David English
David
English
Founder & Senior Consultant
David launched English & Associates in 2003, when he recognized
a need on the part of investors from outside Argentina to have an
honest and reliable in-country firm looking
after their interests on a daily basis, particularly in the
case of real estate.
He manages the
E&A team of consultants and serves as the initial point of contact for
clients. In addition, when clients can not be in Argentina
to close on real estate transactions, sign tax filings, or cut
checks for goods and services, David acts in their name under Power of
Attorney.
David holds an MBA
from Austral University's Instituto
de Altos Estudios Empresariales (IAE) in Buenos
Aires, which provides him with unique insight into Argentine
culture and business practices. Originally from Nashville,
Tennessee, he has been doing business in Argentina since 1998.
David is the author of
Expatriate Entrepreneurs in
Emerging Markets: Ten Success Stories from Argentina as
well as Co-founder and former President of the Mendoza Expats
Club, a forum for the international business community in
Mendoza. He is an Eagle Scout and a Rotarian.
Click
here to listen to a Podcast interview with David
Click
here to download a
sample copy of David's book
An Open Letter to
Potential Investors
There
is a saying in Spanish – “That which is cheap ends up
costing a fortune.” Nothing could be more true when it comes
to real estate in Argentina.
Sadly, in the ten years that I have been doing business
here, I have seen many investors from overseas rush to
purchase property without first hiring an independent
professional to protect their best interests. It’s a terrible disappointment when an
investor discovers that the property he has fallen in love
with is not truly for sale, that the “agent” has no right
to represent it, that it is tied up in court due to a death or
a divorce, or that there are years of unpaid property taxes.
Even worse (and much more costly) is when an investor buys a
property without first evaluating frost and hail risk, soil
quality, water supply and suitability for a specific crop such
as high-end grapes. Or, when an investor purchases and then
realizes he needs help to manage his investment
but has no idea how to find an honest and reliable in-country
management team.
It’s not just individual investors from overseas who make
big mistakes. Even major foreign wineries like Kendall Jackson have come to
Argentina
thinking they could do it on their own and on the cheap,
failed and lost millions of dollars.
Examples of cheap properties that ended up costing a fortune:
-
A
Canadian who purchased 80 hectares of land at a
“bargain” price only to discover that due to a
geological fault there wasn’t any water beneath his
property no matter how deep he drilled
-
A
Frenchman who bought land with huge hidden boulders just
below the surface that could only be removed by dynamite
-
An
Australian who purchased a vineyard in a low-lying area
and lost his entire first-year crop to frost
-
An
American who paid for a property before receiving the soil
analysis results from the laboratory. 50% of his land was
unsuitable for vineyards due to extremely high salinity.
-
An
Italian who made a large down payment on a property only
to discover that the person he gave the money to wasn’t
the true seller and the agent had no right to represent
the real owner
Because
of the number of risk factors that come into play when
purchasing real estate in Argentina, engaging the assistance of honest local professionals saves considerable time and money in the
long run. That’s why English & Associates
helps investors locate quality properties here, evaluate
their potential, and purchase without problems or last-minute
surprises.
I’m most proud of the fact
that not a single client of ours
who made a purchase we recommended has since sold their
property -- and the vast majority of our clients say they
are "extremely satisfied" with their
investment. I know of no one else in Mendoza who can
make the same claim.
David English
Founder
English & Associates
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