I have the utmost confidence and respect in Michael Koh and his colleagues at Apartmentsba based on my extensive dealings with them over the last few years.

I became aware of Michael Koh and Apartmentsba several years ago when I was exploring the possibility of renting an apartment rather than staying in a hotel during a planned leisure trip to Buenos Aires in early 2006. I ended up renting two different apartments from Apartmentsba in 2006, both of which were located in the Recoleta neighborhood, and both of which were every bit as good as had been advertised on the Company’s website. I thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of “living” in an apartment during my visit to Buenos Aires, rather than merely being a guest at one of the city’s hotels.

Although I had been to Buenos Aires several times prior to 2006, during that visit, I fell in love with the city and decided I wanted to explore the possibility of owning an apartment in the same Recoleta neighborhood in which I had previously rented. Michael Koh referred me to an english-speaking realtor with one of Buenos Aires’ best realty agencies, and then visited with me, and helped me evaluate for investment/ownership potential, the two apartments in which I had the most interest. Michael also referred me to an excellent Argentine real estate attorney who drew the paperwork necessary to submit a proper offer to buy.

Because of certain dishonest actions taken by the sellers’ representatives, I did not end up buying the apartment on which I made a bid in 2006. Sadly, this type of experience is apparently not a rare occurrence in real estate transactions in Argentina, and only serves to underscore the importance of an “outsider” finding someone who can represent his or her interests in any proposed real estate or business transaction in Argentina who is honest, competent and “knows the ropes” regarding how business is transacted in Argentina. Michael Koh was that person for me, and he quickly obtained a return of my deposit monies on the 2006 transaction despite the sellers’ realtors’ initial resistance.

My experience with Michael Koh in 2006 caused me to have complete trust in his integrity, his ethics and his competence. In fact, my trust in Michael was so great that in 2007 I relied almost exclusively on Michael’s personal inspection in purchasing an expensive apartment in the Recoleta neighborhood that I was unable to inspect myself, and had only “seen” in pictures posted on the realtors’ internet website. Michael lined up the engineers/inspectors, the lawyers and the other professionals and advisers who helped me evaluate this property, and help me consummate the purchase transaction. After the transaction closed, Michael referred me to several excellent architects who I interviewed for the job of overseeing renovations to the apartment, which is in a lovely “French” building in a very nice part of the Recoleta.

I could go on and on in praise of Michael Koh and his colleagues at Apartmentsba. Suffice it to say, however, that Michael is completely honest, highly competent and charges very reasonable fees for his services. Michael is always completely professional and is a pleasure to work with. He answers every email inquiry promptly, and is a storehouse of information and wise counsel on foreign investment in Argentina. Michael and Apartmentsba are currently acting as my “owner’s representatives” in overseeing the renovations of my apartment in Buenos Aires. Michael and his colleagues also look after paying the homeowners’ association dues, utility bills and local taxes on my apartment. Michael’s advice and assistance, and that of his colleagues, in this area have made it possible for me to own an apartment thousands of miles from my principal residence without having to deal personally with the day-to-day worries of home ownership.

I would not have been willing to pursue the idea of owning a second residence in Buenos Aires if I had not had full confidence in Michael Koh and his colleagues’ ability to represent my interests in Argentina in an honest and competent manner. I have been completely satisfied with every aspect of my relationship with Michael Koh and his colleagues at Apartmentsba, and would strongly recommend that any acquaintance of mine who desires to pursue the idea of owning property in Buenos Aires retain the assistance of Michael Koh and Apartmentsba in doing so.

David Bordelon - Dallas, TX USA

My partner & I booked a trop to South America for the holidays - we decided to spend the week of Christmas in Buenos Aires. We are a big fan of renting homes when going abroad and usually use VRBO Vacation rentals. VRBO brought us to ApartmentsBA being they had the best selection of places available.

We didn't know the city and decided on the most famous of areas the Recoleta. After making some selections, I started working with Mariana. I was very impressed with level of service this company provided. They had car service available. They will supply the apartment with Groceries and basically whatever we wanted. They make all reservations for you - all you need do is ask. The Apartment was lovely - it was on Junin street - very lovely (AP16) . All the privacy and luxury we could have wanted.

My partner is an interior designer and one of his business partners joined us - both were impressed with the appointments to the apartment. It was unfortunate, but my bags were lost at beginning of the trip - I had to do a little shopping to make it through the two full weeks in South America. We were traveling on to two other destinations in Brazil after Argentina. The airline only delivered my bags a week after I was gone from Buenos Aires. But, the staff at ApartmentsBA - took the bag and kept it until I could get it shipped back to me.

The staff was so helpful and kind - they filled out the customs forms to fill them out and they got it all packaged up sent to me at NO extra cost. These are great people - every staff person I have dealt with has been terrific. This is a company that understands service. You will not be disappointed with the selection of apartments or the way they will take care of you while you are there. I would highly recommend ApartmentsBA to anyone that is thinking about traveling to Argentina. I hope to go back next year to the wine country and the city of Mendoza. I am hoping this company has properties in the rest of Argentina. Give it shot, you won't be disappointed.

Richard V. - UK

We first contacted Mike and his team whilst concluding the purchase of an apartment in Palermo with regard to managing a refurbishment and property management.

From the outset it was obvious you could trust Mike and he provided excellent advice on the quality of the refurbishment to aim for, clearly based on a thorough knowledge of the local market. With the professionalism displayed by the whole ApartmentsBA team we had no hesitation in paying the fees for project managing the refurbishment and furnishing.

Mike clearly has superb local contacts as the architect presented a thorough works and cost breakdown with various options on which Mike was again able to provide sound advice. During the actual refurbishment we received regular progress updates including photos and when a problem was discovered with the existing internal walls this was quickly communicated and resolved. We were hugely impressed with both the quality of the refurbishment and furnishing and how easy the entire process had been for us.

The property management provided by Mike’s team matches the excellence we have come to expect from ApartmentsBA.

I would not hesitate to recommend Mike and ApartmentsBA to anyone considering purchasing property in Buenos Aires.

Richard Mills - USA

I have just returned from a week in Buenos Aires, and I wanted to say how much I enjoyed my stay there. It's a great city, and I enjoyed the apartment )(PS8) immensely. The best part was the service that you and your employees offered. Everyone whom I had dealings with -- either by phone, email, or in person -- were polite, helpful, enthusiastic, and friendly. Congratulations.

Patricia Bersch - USA

Hello everyone at Apartments BA. I just wanted to compliment you on your well run organization. We very much enjoyed staying in an apartment (AP33) while exploring your fantastic city. All the arrangements for our transportation and apartment stay were handled well and very professionally by all the staff we met and dealt with via the Internet. Thank you! (March 2008).

Alfred Jones - USA

From the time I had first thought about investing in Argentina everyone warned me about the business climate and what to expect as a foreigner. I was very apprehensive about doing business with anyone. Even if they where Americans I had reservations. On my trip down when I met Mike and I went to his office and got a glimpse of the working environment of his staff while I waited. Everyone was very friendly and appeared happily employed. When I went in to meet Mike I found him to be very straight and transparent in what his business was all about. I had a very good conversation about the real estate market and the economy in Argentina and felt very comfortable securing his services.

Upon returning to the states Michael contacted me about a project being built that he had also bought several apartments in. When I learned this it was pretty much a go. If Mike is buying there then it must be good!!

During the course of the transaction the buyer tried to strong arm me for more money just as everyone had told me they would. Mike and his attorneys stepped in and resolved the matter very quickly.

After purchasing the property I worked with Mike’s interior designer to fit the place out with built in's, high end furnishings and appliances. Everything went well and the place looks fantastic.

The place is seeing better than expected bookings and I really enjoy owning it. I can’t wait to go down and use it!! Thanks to Mike and the courtesy and hard work of his staff this is turning out to be not only profitable but also one of the most enjoyable investments I have made to date.

John & Shirley Olar - USA

Mike, Mariana and Ceceila:

We just returned from a spectacular vacation in Argentina, which wouldn't have been possible without the staff of apartmentsba.com.

From the moment we arrived, everything was very organized and the apartment (A1) was wonderful. We were pleasantly surprised at what we felt was each of you going above and beyond to make sure that no detail was missed. We were actually shocked that everything went so smooth from the airport transfers, to checking in and checking out, AWESOME JOB!!

As this was our first and now for sure many more vacations to Argentina we just want to say THANK YOU for making our vacation one of our very best, your staff is A+, keep up the great work.

(November 20, 2007)

David C. - USA

ABA Team - I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed staying in your apartment on Uriarte (PSX2). The place was phenomenal and the staff extremely accommodating. My stay in Buenos Aires was one of the best holidays I've taken and I can't wait to get back. Next time, I'll have to book a larger place as much more of my friends will want to come :)

Thanks again for the incredible week and I look forward to the next time.

(February 2008)

David Banman - USA

I just wanted to thank you and the staff for their help in making our vacation memorable.

Your service was extremely professional, from reservations to check in/check out to the return of our deposit, and the apartment was exactly as advertised (AP10).

Please give a special thank you to Agustina, who made restaurant reservations for us; she managed to get us reservations at some great restaurants.

I've rented condos/villas in at least 6 different countries and found your service to be as good as any I've experienced.

Thanks again.

(February 2008)

Peter Jolicoeur

My sister & I enjoyed your city & the apartment (AP9) was beautiful & convenient. We also enjoyed the doorman, though we do not speak Spanish, he was a pleasure to see each day!

Hopefully I will return soon & would absolutely use ApartmentsBA again.

(February 26, 2008)

Javier M. - Connecticut, USA

I’m Argentinean but I have been living away from my country for six years already. Around December of 2005 seeing how my native country economy was recovering I started to research the possibility of buying a property there. I’m still regretting not doing it sooner than that.

First I was looking for an apartment with the idea of renting it out to the local market; this original idea changed when I found ApartmentsBA.com and started reading about the Luxury Apartments rental services. I found the business model quite interesting considering that tourism in Buenos Aires was booming.

The first thing I did was to send an email to ApartmentsBA asking about their services and commissions. In less than 24 hours I got a reply from Mike with detailed information about their services, commissions, testimonials, etc. I was surprised with the quick response. We exchange couple more emails where Mike answered all my questions and we agreed to meet the next time I will be in Buenos Aires. At that moment I was still suspicious (not for any particular reason, just because…) and I was not going to give a dime away until seeing their offices and talking to Michael Koh himself; in other words I wanted to triple check if these people were real. I know I may sound a little bit paranoid, but keep in mind I lived almost all my life in Argentina and since I have memory (I was born in 1975) I’ve witnessed how in two opportunities (1989 and 2001) the Argentinean banks and the government confiscated people deposits forcing them to accept 20 year bonds. So you can imagine that if I can’t trust the local banks and the government how can I trust an internet web site.

Four months later I finally got to visit ApartmentsBA offices and met Mike and his Argentinean partner Luciano. They took the necessary time to explain me in detail how they operate, the expected investment returns, etc. and of course answer all my questions. At the end of the meeting one of the members of his staff showed me two of their rental apartments near by in the Recoleta area. So far I was satisfied with what I’ve seen; one thing I liked in particular about them is that they were not only investment advisors but investors themselves. Now I had the necessary confidence in Mike’s company to make business with them from my home in the USA.

Weeks later with the help of Mike I bought an off-plan apartment in Recoleta. New construction in this area of the city is rare, that’s exactly why it was an attractive investment. There were two apartments left on the top floor (the most desirable floor) and Mike also wanted to get one, he let me choose first and then he took the remaining one. Because we bought two units Mike was able to negotiate a discount with the developer, but we had move fast to secure the properties so after he got my okay he even paid the reservation for my unit from his own pocket, which I reimbursed him couple of days later. The property is not yet finished and its price has already increased at least a 20%.

Months later after my first good experience investing in Buenos Aires, I went back to Mike to look for a second apartment. This time he found an already renovated two bedroom apartment on the top floor of a classical 40 years old Recoleta building close to Santa Fe Avenue. He immediately sent me an email with the apartment’s photos and information about the building. Then I asked Mike to arrange a visit so my mother could take a look to it. Later that night I spoke with her but she wasn’t complete convinced about it, she didn’t dislike it but she wasn’t totally sure either. I was not sure what to do, but finally because I liked what I saw on the photos and because I trusted Mike’s judgment I decided to go for it. Mike negotiated the price with the seller and I end up getting the apartment for a couple of thousand dollars less than the asking price.

Closing went smoothly, ApartmentsBA staff organized everything keeping me informed by email and promptly answering all my questions. During the notary meeting my mother had just to sign the Notary documents on my behalf.

On my next trip to Buenos Aires I visited the apartment while it was being furnished (I also retained ApartmentsBA services to do so). The apartment was great, plenty of light, excellent layout, luxury design furniture, and as Mike told me the renovations were tastefully done, it looked brand new (see AP27). In six weeks the apartment was ready for business, it even got a booking before the photos were published on ApartmentsBA.com.

Only three months after the apartment started to be rented out the occupancy is half the ApartmentsBA average, this is good for a new property considering that tourist usually make their reservations months in advance. I am confident occupancy will increase reaching the average by the end of the year.

In summary these people know the market, they know the rules of engagement down there, they have “the right contacts” and most important of all they know how to take care of their customers (renters and investors).

Heather Coy - Canada

Hello from Canada,

We stayed in PS8 .Want to thank you for making our Buenos Aires experience a good one. The apartment was great. Having a cell phone and an IP phone was wonderful. Nancy in the office was always helpful. We will pass the word on to our travel agent and friends about you. Thank you so much!

Charlotte Peters - Germany

Thanks for the great stay. Everything was perfect with your apartment (PSX2) and my husband and I loved everything about our stay. The apartment was incredible and had everything we could possibly need. The area was great. Your staff could not have been better. We loved your city and we look forward to returning to the city and this property again.

(January 2008)

Dana Richardson - San Diego, California USA

Hello Mike,

We just returned back to San Diego this morning from a one week stay in Argentina. We had a blast in Buenos Aires, Mendoza and Colonia del Sacramento.

I just wanted to take the time to thank you for a truly authentic experience. Renting an apartment through your company was definitely the right way to go. (AM16)

We'll definitely be in touch with you again soon enough, because we've already begun planning our return.

Thanks again!

Gerri & Mark - USA

Our family has arrived home safely from our visit to South America.

Our trip was wonderful thanks to ApartmentsBA staff. Thank you for your friendliness and amazing hospitality. Each person (Claudia, Agustina, Cecilia, Javier, Sebastion, Christian and Sondra) that we had the good fortune to meet was pleasant and knowledgeable.

Your apartments were clean and in great locations, we felt at home, away from home. (September 2007)

Renee Bragagnolo - USA

Claudia - I would like to say thank you for our fantastic stay in BA, January 2008. The apartment (AP34) was central and the perfect size. I also loved the French style building. It was clean and the beds were extremely comfortable. I will highly recommend your company and would stay again. You wouldn’t happen to have any properties in Manhattan? Thanks again.

A. Colesberry - USA

My wife and I visited Buenos for two weeks in January 2007. After a few days sightseeing, we fell in love with the city and, as we often do when we come across a beautiful place, we started daydreaming about having a place there. In most cases, our fantasy dissolves in the thousand questions about how it’s done and who you can trust and whether you’ll make any money and on and on. By chance, during our stay a friend sent us a New York Times travel article where the writer had rented an apartment from apartmentsba.com. With the idea that here might be a service to get in bed with, we logged on to Michael’s site and started reading.

Impressed by his transparency and business philosophy, we set up a meeting with him for the day before our flight back to the US. We put down our consulting fee for the initial consultation and he asked what questions we had--we didn’t have many after reading his thorough website but he clarified a couple of things about the process and discussed neighborhoods with us. There was no selling at this meeting, just more of the straight talk that he put on his site.

When we got back to the States, we continued to correspond with Michael via email. He was very generous with his answers to our questions and our concerns about the process—and we hadn’t yet paid the balance of his consulting fee. Within a week, he sent us the first prospect that matched our criteria and at that point we quickly wired him the rest of the consulting fee plus an amount for the reserva (initial offer).

Here’s where Michael’s true colors showed the brightest—when that prospect went away, he wrote back offering to return what we’d just wired him.

Our first reaction to Michael’s consulting fee had been a worry that this guy we didn’t know might just be out to collect fees and wouldn’t come through, but if we had a shadow of a doubt left, his offer to return our money wiped that away. Michael wasn’t interested in our fee. He was in it for the long haul.

He continued to send us prospects for another month, at which time, one came through that seemed absolutely perfect. Being totally transparent about his process, he sent an email to five consulting clients, ourselves included, announcing the apartment’s availability. He explained that he’d see the place on Friday, take more pictures and determine whether it was a good property for apartmentsba.com. Once his inspection was complete, he would give his opinion to the group and the first person to email back would be the person he would represent for the property purchase.

By chance, we were up late that evening and, after an hour-long, intense conversation, we emailed that we wanted the place. We were first and later we were told 3 other clients all emailed the following day all wanting to purchase the same property. We beat them by a few hours.

Over the next two weeks, we had some paperwork to deal with:

Power of attorney for ApartmentsBA to purchase the property on our behalf. We needed to have these notarized, have the notary certified and then have an international Hague Convention apostile seal put on the signature pages. Then we had to FedEx the entire package to Argentina. All told, this cost just under $200.
ApartmentsBA needed scans of our passports and financial data (mainly, as I understand, to satisfy US Homeland Security laws as well as Argentina anti-money laundering laws established).

Michael stayed in the loop, making sure that we were getting our questions answered and that things were moving forward. He also handled the final negotiations with the seller. He also handled getting our tax ID numbers for Argentina which is required to buy real estate.

It was very nerveracking putting this much trust in someone in a foreign country. My wife and I had a long talk. I reread a lot of the information on his website. Finally, we came to the conclusion that either Michael was entirely trustworthy or he was running a scam on the level of Enron. We wired the money.

Michael arranged to go straight to the closing since the property was ready to purchase. We had expected to have a month to liquidate the rest of our funds. Thinking that two weeks might not be enough, we asked Michael to get us some extra time, which he did. We wired the money to our bank account that he helped us set up in Argentina and the entire purchase was finished two weeks later. Michael handled the entire purchase process with us in the USA.

We went back and forth about whether to pay Michael’s furniture and remodeling fee. We had a designer friend in Buenos Aires who had offered to help, but realizing that there would be challenges, we decided at first to pay the fee. Then days later, after we’d already wired the money, we changed our minds and decided to use our friend instead. Michael wired our money back immediately.

Our friend got started decorating and a month and a half later, we went down to Buenos Aires ourselves to do the final decorations ourselves. We had a great time and I wouldn’t have done it differently knowing what I know now, but let me say that we paid twice as much for our decorator as we would have for Michael’s furniture and remodeling fee.

Much of our labor budget went towards paying someone to wait at the apartment for the cable company to come, for instance. I cannot imagine that Michael makes a penny off his furniture coordination fee.

The happy ending is that, a couple of weeks after Michael listed it, our apartment started renting. If it keeps up like this, we’ll be getting full payback within 10 years.

I cannot recommend Michael and his company more enthusiastically.

David G. - USA

Mariana and Agustina,

Thank you and ApartmentsBA for helping make our trip to Argentina so wonderful. The apartment (AP20) was exactly what was promised and more. Your guidance and suggestions in preparing for the trip were invaluable.

We look forward to using ApartmentsBA on our next visit and will urge others traveling to Buenos Aires to do the same.

(Sent in September 2007)

Rhoda Garth - USA

Dear Mariana,

I can't tell you how glad we are to have found ApartmentsBA. Everything was perfect, from the booking, the introduction to the unit and the exit meeting. We LOVED the location and the apartment (AP16) and everything was as promised on the website description. I can't wait to recommend your company to anyone I know who plans to visit Buenos Aires. I hope to come back to your wonderful city again. Our daughter had a marvelous experience in school there and now we know why. Muchas gracias! (July 2007)

O. Chiang - Canada

I have known Michael since 2006. During that time I have engaged his service to help me purchase and renovate two apartments. The second apartment was bought several months after I returned to Canada and the decision was based largely on Michael’s analysis of its investment potential, as the pictures he sent me didn’t look too impressive. Michael negotiated an excellent deal on both apartments; the substantial savings surprised even the real estate agent. Both transactions were closed flawlessly via email correspondences.

Michael and his team provided me with many renovation ideas and they were prompt in their email responses. When I was not satisfied with the quote from one architect, Michael immediately asked for a second and more reasonable quote from another architect. I was kept informed of the progress every step of the way. Michael’s staff gave me advice and suggestions for furnishings, yet my decision was always respected. I am very pleased with owing two beautifully renovated apartments and I couldn’t have done better without Michael’s assistance. The two properties are now being managed by apartmentsba.com; the units have been rented out and the service has been outstanding.

Not only is Michael extremely knowledgeable in the real estate market and its regulations, he is also honest, trustworthy, reliable, committed and responsive to my needs. In fact, everyone in apartmentsba.com has been most courteous, professional and attentive. Many companies in Buenos Aires offer similar services to Michael’s but I doubt there is one that could surpass the value proposition of apartmentsba.com.

I have enjoyed doing business with Michael and would unhesitatingly recommend his services to others.

Jonathan & Monica Carlton - London, UK

Mike – I just wanted to thank you again for you and your staff’s hospitality while my wife and I were in Buenos Aires. The apartment (A28) was everything we expected and more from the photos and description on your website.

I applaud your charity donation program that you sponsor in conjunction with your clients. My wife and I donated to a great cause in London. I am sure that you are raising significant amounts of money for great causes around the world.

We enjoyed our trip to Buenos Aires and it was especially nice to be in such a nice neighborhood. Everyone from the transfer company you recommended, to the doorman in the building to the maids and especially your staff were wonderful. We both fell in love with Buenos Aires and we look forward to staying in another of your properties at Christmas. Many thanks. (June 2007)

Craig Schwimmer, MD, MPH - USA

In 2006, My wife and I purchased an apartment in Recoleta, which is

currently managed by ApartmentsBA. We substantially renovated the

apartment, both to accommodate our use and to increase it's value as a

rental unit. The purchase, as well as the planning and execution of the

renovation, was handled by Michael, Luciano, and the staff of

ApartmentsBA, while we were at home in the US as we gave them a power of attorney to complete the purchase for us.

The purchase and renovation of the apartment required the wire transfer of substantial sums of money to a relative stranger (Michael Koh). Needless to say, we

had some concerns, reservations, and even fears. Wire transferring

several hundred thousand dollars to someone we barely knew, in a

country whose laws and customs we were not intimately familiar with,

took tremendous faith. Michael and his company have, to a degree which

is truly remarkable, earned our trust, respect, and friendship.

Our intended use for the apartment was perhaps a little different than

most of Michael's clients, in that we were interested in finding a

"family retreat", as well as an economically viable rental unit. From

finding a reputable realtor, to appraising the advantages/disadvantages

of numerous properties, to negotiating a fair purchase price and

negotiating the contract, everyone at ApartmentsBA was patient,

helpful, and personally interested in our satisfaction. Since we were

back in the USA, Michael handled the purchase on our behalf - quite a

big deal, since these transactions are carried out in cash - my cash!

But Michael handled things as if it were his money - and everything

went off without a hitch. When it came to the renovation, Luciano in

particular spent countless hours helping us with architectural plans,

as well as the selection of materials, colors, furnishings, etc - no

easy task, considering that we were in the USA, but very concerned about

how the apartment would "feel", since we would use it quite often. With

the considerable help of everyone at ApartmentsBA, our home in

Argentina meets our needs perfectly.

Overall, I would rate our experience with Michael and ApartmentsBA as

truly exceptional. They have been trustworthy, responsible, helpful,

friendly, considerate, and personally interested in our satisfaction to

a degree which is rarely seen.

Mary White - USA

I just wanted to say "Thank You" for a fantastic holiday in Buenos Aires. Your company organized our pick up from the airport and delivery to our wonderful apartment (A3