For Beginners

Every urban plot in Argentina is subject to a set of norms determining what can be built there: how many square meters, how many floors, what uses (residential, commercial, mixed), what setbacks from the plot boundary. Those norms are expressed in the Código de Planeamiento Urbano (in CABA) or equivalent municipal codes.

The most important indicators are FOT (Factor de Ocupación Total, defining how many buildable m² per m² of land) and FOS (Factor de Ocupación del Suelo, defining what percentage of the plot can be covered at ground level). Maximum heights, permitted uses and special restrictions also matter significantly.

Understanding the regulations lets you verify whether what the developer promises to build is actually what the rules permit. It is one of the first questions to ask about any project.

You do not need to be an engineer to understand the construction aspects relevant to a project. What matters for analysis is being able to interpret the construction type (reinforced concrete structure, steel frame, masonry), the main materials, the finishing system and how that translates into costs and timelines.

In Argentina, construction costs are typically measured in US dollars per square meter and vary significantly by construction type, location and point in the economic cycle. The CAC (Cámara Argentina de la Construcción) and ICC (Índice del Costo de la Construcción) indexes are references every analyst should know.

Understanding how construction timelines are structured and what delay risks are most common in the Argentine market lets you evaluate whether a developer's schedule is realistic.

The financial structure of a development project answers basic questions: who provides the initial capital? How are construction costs financed? When is the investment recovered? How are revenues distributed among participants?

In Argentina, off-plan (pozo) projects are a common financial structure: buyers pre-pay for units not yet built, and that money finances the construction. This creates a particular relationship between buyer and developer with very specific legal, financial and risk implications.

Understanding a project's financial logic does not require being an accountant or financier. It requires knowing what questions to ask about cash flow, sales assumptions and cost structure. That is exactly what Module 4 teaches.

Every development project has associated documentation: architectural plans, land title report, debt-free certificate, municipal permits, descriptive report, surface area schedule. Knowing what documents exist and what information each contains is the first step toward being able to review them.

You do not need to read a plan the way an architect would. But it is useful to understand the ground floor layout, identify the uses of each space, verify the declared surface areas and compare what the plan shows with what the surface schedule states. That already gives you relevant information.

Module 5 of our full curriculum is dedicated specifically to this document map and the basic due diligence questions any private individual can and should ask.