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Hi Passthebasketball, if you google  Inmobiliaria Uruguay, that will lead you to a selection of real estate agents. Foreigners may own real estate and there is always plenty of houses and land for sale. You will need to add about 9% to the sale price for fees and taxes.

Gracias ColoniaMan.

I bought a plot of land about 12 years ago with the intention of building on it. I saw a house that I liked and asked the architect how much the construction costs would be. I was advised about US$100,000 and saw a similar house already built and sitting on 1,000 sq meters for US$125,000 so that was a pretty good estimate. I found a builder through the real estate agent and asked for an estimate based on a smaller version, the idea being that starting from a low base, I could get an idea of how it could be elaborated. After much stalling, he came back with a price of $160,000. A similar house sitting on a small plot could be bought for about US$55,000 so caveat emptor. I decided to buy a house and leave the plot as a garden/orchard. That could be an occupation for you, either construction from scratch or renovations.

Have you seen anything that you like yet?

@passthebasketball How has your search been going?

If you buy a rural plot in Uruguay (not inside any city limit) -- can you build whatever you wish however you wish with minimal government oversight?  For example -- I assume the government would insist that septic fields or utility connections would be permitted and inspected.   

Perhaps it varies by Department?

Does anyone know of a good resource outlining the process of building in Uruguay?  (I have tools/experience in building and would want to do plenty myself).

Hi Jayco, l bought a plot that was sold as building land. You will need to have your plans approved but it is pretty much a rubber stamp job. How rural are thinking? A lot of rural places you see from the road have wells and those windmills seen in cowboy films. The neighbouring plot has a borehole with a solar pv powered pump even though mains water is available. Have you considered a plot with a disused farmhouse for remodelling?

You could start from scratch on this little plot.

Hi ColoniaMan -- I recognize your username from browsing the Uruguay forum... thanks for your helpful contributions.

We'd like the land to have electricity available at the road and less than an hour's drive to a city.  Internet is a must have.  When in remote locations here in the states you can set up an antenna at a high point and direct it towards a cell tower to pick up mobile data... I'm assuming something similar to this would be available in Uruguay but we are still doing research (oh boy there is a lot to know... especially aduanas).

Once you get your plans approved what happens next?  Perhaps they do periodic inspections to see that you are building what you specified in the plans and don't really care how or when it happens?  Or do they insist on licensed tradespeople being attached to the project?

We might get land with something basic already there but it will only be temporary while we build something.  So in any case we'll eventually need to go through the construction process.

Do you happen to know if there are any general rules/restrictions governing rural living like limitations on garden plot size, beekeeping, hens etc.   

Thanks, J

>>> Do you happen to know if there are any general rules/restrictions governing rural living like limitations on garden plot size, beekeeping, hens etc.

Hi Jayko,

Unless you plan on mining, growing pot, bottling water or setting up a hunting lodge you can do pretty much whatever you like. Absolutely no permission needed for any of the pursuits you mention assuming they are for your own personal use.

If you’re in the market for a , there are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind in order to make sure you find the best one for your needs. Here are a few tips:

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I know that it is an old thread but it is still listed on the front page and it has interesting questions and contributions, but a few things are missing.  So here we go.

In the country side life is rather uncomplicated but there are a few things not mentioned before that you should keep in mind:

1)  All country properties (chacras, campos) must be fenced.  Don´t ask me why because hitherto I have lived in countries that prefer the land not to be fenced as this is better for wild life.  As a result of this rule there are no larger mammals that live in farm country.  Sad.

2)  While almost anything goes it has to be documented and submitted to BPS (the social insurance) and social insurance contributions have to be paid.  Normally the contractor or the architect should do this, but this may not happen even if you pay for this to the contractor as I did.  (See point 4 below re contractors).  The problem if you do not submit everything to BPS, you will have very significant problems when selling the property, especially if it was a vacant lot when you bought it.  BPS has to sign off on every sale.   You will loose a lot of money if you want to sell later without having done your due diligence.

3) Electrical connections to the power service provided by UTE must be provided by approved contractors.   They will also need to make it happen if you want your service upgraded to a higher rating.  UTE does not do these things itself.

4)  I love the people of Uruguay.  But contractors while also often nice people are a special breed.   If you are used to get the job done right you are like in for a surprise here.  Unless you are very fortunate with your selection you will have very unpleasant surprise, often making your hair stand on end.   The problem is that these people are not properly trained and they do not think about why they are doing what they are doing.    Just two simple examples:

a)  rebar chairs are not used to space rebar from each other and for preventing it from sinking to the ground.  They will put rebar in as much as you want but it will be all at the bottom of the pad / header / whatever. 

b)  the electrical lines service everything, everything together, stove, computer and lights.  They are also run diagonally or in curves along across the wall.  It is just as much a nightmare as point a).

I hope this adds to the information above and will prove to be helpful to you, any past or future contributors.

Armin

@armin31 What a hassle it is to get an electrical connection. Since my last post on this thread, I bought the house on the adjacent plot but there was a problem with the PV so I asked for a connection. The builder on another plot offered to help but nothing came of it. We ended up buying more batteries and that solved the problem for now.