Crappy Apt

[Member #1036]

I usually do pretty good on renting apartments but this time I got fucked. Rented with BYTARGENTINA and when I arrived at Cordoba-Esmeralda it was a piece of shit. I told the agency and they said too bad and no refund but will look for another apt for you. I said ok but told them give me a suggestion as I don't want the same thing to happen. I speak with Juliana the owner and she says she doesn't know what the apartment look like and that its my choice which you take. What kind of crap is that. They are supposed to give some type of advice but how can she when only here workers go inside to see the apartment.

Never judge an apt by photos as this shows nice. When arrived the furniture was old and worn. No AC which is my fault as I look and they don't mention air but I figure who can rent an apt without air. Crappy shower with only a piece of glass separting from the bathroom so the whole bathroom floor gets wet with a shower. Bugs running up the walls. ç

I lose my wallet so I decide to gut it out here.

[AllIWantIsLove]

1036,

How about identifying the apt. By address so that the rest of us can avoid it. Also, if you give us the owner's name we can avoid other apartments he / she owns.

Bob

[Member #1036]

Don't have the owners name handy but will post when get it.

[Hunt99]

Nice series of posts today, 1036. You provide a good example that other posters ought to emulate.

[El Greco]

They are good, they are big but unfriendly and there are certain negatives about their services.

First of all they do not take into consideration that a customer may totally dislike an apartment that he only show photos of. They will not refund any of the reservation deposit.

Second they ask for your credit card info for the above deposit and you have to submitt it on a non secure site. Very dangerous and easy to be hacked.

Third I am trying for a week now to make arrangements with them in order to see an apartment before I reserve it for my next visit and they make a lot of excuses in order not to let me see it. I went by their offices and they did not accept my in person verbal request but they gave me the telephone number of one of their employees to contact who finally I found out that is on vacations.

Kept calling them and finally some supervisor told me today that I have to file a request through their site. They again refused my verbal request.

I am already staying in one of their apartments (using their services for my first time) with no problem whatsoever and I can not understand that unfriendly and unprofessional attitude.

El Greco

[Big Bob 7]

Byt is not the greatest company but they do have a ton of places and they accept other methods of payment besides just cash so I have rented many places from them. I have only been burned once but I did refuse a place one time (because it was too cold during the winter and it was listed that they had an Internet connection and it turned out that the owner had disconnected it to avoid paying the bill.) I think that there are a couple of tricks to working with them which you might want to take note of. First of all, realize that all of the photos are real but they are taken in such a way as to make the apartment look bigger. What doesn't lie though is the amount of square footage that the place has. Find out what kind of space that you need and pay close attention to that number. Second, look at the amenities very, very closely and assume that anything not listed is non-existent. Also, if for example, you are interested in a particular feature (like a pool, fireplace, big balcony. Etc) send the agent that you have been dealing with an e-mail inquiring about that feature and explaining that this is really important to you. I had been working with a particular agent and they have always been good about straight shooting to me details about the place IF ASKED. If you don't ask they don't tell. Also, if you are interested in one of their properties and you have sent a detailed message to the agent telling them which features are important to you, when they get back to you with a list of alternate properties with the specs that you requested and don't mention the one that you asked about that usually means that the one you were interested in was screwed up or misrepresented in some kind of way. This is how I got burned. I insisted on going with a certain place after my agent was clearly trying to steer me away from it. I thought he was just trying to jack up my price but it turned out that the place next door was having a renovation. It was noisy all day long and a complete nightmare. I would recommend that someone new to the city and staying for a while come and get a hotel for a couple of days and rent a phone or by a chip for their existing phone because the agents will call you if you are in town. They still probably won't let you see the place before taking it but you can definately check out the neighorhood and the building before signing. Also, the one time that I refused to accept the apartment that they were offering I was staying in a hotel at the time and just refused to sign the contract. I didn't go to the place with all of my bags...etc. I wasn't worried about winding up out in the street and as a result I stood firm and they found another place for me THE SAME DAY which was the same price and 10 times better.

There are a lot of companies out there and when I first arrived in BA I had the impression that they all sucked and were trying to rip us off. I still have that impression but the combination of rising rents over all, the competition being forced to cut some of their ridiculous pricing, and Byt's prices increasing at a rate faster than the local inflation have influenced me to keep my eyes open for other opportunities. I think that the one feature that Byt has as a short-term rental agency that the others don't have is that they have SO MANY apartments that it is easy to pick your neighborhood. My experience with other companies is that they have one or two places in every area in your price range and if you don't like those places then you have to choose to live in a totally different neighborhood or change your price (usually go up in price of course). That's not acceptable to me because I already know BA and know where I want to be.

Greco - I totally agree with you about them not treating repeat customers with respect. You are absolutely right ..but we are in Argentina. What business do you know here that actually does respect repeat business. I don't know of any. It's cultural.

[Sportsman]

Just to be clear, would this be the apartment:

http://www.bytargentina.com/re/propview.php?&ano_ing=&dia_ing=&mes_ing=&ano_sal=&dia_sal=&mes_sal=&apartmentclose=&view=1427

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. I have rented through BYT 3 times in the past. Luckily for me I had no real problem with mine.

[El Queso]

Yeah, I've rented from ByT a few times as well, and am currently in one of their apartments, which I am very happy with.

My experience with them (and others as well) shows that you have to be very pushy if they offer resistance. I am down here for a good bit of time (been here for a month and a half and plan to spend at least another two - this is my third trip, but my sixth apartment) and had no problems at all when I asked to see apartments. The only issue was that they have to call the owner of the apartment and set up a time, which make take a day or two to deal with. I have never been refused or been shuffled off, etc. However, maybe because I've done so much business with them, they are a little more friendly to me?

I tried two other agencies (sorry, I don't remember the names!) And one solo owner who had six apartments he owned and was renting. Both agencies and the owner lied to me about internet, but I have found my dealings with ByT to be honest.

Juliana is not the owner (unless perhaps there is another Juliana whom I have not met) - she's a sweet young lady in her early twenties and is responsible for the Centro area. I met her week before last at their office on Bulnes and she was very helpful in my search.

The other agent I've dealt with there is Brigitte, who is responsible for the Recoletta/Palermo area. She's an older woman in her mid-thirties and also is very helpful, maybe more so than Juliana.

You have to realize that all larger agencies pretty much operate the same way as far as not being terribly familiar with the properties they are leasing. You are going to pay for what you get, almost certainly, although you can find a bargain if you look hard. The advice about paying attention to square meters is very good advice, and discount the pictures at least a couple of degrees every time, the cheaper the apartment the more the discount. I have yet to rent an apartment that was as good as the photos. When you see an apartment that has a spotless looking bathroom, for example, always assume that the tiles may be a little chipped here and there and the grout may be a little dirty in places, no matter how bright and shiny the photos are.

I got real lucky finding an apartment for U$S 500/ month that is nice and cozy, but even it was not as nice as the pictures. Probably U$S 600 is a minimum unless you can look at the apartment before-hand, and U$S 700-800 is a little more certain.

In most cases, it still beats the hell out of paying the hotel rates, which to stay in a hotel here that is comparable even to a standard Days Inn or something costs at least U$S 100 a day after taxes are figures in, and the prices just go up from there.

Once you're in an apartment, you might strike up a conversation after the ByT agent has left, maybe later - they almost always leave the phone number of the owner, even if he or she doesn't come to the check-in. Many owners may be willing to do a future deal off the books with ByT, if you like the apartment.

[Strad]

I rented through Byt just because my first time in BsAs. I liked the place very much, and I met the flat owner. Since then whenever I need to come to BsAs, I called / email the owner. The owner gives me a lower rate than she advertises with Byt. I never ever need go through with ByT again.

If you like the place and would like to come back, hook up with the owner, screw the middle-man!

Strad

[Member #1036]

No, I am not a bottom dweller and am willing to pay fair market price and that is why I chose this apt. It was inline with other this size in the area but those damn pic were so good and in the area I wanted.

I probably ain't coing back so its a mute point but just a little warning to others to really ask questions before you rent on internet as there is no refunds.