrastructure and crime increase may be working together to change the economics of property ownership in Punta.

Punta rose to fame as a crime free, first world, oasis for rich South Americans, ensconced in the Uruguayan coast. Over the years it has been the preferred destination of the jet set, the rich and the famous from Argentina, and to a lesser extent Brazil, Chile and other countries. Read more

Asset Tax

Posted on May 24, 2007
Filed Under Real Estate, Cost of Living, Taxes | 6 Comments

Many people that are now considering moving to Uruguay may not realize that they will be subject to a tax based on the total value of their Uruguayan assets. Since this type of tax exists in relatively few countries, most future expats will likely forget to take it into consideration. Even so the value of the tax is negligible for people with few assets, its steeply progressive scale penalizes ostentatious wealth as well as the ownership of non-producing assets. This tax is known as the Impuesto al Patrimonio (IP). Read more

You Can’t Take It With You

Posted on May 7, 2007
Filed Under Real Estate, Expat Tips, Taxes | 8 Comments

Yesterday I read a post from another blogger on inheritance laws in Uruguay and was motivated to research the subject a bit more to see how it might affect me. The information was a surprise to me, and I thought it would be a good idea to organize it so readers planning to move to Uruguay can take this into account. Read more

Home Rental in Uruguay

Posted on April 20, 2007
Filed Under Real Estate, Expat Tips | 10 Comments

Unlike in North America, it is rare that a rental unit will belong to a corporation that owns a whole building. Almost always you’ll be renting from an individual owner. This means that the negotiation process will be more complex and emotional. After all, you may very well be renting somebody’s former home. And as many owners do not engage a property manager, you should not expect much support after you’ve rented. Of course, if there is a leak in the apartment, the owner or his inmobiliaria may (or may not) call someone to fix it right away and will pay for it, but if your light fixture broke or a bulb is missing you are on your own. Read more

Real Estate Vocabulary

Posted on April 19, 2007
Filed Under Real Estate, Expat Tips, Vocabulary | Leave a Comment

If you are looking for a home in Uruguay, keep in mind that a lot of the research or “shopping” can be done online. There are many real estate portals and real estate companies with very informative sites. The best of them however are in Spanish and are laden with Real Estate specific lingo. The purpose of this post is to provide a quick background, and a decoder ring for accessing this world. Read more

Squatters

Posted on April 18, 2007
Filed Under Real Estate, Crime, Economy | 5 Comments

Land occupation in Uruguay has increased dramatically in the last decade. The slowness of the judicial system and the severe economic crisis the country went through after 2002 made land invasion more common in certain areas. Even in high profile balnearios such as Punta del Este, a few very visible asentamientos (settlements) can be found, like the Predio Lobos at the Rambla Brava y Roosevelt and the barrio Kennedy, half a block from the Club de Golf. Many families now live in these asentiamentos, in spite of years of legal efforts to evict them. In that same area, in the past summers homes were occupied and terrenos invaded at a rate of two or three per month. Read more

Home Sweet Home?

Posted on April 7, 2007
Filed Under Montevideo, Real Estate, Expat Tips | 9 Comments

So you are interested in buying real estate in Uruguay? You have been hearing that it is a bargain and you are wondering whether you will miss out on this great opportunity. Well, there are a few things you should think about first. But before I start flailing my arms like the robot in Lost in Space, I should warn you that what follows is based on my own observations and may not mesh with what you’ll hear elsewhere. So take it for what it’s worth. Read more

Land Owner

Posted on March 11, 2007
Filed Under Real Estate, Expat Tips | 4 Comments

As of this week, I am a landowner in Uruguay! I bought a 900 sqm beach front terreno near the border with Brazil. About a year ago, my brother spotted a few good plots on a low-key balneario near the border. Jokingly, he asked me over the phone if I was interested in buying the undeveloped lot next to his. The time between my “immediate yes!” and the final closing of the deal took more than three months. The process was supposed to be simple, but ended up complicated due to a few peculiar issues. Here are the details, from finding the broker to closing: Read more

Uruguay Links

Posted on March 2, 2007
Filed Under Services, Real Estate, Immigration | Leave a Comment

As some of you may have noticed, I took a little break from writing posts. No, it was not due to laziness. Actually, I got tired of never finding the links to the great information I had hoarded about Uruguay. I used my break to organize it and to put the links in a place I could easily find them, the Uruguay Dreaming Blog site.

Read more

Real Estate Links

Posted on March 1, 2007
Filed Under Real Estate, Expat Tips | Leave a Comment

Click here for real estate links in UY resources.