Just this past week I found an article in El Pais describing the political efforts to resolve issues related to the 55,000 uninhabited properties throughout Montevideo. I thought, “now here is something we can work with.” A non-traditional real estate path, I recognize, but for those who love fixer-uppers, it could be quite an adventure.

Montevideo ombudsman, Fernando Rodriguez, who acts as an intermediary between the private sector and the government, dealing with complaints from neighbors about abandoned properties, stated that of the thousands of properties, four of them are the most urgently in need of a solution, for their strategic location and potential market-value. Among them is the ex-local of Previsión located on Mercedes and Tristán Narvaja, as well as houses on Galicia and Damasceno, Bulevar Artigas, and 18 de Julio and Andes. One building on his list is a building that I see almost everyday: the former medical cooperative Comaec, located on Bulevar Artigas and Maldonado. The building now is in utter disrepair but its location is prime. Its valuable corner location would be ideal for an office, a retail locale, or a B&B. The building is large, surrounded by embassies, architecture studios, and advertising firms. I practice yoga across the street and walk by it almost everyday, marveling at how no one has bought it yet.

The majority of the other properties, according to Rodriguez, are located in the Comercial, Centro, Cordon, and Ciudad Vieja. The latter three are neighborhoods we have featured in previous real estate articles. They each offer great architecture, great deals (when you can find them), and they are centrally located. For a breakdown of apartment prices (which should somewhat mirror the housing market, and shed light on general demographic realities), check out my Montevideo Apartment Real Estate Price Guide as well as Suki’s personal descriptive account of Montevideo’s neighborhoods.

At the end of last year Rodriguez formed a working board with various private and state actors, including the Programa de Mesas Locales de Convivencia Ciudadana, the Programa de Policias Comunitarios, the INAU, and the Ministerio de Vivienda, to deal with buildings that are being occupied illegally. Rodriguez formed the group believing that a more profound commitment is needed by the state to quicken the pace of permissions and resolutions. As of two years ago, the municipal government enacted a series of laws that would take back properties that were unfinished or vacant.

Now, as I said, buying a dilapidated house isn’t the most conventional real estate route, but depending on the type of person you are, you might be interested in the non-conventional path. And if so, there are tons of houses to chose from, some more in need of your TLC than others. While some of the more ruinous properties are considered “problematic” in their generally unhygienic condition, others are just in need of an owner and major repairs.

Three perfect examples of old buildings being remade into hotels/hostels are the Jockey Club, Casino Carrasco Hotel, and Hotel Splendido. The formerly luxurious Jockey Club in Montevideo fell into disrepair in the 80’s but is now being remodeled, and turned into a luxury hotel, by the Portuguese real estate development group, Pestana. Similarly, Sofitel Luxury Hotels acquired the Casino Carrasco Hotel in Montevideo. The building sits at the shore of the Carrasco neighborhood but has long been abandoned. Another booming hostel is the refurbished Hotel Solis, now called Splendido Hotel in the Old City. It sits square in front of the famous Teatro Solis, and offers cinematic views of the bustling streets below.

All are large-scale projects, but serve as models for smaller ones; that is, taking the old and making it “new” again, and getting people to come and stay there. Moreover, according to Decree 175/003, there are also tax-benefits if you can prove that your hotel/B&B/hostel is geared specifically to tourists (but please consult an accountant or lawyer for specifics in how to prove this—we can put you in touch with one if you wish). I lay out these specific benefits in my upcoming article, “Fiscal benefits for investors in the tourist sector.”

Whatever your plan, happy investing!

1. First ask yourself, “what am I willing to invest, in both time and money?”
2. Always think “location, location, location”. Especially if you are considering reselling, and even if you are not, location matters. In urban areas look for areas near main thoroughfares or plazas. In terms of neighborhoods, Parque Rodo and the Centro have some great options. If you are willing to hunt, Ciudad Vieja (or the Old City) still has some gems, but at this point, they are hard to come by.
3. When looking at an apartment in a building, if you can, buy on a higher floor. Ideally your apartment would have a doorman or portero, and buzzer capabilities.

You can read the entire article here.

Once you have picked your apartment, the real adventure of remodeling will begin. In a recent conversation with a property-owner and his architect, we spoke about the process of renovating. Here are their tips:

Picking an architect

Choosing the right architect is one of the most important things you do in the building process, and the same is true for renovating an apartment. Your architect will be your right-hand person, and you want to be sure you can trust them to start, finish, and manage your remodel well. They will be in charge of hiring contractors and supervising la obra, or project. They will also make sure that social security is being paid so at the end of the renovation you will receive a certificate of good conduct by the Banco de Previsión Social (BPS), or Social Security. If ever you sell your apartment, you will need to provide this certificate as proof that you did everything legally.

For a remodel, working with a master architect probably isn’t necessary. A young architect who can act as foreman and designer is sufficient. You will, however, want to look for someone with experience working with restorative renovations. Look at your architect’s portfolio: Did they successfully blend modern amenities into the kitchen, while preserve the old finishes? Did they respect the original design?

Process and budgets

You will begin with the anti-proyecto, or pre-building phase. Here is where you will share ideas and make a plan. To make this process go smoother, come along with an idea of what you want. Your architect will then make a proyecto ejectivo, which is the plan that you will actually execute. Then you will begin receiving bids from contractors.

If you plan to make structural changes, you will need permisos, or permission from the city. They will ensure that rooms meet minimum measurements, have enough light, and are properly ventilated. If you are making changes to bathrooms, they will also test the purity of the water.

Before beginning the renovation, your architect will give you a budget. There will be a line item for each contractor as well as for incidentals. Things always come up and you will want to be covered. An architect with experience will know how to reasonably guess this. If you are not happy with the rates of some firms, you can ask for more bids. Items not included in your budget include light fixtures, sinks, ceramics, marbles, tiles, and toilets. You will have to choose and buy these yourself, but don’t buy them alone with your American accent or you may not get the best deal. Work with your architect, as he or she may have discounts at certain shops.

Once you have your budget set, you will begin work, with your architect as manager. I had the process described to me in emotional stages. The initial stage is exciting. Demolition happens. Walls get ripped down, floors get torn out. You may start to think that a three-month timeline seems unnecessary, “look how fast everything is happening!” But then the middle part begins and everything starts to slow down. It can be frustrating after such a dramatic start. Then in the finishing stage, the process seems to speed up again. The close of the project involves the finishing details and the painting. Both the owner and the architect insisted that toward the end all parties can start to nit-pick, which can often drag out the process even further. Remember your deadline and stick to it.

Lo Baroto Sale Caro

That is to say, going cheap will eventual cost you, and maybe a lot. When the architect started listing all the people that are necessary for the renovation, I couldn’t write fast enough: kitchen guys, marble workers, plumbers, electricians, painters, masons, drywallers, A/C guys (which is always split-system, not central), wooden floor guys, windows and glass fitters, carpenters, and tilers. The property-owner agreed that at first he too thought the list of specialists seemed unnecessary. “Can’t one guy do all these things?” But that’s where the “lo barato sale caro,”—meaning “the cheapest thing turns out expensive”—comes in. Both owner and architect agree that normally when someone claims to do more than one thing well, they usually end up making mistakes that cost a lot to fix. There must be a person for every task so that it is done well. Owners must know this going into it.

Your architect isn’t trying to pull the wool over your eyes; he’s trying to give you an end-product worth the pesos you’re going to spend on it. Equally important is that before contracting your architect, accept a minimum of three bids from contractors with references. As one architect said, “Sometimes I’ll have someone tell me to call a friend of theirs for a job, but without an actual reference to their work, how am I to know they can actually do the job right?” Moreover, contractors needs to provide their own materials, otherwise they might not get you the best deal, or be mindful of how much of a given material they are wasting. If you’re footing the bill, why do they care how much it costs?

Another important decision you will make is where to spend your money. According to the men I spoke with, even if the apartment is old, you want your kitchen and bathroom to be modern and new. This is true especially if you will eventually sell. Buyers love old details in the living spaces, but want their cooking and bathing areas to be up-to-date. Though materials for kitchens and bathrooms are not cheap, they are worth the investment.

Cultural notes

Work does not happen between December 24th and January 1st. If you are hoping to move in by summer, be sure to set a date well in advance of the holidays. Also, time in Uruguay is more flexible (and sometimes it feels like it outright doesn’t exist). You will have to romper pelotas, or break balls, to get things done and keep everyone on task. If you hire the right architect they will do the rompiendo so you don’t have to.

Though the process can be long, if it’s done right, you will end up with a jewel of an apartment.

To dust off an old cliche, when looking for a property what matters most is—location, location, location. The same goes for your search for an apartment to renovate in Montevideo. And along with choosing the right neighborhood, there are other things to consider too, such as how much you are willing to invest, the level of renovation you want to take on, and your own personal style of living.

Before beginning your search, ask yourself, “what am I willing to invest? You not only have to thing in terms of capital, but also how much of your time you can give to the project. Then you need to decide if you want to invest a lot of money up-front on a place that is in good shape and doesn’t need a large amount of renovation capital, or if you’d prefer to bag yourself a bargain and keep a larger proportion of your money to really put your stamp on it.

If you are looking to for an easy “slap-a-coat-of-paint-on-it” remodel, you’ll want to look for an already restored property in need of some light TLC. Of course, your initial cost may be more, but you will then have to put less into it. And remember, while your purchase price may be the same amount you would end up putting into a similar restoration, you will have bought a jewel ready to be treasured by you or a future buyer.

If you are serious about remodeling, you will want to remember: the worse for wear an apartment is, the more money you will need to invest in renovating it. There are some beautiful, dilapidated buildings in the Old City, for example, but renovating them would probably cost much more than the building itself.

On the subject of location, remember, the more remote your apartment it is, the farther you are from the cities amenities, and—unless you drive—the more you’ll have to rely on public transport or taxis. There are however mini-epicenters of social and cultural activity throughout the city, especially around any of the plazas. Some plazas that you might want to look at include Plaza Independencia, Plaza Fabini, and Plaza Cagancha. Otherwise, look for streets with lots of movement that have restaurants, corner stores, and pharmacies. Or find a place near a major thoroughfare, like 18 de Julio, which is bustling with all the stores, restaurants, and everyday amenities you could possibly need.

If you can, buy on a higher floor, to keep you above the noise and give you a view. Plus, depending on the neighborhood, the higher you go, the more likely you will get to see the river from your window.

Ideally your apartment would have a doorman or portero, but in older buildings this is unlikely. At the very least, look for a building with buzzer capabilities, so you don’t have to bajar, or go downstairs, each time a guest rings.

Where to buy?

Thanks to low prices and incredible architecture (ranging from art deco to Spanish colonial), the recycling boom hit the Old City first. European investors snatched up jewels and restored them into offices and homes, and the Old City came alive again. While great for Montevideo, the renaissance of Ciudad Vieja means good deals are now hard to find. “Picked over,” is how one developer described the neighborhood.

Fear not, other great neighborhoods still present ample architectural options, and the occasional “steal of a deal.” Parque Rodo and Cordon have tree-lined streets and homes featuring indoor patios and elevated ceilings, while the Prado is full of super mansions that are by no means cheap, but are priced well below world standards. The Centro offers buyers a more urban experience, and a range of architecture styles that include a more modern variety. If you want to stick close to the Old City, start your search from Plaza Independencia and work east down 18 de Julio.

Look for next week’s follow-up: Redoing an Apartment in Montevideo, Part II: Tips from Owners and their Architects. We will finish the series post-Christmas with Part III: Furnishing your Apartment—Tricks of the Trade.

When we actually saw the house, it still seemed too good to be true, so we decided to look around. Over the next few days, we saw a variety of houses on the market. None compared. We made an offer for a bit less than asking price. It was rejected, so we offered full asking price and the owners accepted.

To actually close a house deal in Uruguay, you need a lot of people. The all-day session had two escribanas (a kind of Uruguayan accountant necessary for all transactions), the inmobiliaria (realtor), the owners’ and their lawyer (needed because the couple was divorcing), our relocation advisors, and us. Quite a party! We also learned that our house was illegal. Actually, a lot of coastal properties in Uruguay built over the years have are illegal. What did this mean?  I will discuss the topic of illegal houses in another article next week. 

To seal the deal we had to agree to make the house legal, plus make a $500 deposit with a promise to send $4,000 more when we got back to Canada. The house was rented for the summer, December through February. We could take possession in early March when we also had to pay the remainder of the money. This suited us fine. We needed the time.

Back in Canada, we had two businesses to sell. My wife’s business sold quickly and at the beginning of March she left for Uruguay. It would be a long seven months before I could join her. She soon had a lot of problems.

The house she found was quite different. All furniture had been removed, of course, but in keeping with Uruguayan customs so had all appliances, the hot water tank, all light fixtures, most light switches, the kitchen ventilator, and even the toilet seat! The walls and ceiling, which had been pristine white in November, were now blackened with mold. Smoke remains stained the fireplace. Two bedroom floors were in sad shape. It was dirty. Outside, the swimming pool was green with algae. Cracks and flaws were everywhere. The house had been made pretty for the renters, but now there were so many evident problems.

Our advisors recommended a contractor to start the repairs while my wife moved to a hotel in Montevideo to shop for appliances, furniture, and a car. The repair person became a team of repair people. Later, she discovered that a lot of what they were doing was inadequate. Paint and plaster hid what should have been repaired or replaced. Furthermore, many of the building materials were being stolen by the contractor. Eventually, these workers were replaced and better and more honest workers got the house livable again.

Over the next months, the renovations included rebuilding two room floors, repairing and remodeling the kitchen and bathroom, converting a walk-in closet to a second small bathroom, adding insulation and a second internal wall in the bedroom, removing mold and repainting with water- and mold-resistant paint, adding a layer to two of the outside walls, repairing a perimeter wall, the driveway, and the cracked swimming pool and re-sloping the nearly flat roof so it would drain and not absorb water into the house, and then covering it with rolls of aluminum. A water tank and pump improved water pressure. Also all the charming wooden windows and doors were replaced with airtight aluminum ones. A German style kachelofen (ceramic stove) was added as the primary heating unit supplanting the inefficient, but esthetically pleasing fireplace. Many plants were added and much work was done in the yard. It was really starting to look good.

We hired an architect to work on the legality problem. It would be more than a year after purchase before the problem was mostly resolved. 

Now, two and a half years after possession, we live in a beautiful home with a fabulous yard. If we wanted to sell our home, we could easily do so for a lot more that what it cost us. We don’t! We love this house, that we would never have dreamt possible before we came to Uruguay.