when renting an apt or condo in Cuenca what

That's all we had to do. I have dealt with Cuenca Real Estate and if you keep in mind that they represent the owners of the properties they rent, they are pretty up front. By way of disclosure they manage my condo when we are not using it. I know you would like to know that you have a place to live when you get there but you would be well advised to spend a few nights in a hotel and commit to a renal only after you have seen it and understand how it's location will work for you. What we did was to see what we could find on our own and compare to what Cuenca Real Estate had to offer. The turnover of rental properties in terms of what is available is pretty fast.

Sequimite..I see what you are saying but what most us of need is  where to look once we get there.  Do I get a hotel for a week and wander the streets, hoping to get lucky.  All we want is some of your experience in a start point. I don't want this to look like a rant but it seems that most of the expats had someone already there to help out or they are coming for a week or two. I want to come for 3 months and don't know where to look.
   Bryan

I have been checking out Cuenca realestate website and cuenca rentals website..I know that I would like a place where utilities are included ..thank you for letting me know that you have dealt with cuenca realestate as I was trying to find reviews on their business.

If you are going to Cuenca for three months, it's worth it to spend some research before you go and I think you are on the right track. I would go first to the web site "Cuenca High life" (just type it into Google) and then sign up for their daily news letter, "Gringo Tree" which often has apartments for rent. What we did was to book a room at Casa San Rafael for 4 nights which is 3 blocks from Parque  Calderon. That is the center of the historic district. You can look up Casa San Rafael on Trip Advisor. We signed up for the introduction to Cuenca program put on by David Merill and Terra Diversa. That is really not necessary but it included a tour of the city which was helpful. We then toured a bunch of available rental with "Rentals Cuenca". Another rental outfit that I believe is reputable is "Su Casa en Cuenca" although I have not done business with them. One of the first things I would do is go to the Visitor Center at Parque Calderon and get a get a"Tourist Guide of Cuenca" which includes a great map of the areas you will most likely be interested in. As it turned out the very helpful owner/host of Casa San Rafael had a brand new apartment located 15-20 minute walk of Parque Calderon which was perfect for our purposes. Cuenca has a ton of highrise Condo buildings and you can ask if there are any apartments for rent in the building and if you can see them. Sometimes there are notices posted at the Carolina Bookstore or at the Wind Horse Cafe. English is spoken at both those places. Also it is very easy to meet English speakers at the various "gringo nights" held at a number of the restaurants around town and they will frequently know of apartments for rent. Check out Rentals Cuenca's web site to see their inventory and see if anything is of interest,ant then email Chela there to see what she has available. DO NOT RENT ANYTHING YOU HAVE NOT SEEN. Since three months is considered a short term rental and you will want it fully furnished, you should expect to pay $500 per month or more with all fees and utilities paid including internet and TV. We had a very nice furnished apartment in a location that suited us very well and we paid $700 per month. The inventory of furnished rentals changes very quickly so just keep at it. You will find everyone, gringos and Cuencanos alike to be very helpful. The area off of Solano near the University of Cuneca I think is an especially attractive location. Hope this helps a little. Ron

Ron: You are are little off. This is exactly the type of info I am looking for. My budget could cover $500 all included. I will surely check out your tips. Basically looking for a single apartment with some cooking facilties within walking distance of El Centro.  Thanks for the great leads.   
       Bryan

Ron: Dont't mean to pester you but everybody says hotel first, then rent. If I go through your sites, do I have to prepay upfront sight unseen? What happens if it doesn't work out. Just trying to work this out on a limited budget.
  Bryan

Great information. We are coming to Manta and Cuenca on exploratory trip in June.

Bryan
I presume your question about prepayment was in reference to the hotel. The simple answer is that it works like it does in the US. If you make a reservation you will need to provide a credit card number and if you do not cancel within the time limit set by the reservation site or by the hotel, you will be charged for one night. Regardless of what I have said above, you should be sure to understand the cancellation policies at the time you make your reservation. Cenca has a large number of mostly small hotels and hostels (hotels and hostels are much alike in Cuenca so I wouldn't worry about the difference). At certain times of the year, rooms can be tight but usually, if you are getting into Cuenca early in the day, you will probably find something satisfactory. That is why I recommended that you check out the web site "Trip Adviser" where you will see reviews by people who have stayed at the various hotels/hostels and then make an informed choice. Go to Google and type into the search bar "hotels in Cuenca,Ecuador" and Trip Adviser will pop up near the top of the first page. If you are not going with a confirmed reservation, I would at least take a list of my first 3 or 4 choices in case I couldn't get in to my first choice. Personally, I would make my choice and give the reservation site my credit card card number figuring I could change if I was unhappy. Anyone can have a bad experience at even a highly rated hotel but I think that very unlikely, especially in Cuenca. In my earlier post, I mentioned my first choice for a hotel. Good luck. Cuenca is my favorate city in all the world, Ron

Ron.  Again, very helpful. The reason I asked about prepayment is that if you stay a week or longer, you usually can get a better rate and if I prepay and don't like it, then I either take the loss or live with it.  I am not a fussy or picky person. Just want clean and reasonable price.

  Bryan

Bryan. Understood. I wasn't thinking about staying in a hotel for a week so I didn't consider that possibility.Did you mention when you are going down? The weather is usually slightly better later in the year. At any time of the year, it's good to have an umbrella because may days it may rain for a half hour or so without much warning. Umbrellas are cheap in Cuenca but the ones I saw were not long on Quality.

Again, Best of luck, Ron

Ron.  A hotel is just a start point but unless I round an apartment or a room in someones home, it may end up as my end point. I am zeroing in on Feb. 2014 and I know it is way early but I like to plan ahead (getting to old for big surprises).  It is impossible to confirm flights this far ahead and I have to take 2 airlines and change planes 3 times plus the van from Quito to Cuenca, so I really don't want to walk around with my luggage trying to find a hotel. The weather is not a big factor as I would be up to my navel in snow at home at that time and I am over 6 feet tall. HA. Right now, I am just trying to establish a few expats that I can contact when I get things firmed up and hope for the best then.
      Luck is what you make it but thanks for the sentiment
        Bryan

Dude, that van ride from Quito to Cuenca is 8 hours. You sure you don't want to spring for a 45 minute flight?

Edd. My bad. Should have put Guayaquil. Getting old, I quess. Planning on staying overnight in Guayaquil and taking a day trip as I want to see the mountains at least on the way in.
  Thanks  Bryan

Bryan,
A few posts ago I suggested that you go to a website called Cuenca High Life and subscribe to their daily news letter, Gringo Tree which you should do if you haven't already. You will save yourself a ton of questions on this and other forums if you go to Gringo Tree and down load their book titled "Expats In Ecuador / Life in Cuenca". It is 157 pages long and costs $15. Well worth it in my opinion.
If I were you, I would overnight at the Quito airport at a hotel/hostel with an airport shuttle and catch a morning flight to Cuenca. You can see Quito latter when you have time. From the Cuenca airport I would take a cab to my hotel and check in with my bags. Because I had spent a lot of time on "Trip Adviser" I'd be pretty confident that I could stand the hotel for a few days and extend if I wanted to or find another if needed. As Edd Stanton said, the flight is only 45 or 50 minutes long. Under no circumstances would I take a van or bus from Quito, at least for my first trip!
After I was checked in, I would head to the Visitors Center at Parque Calderon and get a map of the Area. They will have an English Speaker behind the desk. The Visitors Center is on the south side of the plaza on Mariscal Sucre. The map you you want will have two young women dancing and wearing red skirts with white tops and in straw hats on the front and say "Tourist Guide of Cuenca and it's surroundings. Next I would take a tour of the available rental inventory of one or two agents. I would go to a few gringo nights at several of the restaurants and talk with a few of the diners and ask if any of them know of an apartment for rent. You may be able to get a schedule at the visitor center or the Carolina Bookstore. Maybe Edd Stanton would post a schedule of Gringo nights on this forum. I'm not presently in Cuenca and I don't remember what nights for what restaurants. Also ask at your hotel.
Sorry your last post came on while I was typing this. Guayaquil is not an option for me. I still think you should try to get to Cuenca in the morning without having traveled all night.

Ron

Ron. I plan on staying overnight in Guayaguil and catching an early van to Cuenca. I have read that it is a 2 or 3 hour trip although, by most accounts, rather hairy. Don't mind a little spice in my life. Briefly checked out you sites and will dwelve deeper in a bit but will pick up a map for sure.  It would be great if Edd or someone could post a few expat times and places.
  Thanks to all
     Bryan

Under budgeted for what you want.

That is $500 a month budget just for a room.

cuencarealestate.com is a bit of a gyp for rentals. New listings rarely come up. A studio apartment leads the rental categories that's been up there for about 6 months. I contacted them and they were VERY nasty.