Rental Real Estate Agents in Uruguay

Real Estate agents seem to be everywhere in Uruguay.

It’s not that they are as ubiquitous as they were in the boom-time markets in the U.S. earlier this century, but if you’re around expats, be sure that there will be some agents around.

Agents need to fish where the fish are, and new arrivals certainly are a “stocked pool”, as it were.

First off, things work a little bit differently here in Uruguay. While people use agents to effect purchases of properties, they also use agents to find rental properties — especially those uninitiated with the terrain, and those who are shopping higher end rentals where price isn’t the first, second, and last consideration.

A rental real estate agent in Uruguay will charge a pretty nice commission for carrying out the search, securing the rental, and handling the legal agreements, etc….What they will ask for is either a month of rent from both you AND the landlord….Or in the case of a shorter term rental they can get as much as 10% from either side.

Of course like everything in Uruguay this is somewhat negotiable. So, if paying a commission that is this high is something that bothers you you will need to seek out an agent who will work with you on the terms you desire. However, make sure this is explained, negotiated, and agreed to in writing (if only a simple note) ahead of time to avoid any confusion or arguments later. In even a small inmobiliaria, or real estate office, you will often find a lot of different mouths to feed with reciprocating commission arrangements among each other and you want to make sure you have a perfect understanding on both sides of the transaction before you commit to having them show you around. This goes double if you do not speak Uruguayan, Argentinian, or Rio Plata Spanish.

If you choose the “do it yourself” route, there are several ways you can find a property.

Other than asking around, probably the least expensive properties can be found in the Gallito. The gallito is a paper that comes out every Sunday and lists properties for sale, lease and rent including houses apartments and condominiums. The gallito primarily focuses on property for rent in Montevideo and the surrounding area however.

Another source is mercadolibre. Mercadolibre.com.uy is a latin american ebay of sorts. I know, kind of bizarre, but a lot of properties get listed here as well…..If you’re a cash buyer (or renter) you’ll have a leg up because a lot of transactions are some Uruguayan trying to do something on the cheap and work out some complex swap/layaway/let’s make a deal kind of transaction. If the landlord happens to be in the market for an 81 peugot or old goat, it works out. More often than not, it won’t.

The other, and probably most complete sources for Uruguay real estate — rentals and properties for sale is buscandocasa.com.uy, casas.com.uy, and apartamentos.com.uy. for houses and apartments. If you are looking for a farm or ranch there are other sites but those are usually not up for rent.

These will divide the properties on offer by neighborhood, city, town. YOu can search by bedrooms, bathrooms, price, etc. Almost all will include details of the property in question, and most agents will just use this as their resource.

Something that works differently here is that most properties are offered to the market and any agent can take the transaction, and take BOTH SIDES of the transaction. They are not so familiar with the concept of a buyers’ agent here if you are buying, so be very wary of thinking that an agent is working for you or with you. They are working to make sure a transaction happens.