--- On Mon, 10/25/10, Mario <sopel...@yahoo.com> wrote:
What you describe (seems to me) to be a combination of culture clash and disrespect/thievery. The BIG thing to get understood (again according to my own experience) is that the Security/rent deposit in a Latin American Country is not seen in the same way as it is in the United States. OK, now I have to explain how it is seen in Latin America and I will probably screw it up but one thing for sure is; Always use that deposit as your last month's rent!! You have misunderstood, Mario. In Buenos Aires, there are short-term rentals for tourists - from a week to several months. Not only are the deposits returned ( as I noted in the original post) but in my experience, it is returned in the same form as it was given and in a sealed envelope with my signature written over the flap to assure the renter that the agent is honest. Because I have rented in the same building for several years, the agent does not even charge me a deposit because she knows I will leave the place in excellent condition. In the US it is common to charge first and last month's rent and a damage deposit on a year-long lease. In that case, the last month's rent works as you suggest but the damage deposit should still be refunded if appropriate. And please note: the link I sent was not my experience, but it is a warning about a specific woman with a particular apartment which she rents to tourists. It is not meant to condemn all portenos who rent apartments to tourists. I have only had good experiences with landlords and cab drivers. Nancy _______________________________________________ Tango-L mailing list Tango-L@mit.edu http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l