Your everything Real Estate related Cuenca thread.

Guess I will be first to make an observation.

CuencaRealestate.com is a real estate company dedicated to the Gringo market. I scan their listings from time to time, but of course, you often don't where these apartments are located or what buildings they are in. If you email them, maybe they will tell you specifically, but I have not tried. Maybe they want you to sign something first, before telling you. If you want them to take you to see the the unit, they will charge you $15 an hour. If you end up buying a property with them, they will refund you the cost of those fees.

Now, I am sort of a causal looker at this point.  I want to know what is available, the cost of real estate, where buildings are located, the type of neighborhood, ect.  Part of my reason for starting this thread was to create a sort of a database whereby I can lookup up buildings by name, location, and photo.

Okay, so I see this ad - cuencarealestate.com/Buy/398 on CuencaRealestate.com, and I am curious where it is located. But of of course, I have nothing to go by except some Autocad representation and the fact it is located in Southwest Cuenca off of Avenida de las Americas.  Well I stumbled upon this listing  - mandatoparedes.com/propiedades/detalles-de-la-propiedad/?id=133 on another real estate website, and it gives me the cross streets of Manuel Quiroga y Francisco Ascazub. It still doesn't give me the name but I at least know where to find it now.  However, I didn't actually need to drive out to the location since I stumbled across its name on the forum - skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1357195 of skyscrapercity.com. The name of the building is Olimpo. 

Anyway, I sort of wonder whether CuencaRealEstate.com needs to be so secretive about where these properties they advertise are located. Most expats only speak English and are just looking for somebody honest with a good reputation to help us through the purchasing process.

Opinions?

The best CuencaRealestate.com could tell us about this building's - cuencarealestate.com/Buy/701 location is it is a "short walk to Yanuncay River greenway park and close to the Mall del Rio."

Anyway, I sniffed it out and the building is called Portal del Sol and it is apparently located on Gaspar de Jovellanos off of Avenida 12 de Octubre. One of these days I will snap a photo in person and add it to this thread.

I have lived in a few apartments during my time in Cuenca.

My current apartment and prior apartment have centralized boilers while my first apartment had a tankless water heater. However, my current apartment NEVER has hot water. The best you get is tepid, warm water which is adequate for showering, but if you shower at peak-use hours it is cold. Another expat in the building had asked the administrator and he said it is normal and that the people like it that way. Personally, I think that is bull. I think the boilers probably don't have adequate capacity to handle the 30 units in this building.

The other day I was talking with another expat in the building who is consternated over the lack of hot water, especially when washing her white sheets and towels.  Anyway, based on some research on the internet, I learned that washing machines with heating elements are fairly common in Europe. So I am wondering if those type of machines are sold in Cuenca. Anyone know?

By the way, supposedly gas water heaters are not available for importation anymore. Here is a pretty good article from 2011 on the topic. I noted that author left a comment that they are now smuggling them into the country from Peru in order to meet demand.

If I lived in this current building long-term, I would want to install a tankless water heater for the shower. I wonder what kind of undertaking it would be to redo plumbing etc.

Another issue with my apartment is the balcony accumulates a large pool of water whenever it rains. The balcony has a small drain hole in the middle of the deck, but not all water drains into. And I can't push the water over the edge of the balcony because there is a 3 inch high lip. I can spend all day trying to push the water over the drain hole with a broom trying to get it to drain.

And get this. There is a rain gutter along the roof of the building that collects water (often dirty) and dumps it into various tenant's balconies.  Call me crazy, but rain gutters should run down the side of the building.

Anyway, if I owned this apartment, I would either need to drill some large holes in the 3 inch lip so I could push the water over the edge of the balcony with a broom, or I would need to lay a sloping concrete slab that elevated the deck so that the water drains over the edge. Also, I would need to do something about that rain gutter. At least have it drain into a bucket, so that I can periodically pour it down the drain hole.

Here is what I need.

Can someone smuggle one of these babies into the country for me



http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000TX … d_i=507846

Take a look at the lighting fixture in this picture.  This is from an apartment in a new building called the Olimpo. Now possibly the owners are able to select lighting style and finishes in these units, if they buy early. I don't know.



http://quito.en.craigslist.org/apa/3219064817.html

If I am buying a new apartment or remodeled apartment, I expect to see flush mounted lighting on the ceilings unless it something like a chandelier in the dining area, or a directed lighting fixture. Both my current apartment and prior apartment which are newish building have flush mounted lighting.

Everyone who has lived in Cuenca for over 3 months probably recognizes this building which is located on Ordoñez Lasso. It is called Edificio Astudillo e Hijos and it is where you go for your visas in Cuenca.



I initially assumed it was strictly a commercial building but there are a number of apartments units for sale such as this one. Also possibly this one and this one, if you judge by their balconies.

Most of these concerns could be resolved with my buyer/renter representative idea .

jlconst,

Yes, it does seem like there is a niche for somebody to specialize in house finding.  Of course there are a number of people who are "jacks of all trades" serving the expat community. However, I think somebody who just focused just on real estate, and whose compensation was in no way tied to the seller or landlord of the property would be good.

I guess it is considered Winter right now in Cuenca.  I never thought I would be cold, but until about noon, it is cold in my apartment.  The prior tenants had a space heater and I can see why now. 

What does this have to do with real estate? 

Well it dawned on me that my prior apartment warmed up faster in the mornings. It was facing north toward the El Centro
while my current apartment faces south towards El Mirador de Turi.

Ive got a blog and newsletter dedicated to the Ecuador real estate market, here is a Cuenca Property market report I put together... ecuadorrealestate.org/cuenca-real-estate-market-news/  Dom

I have been wanting to check out this building for some time. CuencaRealestate mentions it is 7 blocks of Parque Calderon, but I wanted to see if I could find a specific street name, before looking for it.

Anyway, I finally stumbled upon the information on this website which I believe belongs to the developer of the project. I believe he is a proprietor of this this business as well.

Location: Padre Aguirre Street is an important and beautiful street in the historic center of Cuenca. It forms an axis that joins the Tomebamba River, El Padron historic street, San Francisco Plaza, the Flower Market, Santo Domingo Plaza, Maria Auxiliadora Plaza and the Music Conservatory.
Right next door to the latter, over Munoz Vernaza street and just 8 blocks from Parque Calderon (main square), we find Casa de los Frutales

I first found the music conservatory.



And next door was this construction site. There were no signs or anything to identify the project, but I assume it is the one.



Now here is something I am curious about. CuencaRealEstate mentions in their description the following

All units have energy saving features including solar panels for hot water

Does this mean solar panel technology is the primary heating system for the water or a supplemental system?

I emailed the developer, so if I get a reply I will post it.

Most likely a supplemental system with elect/gas back-up.

Yes, the developer confirmed that there was a gas backup system.

He also confirmed for me that it was a requirement that newer construction use centralized water heating systems. In other words, no water heaters are allowed in apartments of new building construction, tankless or otherwise.   

For those of us accustomed to controlling the temperature of our water, this is a concern.  As I said, my current building only provides lukewarm water, and can be cold at peak showering times.
My prior building provided scalding hot water which was okay since I could mix in cold to get to the desired temperature. The temperature of the water may depend on the whims of the board of directors for the particular building. I still need to understand how and why the temperature is regulated for my current building.

I got a chuckle out of this apartment listing:

Unlike many of the places you will see in Cuenca this unit does not have one of those finicky, Jerry-rigged, and dangerous gas hot water heater setups. This condominium building has been built correctly and has both centralized gas distribution and centralized hot water.

Another choice quote from the same website as the prior comment. While most people don't need to be told this, I wonder what percentage of expats have this as a prerequisite for any apartment they rent or buy.

24 hour security guard service makes this an ideal purchase for someone who does not plan on living in Cuenca year round because they can count on their place being the same as they left it when they get back home

Here is a tidbit which I already knew about, but found interesting because it is being shared in the description of the listing.

This 6th floor unit is Cuenca's largest condominium building which is popular with English-speaking foreigners and should have property titles soon. Ecuadorian law does not require a property to have a title in order to be sold, nor are realtors required to disclose the fact.

http://www.cuencasbestproperties.com/0104.htm

So this website advertises a one bedroom condo near the coliseo, but where it is anyone's guess.

CuencaRealEstate.com lists this 2 bedroom but where it is is anyone's guess.

Finally, this website lists a similar (but different) looking 2 bedroom, but provides the address as follows:

EDIFICIO MARSELLA DE AVE. 12 DE ABRIL

That helps a lot, but even better is the photo of the building that they provide which I recognize since I pass it on my way back from the El Mall del Rio on Bus #7.

Thanks evcs. Maybe I will swing by sometime and see what they have. I will be especially curious to see if they have imported models.

I should mention that the real estate Michael Berger of Cuencas Best Properties doesn't think it is in the building codes that water heating systems be centralized. He says he has read the building codes cover to cover. 

So, it just may be simply a dollar and cents decision by the developer to centralize the water heating system.

Initial reading of this heading of a listing on CuencaRealestate.com can be a bit confusing to the gringo:

NEW THIRD FLOOR TWO-STORY APARTMENT

Of course here, they usually call the ground floor "planta baja", and the subsequent floors first floor and second floor.

However, in the elevator, you will sometimes see the number 1 skipped altogether and you will go from "PB" to "2". That was the case in the Edificio San Isidro.  However, my friends who live in Cuadra I, they have the number 1 in the elevator, so while they live on the 7th floor, I would press the number 6 to take me to their floor.

And by the way, regarding that apartment in the previous comment.

That listing at $95,000 corresponds to this listing on Remax.com.

CuencaRealestate.com also has two other units listed from the same building on their website, although you probably wouldn't know it based on the information they provide.  This unit at $112,000 corresponds to this listing on Remax.com, and this listing at $120,000 corresponds to this listing on Remax.com

As usual, CuencaRealestate seems to demonstrate a little paranoia about the amount of information and photos they provide with their listings. Remax at least tells me that this building is in the Ciudadela de los Ingenieros and provides a full picture of the exterior with each unit. CuencaRealestate provides no exterior photos with 2 of the 3 listings, and only mentions in one of the listings that the apartment is near Monay Shopping center.

Another interesting thing is the pricing of the units correspond exactly on both sites. This tells me that the developer probably made it a requirement that everyone list at the same prices. I have not noticed anyone else listing these apartments. I wonder if they will share a commission with another broker if they were to call them up and say "hey, I want to show a client an apartment that you are listing on your website. Will you split the commission with me if they buy it?".

It was a nice day for a walkabout in Cuenca, so I grabbed my camera and headed west towards Gringolandia.  I had a couple of loose ends to clear up.

First up was this listing. While not up exactly up to western standards, it has a certain charming quality to it, no? Thanks to this photo on Remax's website I was able to identify the intersection as Gran Columbia and Unidad Nacional, which is right by the Remax office.



And here is the photo I snapped today. The drapes hanging helped me identify which unit it was.  I didn't see a name for the building. According to the Remax website it was built in 1995.



White is a bad choice for an exterior of a big building it seems to me due to the difficulty of cleaning it, as you can see for yourself. Also, not sure how I would feel about entering that building at that location at night. There is no security guard.

Next loose end is the other day I posted a comment on this thread.  I wanted to snap a photo of the exterior and here it is.



The builidng's name is Condominio Las Americas, and is located on at the corner of Av. 3 de noviembre and Avenida de las Americas.

In one of my earlier threads I wrote about an email exchange with the developer of the Casa de las Frutillas, and then another one with Michael Berger of Cuenca's Best Properties.

Well, I think Michael Berger just added a new listing for Casa De las Frutillas. While he rights a very descriptive summary of the property which I like, I would classify some of it as "spin".

Here is an excerpt that seems influenced by my email exchange with him:

When you live here you won't have to worry about lugging around propane tanks. Not only that but you won't be fighting with one of those retched calefones you read about on blogs to get the water temperature right. These are things that 99% of all people who live in downtown Cuenca have to deal with but they do not have to be a problem for you. This building will have a system of centralized gas and centralized hot water. This apartment will allow you to enjoy the charm of Cuenca's Historic District without having to live in a derelict building with sewer gases, bad wiring, and rotting adobe walls just waiting to collapse in on you.

His comment regarding sewer gases reminds me of another issue with my current apartment.  The prior tenants, who now live in another unit of my building(they needed more space) had the floor drain in the 1/2 bathroom plugged because of the sewer smells that were coming up from the floor drain. Nice, huh?

Nards, floor drains frequently are not tied into the water sources and the "P" drain will periodically dry out letting in sewer gases. Pour a liter of water in the drain and you should be good for a year.

Great suggestion fdmcg. It makes perfect that the water in the P-trap could have evaporated.

Peeps,

I am looking down the road and want to know if anyone recommends a particular real estate attorney in Cuenca for handling the title search and closing?

Thanks

Peeps, did you see my ad on Gringo Tree? I am famous!

Looking for Attorney

To perform title search and prepare documents for possible purchase of an apartment in Cuenca. I would appreciate any recommendations. Please contact Nards at nardsbarley@gmail.com.

Now it has only been a few hours and I have received about 7 responses. This is quite a contrast to this forum where is doubtful I would even receive one reply.

Of course, the downside to the Gringo Tree is I am the only one who knows what those attorney recommendations are. Apparently, the Gringo tree is going to be revamped soon, so maybe they are going to address this limitation.

I will post later this week the names and contact information I received.

Here are the recommendations in no particular order I received via my Gringo Tree ad for real estate attorneys. I already crossed out one name off the list below since I got burned by them during my visa process, but clearly some people like them.

Lina Ulloa:
located on the 3rd floor of Edificio Acropolis, at the corner of 12 de Abril and Jose Peralta. Her cell is 084 205 336, and office is 410 3588 (dial 07 first if calling from a cell phone.)

Carlos Heredia:
you can view his website at www.Seclem.com cell @ 593 096 110 620 or office @ 593 07 404 8891

Martin  Burbano:
who is associated with "Coloaustro" office is on the 6th floor of the Acropolis building, Av.12 de Abril. Office tel.  4 103 646 and cel  08 134 1858

Andrea Jaramillo:
(593)-07-410-3720 or cell: (593) 08-716-092 or email: andreajaramil64@hotmail.com

Grace Velastegui and Nelson Idrovo (593-7) 284-2225.

NB:

This "thread" is, and, indeed, all of your various posts are, full of very good information, and I thank you.  I have been withholding saying that, thinking that we readers should respect your time and not bother you; but your comment about its being doubtful you'd even get one reply changed my attitude.

Your photos and descriptions of Issues are vividly bringing me back to my stay in Taipei.  Shoddy construction practices, corrupt government officials, vague laws, street crime, EVERYTHING subject to influence peddling, fixers, etc.  Yet I loved living there.

Your point about building security is important. I lived across the hall from the ambassador from some forlorn African country which the Taiwanese had bribed to recognize their country in defiance of Communist China. So, we had a guard post in the front: no problemas.

I read that Ecuador has some 400,000 guns, 250,000 of them illegal.  Who knows if that's accurate.  But that statistic and your comments about safety/security lead me to ask, What's the law about my bringing in the Glock and its ammo?

Thanks (again),
Dick Wilke

Hi,

Yes Nards post are very informative and fun to read.

About the guns, I doubt there's so many in Ecuador.

There's many gun controls in the streets and it's not allowed to bear guns in the street or in the cars, get a permit is very dificult and only allow you to have a gun at your home. If you use a gun to defend yourself and kill/hurt a thieve you will be arrested.
It's not allowed to bring guns to Ecuador.

Vinny

did you get one yet? It looks like a European water heater. We have one in our home and love it. A real energy saver.We are coming in June to Cuenca for a few days. I bet that would fit in our checked luggage. We were bringing a pressure cooker to Frank and Angie but they don't need it now. Gerry in Oregon

That's rather disconcerting to hear, as I have a fairly large sum of money invested with Grace and Nelson. They have been nothing but professional with me. Are you claiming they are scam artists?
I will be contacting them to check on my funds.
ps. I did not see this post until just today, I see that is from some time ago.

aterosin wrote:

did you get one yet?

aterosin, I moved to a different apartment which uses boilers.

ZenSpike,

No, I wasnŽt questioning those lawyers honesty nor their competency. I was seriously pissed that they were using Canadian bloggers website to promote their business to gringos, including responding to questions in the comment sections, but not updating the information when new requirements came about regarding apostilled police reports, came into effect.  They were telling people to get a police report and bring it with them--that is it.  They should have known that people were relying on this information, and if they didnŽt want to bother with keeping the information current, or responding to further questions, they should have pulled the post.

After complaining about, Candadian bloggers eventually got the lawyers to post something more current.

Nards,
" I got burned by them during my visa process"
to me connoted some type of rip off. Seeing that you are from the US, I can only assume you were " burned " in the sense that you did not get your Police Report Apostilled after reading of the requirements on a Canadian blog. Otherwise I'm totally confused as to how you were ripped.
To me, that doesn't rise to the level of being "ripped off" If we go by old information, we'll have bad information. I can tell you that I am directly dealing with G & N, and they informed me as to what documents I need, and what has to be Apostilled. The police report, birth certificate, any divorce decree, marriage license and  proof of income are the items I was informed to have done for a Pensioners Visa. But, I say this with the caveat: This is what is required today. I certainly hope no one would:
a) take my word for it as correct.
b) hold me responsible even 10 days from now as to it's        accuracy.

I think this is a good learning experience for all of us. The Ecuadorian legal landscape is an ever changing one. What is true and accurate today may not be tomorrow. We all need to do our due diligence and look into all the various aspects.

I in no way am trying to insult you, or be argumentative, and actually attempted to p.m you in the background, but you don't have that option available.

I just would hate to see a shadow cast on someone, that could affect their livelihood in a negative way. And yes, I do appreciate that you recognized some people like them.< grin >
Stay Well,
Neil

I got burned in the sense that I relied on the information that they directly told me in the comment section regarding what to bring with me for my initial consultation with them.

They were aware for months that the requirements had changed regarding the apostilled police report, but they never considered the possiblity to update the information they had posted or commented on at Gringos Abroad, despite the fact they were using that website to get new clients.

It created all kinds of problems for me and they lost my business because of it, and I certainly wonŽt be referring other people to them, despite the fact they have satisfied clients in town.

Nards,
Hearing those facts, it clears up a lot of confusion I had. I understand why you would be upset, and have to agree with you, I would have been upset also.
Thanks for the more detailed info.
Cha Cha,
Neil

No worries. The editors of Gringos Abroad and I got into it when I discovered the problem with my police report. His reply to me was "it was just a post" and that the lawyers had no responsibility to to update the information despite the fact there was misinformation being posted.

My opinion was that the web article and the comments were extension of their law practice, and that they should take ownership of what they are advising people to do,  because people were planning their trips based on that advise. He told me I should have hired a lawyer before coming to Ecuador, but my response was Grace told what I needed to bring to the initial consultation in the comment section and there was nothing more to be done than call when I got to Ecuador.

In any case, I wouldnŽt have blamed them if it was just a matter of recent change in requirements, and they were ignorant of it, but they had known about it for a few months and they simply had stopped replying to questions on the blog for whatever reason.  I can understand why they might get too busy to bother with it and the questions being addressed to them, but then they should have had the article pulled or had a disclosure added, and probably had the comment section turned off as well.

Nards. Great info on this blog. There are many like me that are basing their first trip on the info gleaned from these sites. If someone puts old or wrong info, it could affect many things. I have been following these blogs for some time now and you and many others out there have helped me decided to try Cuenca for a 2 or 3 month tryout. Hope to me you and the others when I get there. Keep up the good work.
   Bryan