BuySell BA

When do you go all in on a Pozo (New Construction) development in Buenos Aires? After the “Corralito” (devastating financial collapse in Argentina at the end of 2001) where there was a bank run and banks wouldn’t allow it’s customers to withdraw their cash (which also severely got devalued, real estate prices plummeted in Argentina. EVERYONE was scared out of their minds and panicking. Everyone except for @BuySellBA. Our CEO, was the first foreigner the recognized the almost once in a lifetime opportunity to pick up real estate extremely cheap. Our firm started buying up massive amounts of real estate all over Recoleta and Palermo. A few years after the corralito, many developers were desperate to attract buyers. We looked at dozens and dozens of projects to invest in but almost none made the cut. Why? Most of them were not around too long. In our mind a developer that had been around about 20 years or so would be the only to consider. We started scoping out projects and one that peaked our interest was Palermo Uno in Palermo Soho. It was a huge tower that would be 30+ floors. That was astonishing to us because the zoning in the area seemed like it was only 10 floors or lower. We reasoned that the views from the building would be unparalleled. It also was a clear signal that the principal partners had connections and knew how to get things approved. We correctly reasoned that this would probably be the only project approved in the area and future zoning would restrict a high rise like this. But another reason we loved in addition to the developer (GyD Developers) already being around almost 2 decades was that they were visionary. I couldn’t believe it when I saw the renderings but these guys actually put an incredible gym on one of the top floors of the building. I knew that most developers would sell this space and make a penthouse apartment with all that room and they were passing up a lot of significant income to do something like this. But I also knew that the views from that gym would be the best in South America. You can see Uruguay from that gym. Totally breathtaking views! @BuySellBA - Always finding the most incredible properties in Buenos Aires that have the best ROI

And so it begins. Week one of the MASSIVE renovation of my special PH property in Palermo Hollywood. The start of the $400,000 USD renovation of my property. I will document the entire journey of creating the most luxurious collection of PH's in Buenos Aires. Welcome to the PH Collection by Limitless

Demographics is another problem but first and foremost it's dysfunction. The problem is most armchair "experts" on Argentina don't understand it. Most have never done business here. Most of these so called financial experts on Argentina at the big banks don't understand it. Demographics is going to be a problem all over the world as less and less people have kids. But in Argentina the problem is structural breakdowns at almost every level. Rampant corruption, non-functional judicial system, no system of checks and balances, non functional banking system, the majority of the economy is in the "black" and under the table. Then layer in the lack of work ethic, the culture of so many vacations every month, crazy high inflation that really can't be systemically tamed. Then take a look at the totally insane employment laws (which they are trying to fix) and then for good measure look at the impossible taxes. And not to mention the insane currency controls. The deck is just stacked against a society like this. Even one of these things is disastrous but when you layer on ALL of them, it's really a monstrous task to fix.

"How I Met Your Mother" So 20 years ago I was having dinner with one of my clients, Claudio Dabed and his then wife, Hollywood actress Melissa George with my girlfriend. They asked us how we met and told them the crazy story and they both encouraged me to write a book about my life. Started writing on and off for 20 years "3 Years to Live". An epic story. Here is the chapter how I met my then girlfriend and now wife. My friends tell me my life is surreal and that they would never believe it if they didn’t know me personally. It’s true. I’m blessed to have had an amazing life. To have a beautiful and loving wife and three beautiful and healthy children. People always tell me I’m the luckiest man alive. And I know in my heart that is true. I posted previously about my “3 Years to Live” scenario that I gave myself. I asked myself what I would do if my doctor told me I only had three years to live. How would I change my life? What would be my priority in life? It shifted from working hard and making a lot of money to playing hard and spending a lot of money. I made a list of 75 cities around the world that I had always wanted to visit but had been too busy working to see. I lived in Dallas , so it was very convenient, as American Airlines is based there. I preferred direct, nonstop flights. I went all over the world to places I had always dreamed of visiting. I wanted to learn about the culture, eat the local foods, interact with locals, and, it goes without saying, meet some breathtakingly gorgeous girls. I was only in my late 20s at the time, so I was still young. I was experiencing things you could only dream about in a magazine or movie. I would NEVER consider myself a Passport Bro because it wasn't a thing back then. Only 19% of Americans even had a passport back then. People always told me that someday someone would write a book about my life and even turn it into a screenplay or movie. I knew the content was there, as you can’t make this stuff up. But having three young kids, I was a bit leery because some of the adventures were a bit wild. I want to write an autobiography, and some friends in Hollywood keep telling me they could easily make a movie about some of the things that happened to me just as Claudia Dabed and Melissa George first encouraged me. At that stage of my life, my main priorities were experiencing life to the fullest, eating amazing food (traveling turned me into a foodie), and being on the ultimate search for the world’s most beautiful girls. So many of my initial destinations revolved around where in the world the most beautiful girls were. Some memorable places were Cali, Bogotá, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, São Paulo, Cuba, Lugano in Switzerland, Monte Carlo, Prague, Paris, Budapest, Vienna, and on and on and on. On my first trip to Colombia, I had heard that the most beautiful girls in the world were from Cali. And after traveling all over the world, I can tell you that is true. My first trip was back around 1999 or so. Back then, Colombia was on a lot of DO NOT VISIT lists from the U.S. State Department. There wasn’t much tourism by gringos there at all. Odds are, if you were a gringo, you were probably involved in the drug trade rather than tourism. Before my trip, I read online about a Colombian guy who had lived in the USA most of his life and then returned to Colombia to set up a bed-and-breakfast inn. He would take care of Americans and expats who wanted to explore Cali. He got great reviews and arranged everything: airport pickup, transportation, bodyguards, etc. Roberto was every bit as good a guy as the reviews posted online said. Just a salt-of-the-earth, great guy who knew Cali well. His place was by no means five stars, which is what I was accustomed to when traveling around the world. But his place was clean, and he was great company. Anyone who has been to Cali knows there isn’t much to do during the day except go to shopping malls or play golf or tennis. Cali is god-awful hot. So I’d go to the country club with Roberto and play racquetball and tennis during the day or just explore the shopping malls. But I’d kind of rest up to go out at night. Because the nightlife was insane there. Colombian girls are incredibly beautiful. And I spoke enough Spanish to be conversational. Back then, since there weren’t too many tourists going down there, especially to Cali, a foreigner like me got a lot of attention. I took Spanish in high school and college, so I was totally conversational. But I have a Type A personality, and I’m an extrovert, so I easily met people no matter where in the world I traveled. After a few days, there were other guests at the hotel, so I’d go out exploring the clubs with them. It was VERY easy to meet beautiful girls there. I was young and single and could communicate. I am the type who always did well dating, but I just didn’t want to settle down. So part of traveling around the world was also sowing my wild oats before I eventually settled down. From country to country. From city to city. Roberto arranged for me to get a deep-tissue massage at this high-end, upscale salon every day. I fell off the back of a motorcycle when I was young, so I have a bad neck with constant chronic pain. Wherever I travel, I always get deep-tissue massages. Roberto knew the owner of the establishment, and they set up daily reservations for me. It was a really nice place with two floors. Downstairs, people were getting manicures, pedicures, and haircuts. Upstairs, people were getting massages, facials, and other procedures. I have to emphasize that this was a legitimate salon, not some pay-to-play establishment. I was going in every day for 90-minute massages. I got the same older lady who gave the strongest massages. She was great! I went in day after day. I was there in Cali for 10 days. Well, on Day #4, I walked into the salon, and there was a different girl working behind the counter where people paid. The administrative area. I immediately saw this gorgeous girl. She wasn’t there on Day 1, 2, or 3. But she was there that day! I don’t know why I was so excited, as I had dated and spent time with many beautiful girls. In Dallas, I dated several models, as that was always my type. But there was something about her that was different. She carried herself so well. We never spoke and just glanced at one another when I came into the salon and walked upstairs to get my massage. Immediately when I got upstairs, I got the 411 from the masseuse. I asked if the girl was married. She confirmed she wasn’t. I asked if she knew whether the girl had a boyfriend. She said she didn’t know. She said the girl usually only worked at night, as she had a different shift, but she had swapped with another girl who was sick. She said the girl was studying Business Administration at a university there in Cali. I was impressed. Beauty AND brains. I went to pay for my massage and introduced myself. I asked the girl what her name was. I’ve never been the type of guy who hit on girls much. I never liked being that cheesy guy who used pickup lines or made small talk in bars. I simply asked her name and told her mine. But as I was going to pay, I did ask her if she had a boyfriend. She immediately said yes. We were communicating in Spanish. When she said she had a boyfriend, I was undeterred. I then proceeded to ask the girl if she was in love. She laughed but then said no, she wasn’t. I asked if her parents liked this guy. She again said no. I was a bit puzzled, but I wanted to respect that she had a boyfriend. My driver/bodyguard was waiting in the seating area, and he got up when he saw me. So I just said goodbye to the girl, and I said: “Buenas suerte con tu novio.” (Good luck with your boyfriend.) That was it. Nothing else was said, and I said goodbye. On Day #5, I came back to the salon, and sadly, the girl was not there. I inquired with my masseuse, and she reminded me that the girl normally worked the night shift, as she had traded with the other girl. I couldn’t get the girl out of my head. I don’t know why. I had met many beautiful girls in all my travels around the world. There was something special about this girl. I didn’t know what it was, but I just had a different feeling this time. Although we barely spoke any words, I couldn’t get her out of my head. And the worst part was that I didn’t know why.