'Re locating to Uruguay' Life

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Re locating to Uruguay

We are thinking of re locating to Uruguay... any thought's please if this is a good move.

I am a builder and looking to see if there is any oppotunity of any work out there in renovation/property development.

Any advise or help would be most grateful.

Many thanks

Sean

On the other hand who knows how long the boom will last and its important to note that there are heavy pseudo-tax costs involved in refurbishment/new build thanks to the BPS (national insurance) charges.

My advice would be to come on down and see for yourself BEFORE you commit time and money.

Patrick counsels best with "come down and see for yourself". There is much to know and it varies what and even if people find the 'right' information.

I don't know if I'd describe it as a boom anyway. Many high rise towers still going up (and true a slowdown could appear at any time). Many smaller builders retrofitting old houses into apartments, but I suspect things are not what they seem.

I am a contractor, although we did not move here for work opportunities. We simply enjoy the lifestyle; less excess, more family and leisure time, honest people, I could go on.

It's tricky. The bigger buildings are in a league of their own. Often with questionable financing (I've heard) and/or big bank connections, they are always being built somehow and are often have loads of vacancies for long periods. They are selling like hotcakes right now. They do not seem at all connected with the economy. The smaller projects seem to be going to those already connected here (understandable) and I believe they know tricks to making them profitable.

I've bid on some properties that later were bought and 'recycled' as they say here. I knew the asking price, and approx. what a build out would cost. When you see the 3 or so U$80, 000. apartments they end up building, factor in the time, it hardly adds up. Maybe they do a few at once, skimp on BPS somehow?

So even if you can get in the game, it's not as easy to win as you might think.

A good bet down here (after learning your way around) is investing in rental property. When you can find good deals, they turn a steady profit.

Keep your eye on the ball and you'll soon be enjoying one of the nicest places to live on the globe.

Good Luck

• Here in Uruguay

One thing you have to know is that being a builer in one country not necessarily qualifies you to be successful doing the same in another country. Building methods, regulations, labour, materials and even housing needs and preferences, change a lot from one place to another. I couldn't imagine, for example, a Northamerican constructor, used to build wooden homes with the usual cabling and heating systems made of standard pre-built components, here in Uruguay. Nor the general public is expecting to buy that type of homes, nor he could find the supplies to build them, nor the workers would know how to use them. May be some methods are more like the ones used in Europe, but anyway, you should first come and visit some construction works and suppliers, before deciding.

For some jobs the answer is obvious, for example, the language schools are anxious for native English speakers.

In the construction field it would be less obvious. At the laborer level, which you probably aren't looking for hiring a non-native Spanish speaker would seem unlikely.

You can also start your own business. I think in many cases the financial expectations of the expat would be greater than a local. Communication with workers may be difficult because of language issues. Communication with the city may be difficult because of language and not understand cultural issues. I think that deserves much more study and research than opening a business in your home country.

Buying ugly real estate, remodeling and reselling. That is (or has been) a big business in the USA. It seems to grab the attention of many moving to Uruguay too. Again, I think it is more complicated here for the reasons I just mentioned as well as a more limited market for the newly remodeled property.

Does that mean you shouldn't try? Of course not. But you should come with the understanding that Uruguay is NOT the USA (or Bulgaria) and you need to come first with a sense of adventure, and second of learning HOW things work here and then seeing how you can fit in.

Expert Page: Quick Tips for Getting Settled in Uruguay

I guess i will have to get my head around this BPS just a few little questions Can i buy land near a coastal town how much per hectare minimum amount of hectares english speaking architects fast planning process.

We would actually like to set up our own Business rather than work for someone else quite understandable i think.

As for Bulgaria it is cheap living at the moment but about to join EU fully so inflation will rise rapidly climate max45c summer min -15 winter mafia run and large scale corruption.

We agree that we will have to come to Uruguay to see and look for ourselves at the moment we are just trying to do as much homework as possible.

Thanks in advance SEAN

1) It was basically the same post he made a while back. It was strictly to promote his services about USA taxes for Expats. I previously emailed him the information about using this forum for self promotion (encouraged, but not with repetitive, uninformative posts).

2) This message was started by someone from Bulgaria, and therefore the issue of USA Taxes is not particularly relevant.

Now let's get back to the discussion.

BPS is a subject in a class by itself. Although I moan about certain aspects of it, it does have the advantage of being a sort of free standing authority which deals with social things like health, pensions, injury compensation etc with responsibility to raise its own money rather than the northern preference for paying such things out of general taxation.

You can buy land wherever you want. There were proposals to ban foreigners from owning more than a certain amount of land within 40 kms of a land border but they seem to have disappeared.

I've seen some scary prices quoted for development land in fashionable places but I live in a quiet rural location where 8k to 10k per hectaria is usual. Around P de E you could multiply that by 10 or 100. There are numbers of uy inmobiliaria sites and to get an idea about prices for smaller plots, the Mercadolibre link below is informative. Select Compra then terrenos and possibly quintas if you want something larger just outside certain towns. For coastal departmentos you'll need to select Canalones, Maldonado and Rocha and for "cities" you'll have to get out your atlas or look up maps on the net. That should keep you busy for a while :-)

Planning and building regulation rules are done locally. Where I live there are none (!) and each "city" seems to have its own approach. In most rural areas you can do whatever you like in the countryside. I'm told that planning is at its strictest in parts of MVD's old city but its something to check out when you visit. When first I arrived I didn't believe that I could just build myself a medium sized mock castle without getting permissions/ inspections/ architects/ etc so I wasted a week bothering local funcionarios and architects about whether or not it was really true.

I know several English speaking architects. The ROU has a massive number of architects in proportion to its population.

Unlike in Bulgaria, I've met remarkably little corruption here... but I lived in Thailand for many years so perhaps I'm easily impressed. :-) You'll find that everyday prices seem quite expensive ATM... which is mostly down to the very strong peso and our current boom.

• Inmuebles.mercadolibre

Have been spending alot of time on google earth looking at photos posted and i must admit ROU looks very appealing, also searching for properties for sale and land , i think i should treat ROU the same as Bulgaria, 1 price for locals and 1 for others .

Thanks Patrick for your time , , , ,

I've seen a bit of that but less than in many other places where I've lived. Luckily I made some local friends before I bought anything so sent them in to negotiate first.

Expert Page: Quick Tips for Getting Settled in Uruguay

Would around 90, 000 USD get me a reasonable sized property with maybe 4 hectares ? Near a coastal town ? We are looking to come to ROU in oct for 1month , cheapest flights we can find is London heathrow to Beunos aires is 1050 USD return, or is there a cheaper flight agency that others use .Whats the weather like in OCT ?

Once again many thanks in advance.

SEAN

October is early spring here so the weather isn't too certain... hot sun and cool air would be the norm... but Uruguayan weather seems to take a delight in being abnormal.

Air fares went crazy in 2010. In 2009 I managed to find a flight Bs As to Madrid or Barcelona for 657 U$S in June but for June 2010 the best I could find was 1056 U$S. Both Madrid and Barca have Easyjet, Vueling and other cheapo airline connections so its not too expensive onwards from there. Luckily I'm a UK landlord so travelling to the UK "to inspect my properties" is a tax deductible expense :-)

As far as property goes , i need a reasonable size piece of land because if we do relocate we have 3 dogs, im thinking near to coastal simply because of buissnes possibilities.Maybe 30 mins ew commute.One thing for sure the more i keep searching the more im finding ROU more and more appealing, , , , What have WE let ourselves in for, As for flights going by what you have said Patrick 1050 USD is about right, looking at figures i make it that Europeans only make up approx 10 per cent of ROU tourism, , ,

And for planning permission in more rural areas , seems the same as putting up a tent?

Once again thanks in advance

SEAN

Chuckle.

Being equidistant in time from both MVD and Bs As with frequent buses / bus/ferries to both is one of Valdense's many attractions.

As for lack of rural planning, in the UK the powers that be will bust you for camping on your own rural land after 28 days but here you can build yourself a half scale copy of Windsor Castle and nobody minds. Better still, outside the urban and suburban districts, your abode will not be assessed for property taxes whether its a tiny shack or a luxy palace :-)

WE will have to come over and basicly explore everywhere as the google earth im looking at , it keeps letting me see a vast choice of destinations all over ROU .

Couple more questions What places are within 1.5 hours drive from MVD airport and approx prices for a round of golf.

Thanks again in advance.

SEAN

@Wally: Super Blog

Depending on your driving style and whether you obey speed limits, I'd say 1.5 hours would translate into roughly 120 kms along the major rutas or less along more rural roads. Westwards it would be Colonia Valdense/Nueva Helvecia and eastwards, Punta del Este. I'm unsure about the condition of northward rutas.

As for golf, I've no idea. My winter sporting pastime is saloon car dirt track racing... a sport which usually costs the participants slightly more than they can afford. One of our wealthier rivals bought himself a new highly tuned race engine from Bs As for an allegedly eye-watering sum... but we still beat him is our ancient 1973 used-to-be-a Ford Escort. :-)

Annette, thank you for that link , it looks like we will be going to ROU for the month of nov, property prices change so thanks for the guideline, i will probably contact you nearer the time , that was roughly the location i was looking at , but by looking at ROU on google we feel to explore is a must.

Have been looking to hire a car/camper , does anybody know a reliable , nicely, priced provider of this service/s please

Once again thanks in advance.

sean

don't be put off, that this is a german site. I'm sure that you can write or phone and converse in english.

Does anybody think a month is long enough to see ROU? Also places that are a must to see, as this will help plan our visit.

By looking at the coastline , would i be correct in thinking it is approx 500 miles long.

Once again thanks in advance,

SEAN

The overall length of the coast rather depends on your definition of "coast." In terms of real salty sea, its about 220 kms from Punta del Este to Chuy.

Most of the coast is strictly speaking estuary (Rio de le Plata) which is still called "sea" as far as MVD though it gets less salty the further up you go. P de E to MVD is about 120 kms and includes a number of popular settlements, MVD to Colonia is about 180 kms with a less developed "coast" and northwards from Colonia del Sacramento towards Carmelo is another 70 kms after which point you can see the Argentine shore. Just south of Nueva Palmira the river becomes the Rio Uruguay but still has some nice beaches.

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