Here is some important information to consider about the DOCUMENTATION required when buying a property in Argentina. We already know of the 3 stage process of buying: RESERVA ($1000-$2000 deposit); BOLETO (30% within 7-10 days of the Reserva); ESCRITURA (70% within 30-90 days of Boleto). Please note that ALL the following refers to buying properties in the personal name of an INDIVIDUAL and not a Company. Buying properties in Company names can be done, but is not detailed here. 1. DOCUMENTARY PROOF OF MONEY SENT When a property bought by a foreign individual in Buenos Aires city is valued under pesos $500,000 (US$167,000), the foreigner is required to sign a declaration in front of the Escribano (property lawyer) at the time of signing the Escritura (title deed and purchase contract) and state that the money he is using to purchase said property has come from legitimate sources, is his and has not been laundered. This is fairly easy and the only issue is how to transfer your money to Argentina. BUT when a property bought by a foreigner in Buenos Aires city is valued at over pesos $500,000 (US$167,000) the foreigner is REQUIRED by law to provide extensive legal documentation as to the source of origin of the funds used to buy that property. This is due in part to Argentina's adherence to strict international laws for control of money laundering. A foreigner is required to produce the following DOCUMENTATION for the Escribano (lawyer) by or before the date of signing the Escritura : 1. a NOTARIZED letter from his BANK stating that : the client has been known to the bank (for xx years); derives his money from legitimate activities, namely (....); that the money being wired or transfered has met all the controls and norms for prevention of money laundering and is to be used specifically for the purchase of the property described as : (....) -and- 2. a NOTARIZED letter from his ACCOUNTANT (if he has one) stating : the client has been known to them (for xx years); derives his money from legitimate activities, namely (....); and that it is known that money is being transfered to Argentina for the purpose of buying a property decribed as : (......) - and - 3. a NOTARIZED letter from his LAWYER stating : the client has been known to them (for xx years); derives his money from legitimate activities, namely (....); and that it is known that money is being transfered to Argentina for the purpose of buying a property decribed as : (......) - and - 4. Then, EACH of the above documents must be APOSTILLE STAMPED in the country in which those documents originated. This is to authenticate those documents so that the local Argentine authorities can recognise them as legitimate documents. *See below for Details of Apostille stamps* If documents normally issued by Government departments, such as Birth certificates, Marriage certificates, Death certificates are required, these MUST also be APOSTILLE stamped. They do not need to be Notarized beforehand however as they are Goverment Issued. Once these documents are received in Argentina, they MUST then all be translated into SPANISH using ONLY one of the registered translators here in Argentina, who are members of the College of Translators. Your Escribano will advise where these documents must be taken to get them translated and stamped, here in Buenos Aires. This is a necessity and without the translation, even with all the Apostille stamps and notary stamps, the documents will NOT be recognized in Argentina. You need to realize also, that if you are NOT in your home country when you identify a property here in Buenos Aires, to obtain such documentation from your home bank, accountant, lawyer, whilst abroad, can be a VERY complex and difficult and TIME CONSUMING thing to do. It is highly recommended that you allow yourself enough TIME to get such paperwork together, as the date for an Escritura once set, is final, and failure to produce all such documentation in time for the date set for the Escritura, means you risk losing not only the property but the money put down in the Boleto (the 30%) for failure to purchase on the date agreed. It is therefore recommended that a trip home to arrange all the paperwork and a trip back for the Escritura is planned for, as part of the buying process. NOTE that this is only when the property value exceeds pesos $500,000 in the Escritura, as the process today is less complicated for smaller value property purchases. DISCLAIMER : this sum of $500,000 is current as of July 2006 but can change according to the Government at any time and must be checked for accuracy at the date you are considering buying. No responsibility will be accepted for ANY changes to the law or changes to the documentational requirements as stated above as these issues can ONLY be properly dealt with and advised by the legal officials responsible for property transactions in Argentina : an Escribano. *What is an Apostille stamp ?* An Apostle or Apostille stamp is a certification of the document by a Hague Convention Country. In few and simple words, you need that stamp applied to all the papers that the receiving authorites require in the country to which you are sending those documents. Apostle or Apostille is a stamp you must obtain from YOUR Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its purpose is to authenticate the legal papers you will send to another country. The Apostle or Apostille stamp is a pre-printed form prescribed by the Convention of the Hague. Only those nations party to the Hague Treaty will recognize the apostille certification. You must get the stamp from YOUR country of origin. This rule doesn't apply to all countries, so check with your local embassy / consulate to find out where you can get an Apostille stamp done at home. In Australia, for example, these are issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). 2. Obtaining a CDI number THIS IS ESSENTIAL and YOU CANNOT BUY A PROPERTY IN ARGENTINA WITHOUT A CDI NUMBER. A CDI is a local Identity number (a paper document with a number written on it by the Argentine tax department called AFIP).  To obtain a CDI, you must  : First go to your local Police Station closest to where you are staying in Buenos Aires, with your passport in hand, and ask them to issue you with a Certificate of Domicilio. They charge a small fee for this (about pesos $15), and will ask you to tell them the address of where you are staying (hotel, apartment etc) and then the NEXT business day a policeman will come to that address to verify that you are there and issue you on the spot (normally) with the Certificate of Domicilio that you require. Then, with the Certificate of Domicilio from the Police in hand, you must go to the office of AFIP that is responsible for the zone in which the apartment you are buying is located, and apply for a CDI number. Usually this is a process that will take several hours (mostly in lines waiting to be attended). You MUST take your passport AND a photocopy of it, along with the Certificate of Domicilio and a copy of the same, and fill in a form, stating the reason that you are applying for a CDI number is for the purchase of a property. IF you go to the right office and IF you have all the correct paperwork mentioned above, this should be issued on the spot. However, be prepared that almost NO-ONE in any AFIP office speaks english, that they are short tempered ill mannered public / civil servants and their pleasure is to send people away. So best advice is GO to the AFIP office with an advisor who knows the system. THIS IS ESSENTIAL and YOU CANNOT BUY A PROPERTY IN ARGENTINA WITHOUT A CDI NUMBER.  Do NOT wait till the last moment, like the day before the signing of the ESCRITURA, to go and try to get your CDI number. After all this is Argentina, where a government department can go on strike at any time, and no-one is going to be there to help you get your CDI number - not even the President of the country. PLUS, if you don't have your CDI number the Escribano cannot sign the Title authorizing the sale and your purchase of said property, AND if you don't do so as agreed to do so by the date you agreed to do so in the Boleto, you risk losing all your 30% paid at the time of signing the Boleto. The CDI number and piece of paper that is your CDI document, must be treated as if it is your local Argentine passport. GUARD IT, photocopy it and hand over copies if you are asked to do so, and show the original, but NEVER give it away ! Not until you get your DNI number - which is your residency number - a process way to involved and time consuming and hard to obtain to be worth mentioning in detail here. For now anyway - as the laws stand. 3. Other important benefits BENEFITS provided by the law for properties bought and you are married with children : If you are buying a property as an individual and IF you are married with children, a local law provides protection of your primary residence in Argentina, so that in the case of any legal action against the title holder, no lien can be attached to the primary place of residence in Argentina - thereby protecting your family from losing their primary dwelling. This is called the Law of Bienes. The Escribano can advise how to seek protection under this law. What must be noted is that you will be required to produce ORIGINAL copies of your Marriage certificates as well as Birth certificates for the children, AND these must be Apostille stamped in your country of origin. 4. Personal Details required by the Escribano In order to prepare an Escritura of purchase, you will need to provide all of the following for EVERY person whose name is to appear in the title document (Escritura) : full name(s) date of birth place of birth passport number CDI number (see section on Obtaining your CDI) both your parents full names your marital status your home address Note: you will need to present at EVERY meeting you attend with banks, Escribanos (laywers) etc your full passport and quite often you will be asked to provide a normal photocopy of the details page and the page where Immigration stamped the date of your arrival in Argentina. Also be prepared that, on signing an Escritura, you will be asked to provide a THUMB PRINT along with your signature, for the Escribanos legal records. Sometimes the banks may ask for the same. ADVICE: It is recommended that ONLY one persons name appears in the Escritura, for ease of providing ALL the required paperwork mentioned here. For more information, contact  russell_ferrier@hotmail.com    mailto:russell_ferrier@hotmail.comshapeimage_1_link_0
 
Documentation required when Buying
Documentation and papers needed