Best Real Estate Tour and/or Guide for the Cuenca/Loja/Vilcabamba Area

emoss28 wrote:

Does anyone know of a good real estate tour guide that can drive us around these areas and impart their infinite wisdom of the real estate market?

Huh?

You told us earlier this week:  "This is just a scouting trip to figure out where we want to spend our first year while renting in Ecuador."

If, in reality, you and Tim are looking for a free tour-guide under the guise of being prospective property buyers .. this thread does a disservice to forum members and any qualified real estate agent they might recommend.

A qualified real estate professional is not going to knowingly "drive" renters around Cuenca, Loja and Vilcabamba for the purpose of being your "tour guide and impart their infinite wisdom" about Ecuador's real estate markets.

Maybe that could happen in Westchester County, New York .. or Silicon Valley, California, where rents may be sky-high.  But not in southern Ecuador.

So are you renters or prospective buyers?

cccmedia in Quito

I will also be coming to EC to see along with other things, what the real estate market is like.  I do not plan on buying property straight a way.  How ever one of the things I do want to check out is what rentals and real estate prices are.  Is this a place were I could buy a condo/house?  Are there realtors that you pay to show you around the different areas and what I can rent/buy.  As an ex realtor/builder in Atlanta I have personally been on the" free tour guide" end of things and is just not fair to any realtor.  Having said that, are there agency's that get paid or arrangements can be made to pay a fee for real estate education?
Thank you

Hi CCC,
We want to find out what we can buy for $150K to 175K, while checking out the area for a place to rent next summer. We don't want to move to Cotacachi to rent, if we really can't afford it or handle the weather, for example. By reviewing real estate at both ends of the Ecuadorian Andes, we hope to determine where we want to "land" next summer before buying. From what I know of real estate, it helps to get to know the agents who can keep an eye out for you in the area you want to buy. Since we have only time enough for this one trip before moving, we hope to see some of the countryside and meet real estate agents that are willing to spend some time with us. We expect to pay something for these services!

The Ecuadorian real estate markets operate differently from what U.S. Expats are used to.

For instance, there is no recognized MLS system in Ecuador, although some agent or company may use "MLS" as part of the name of their service.

Some real-estate professionals may require that an Expat buyer pay a purchase commission.  I paid 8 percent on my Quito condo purchase.

From market to market, within markets and among agents .. the agent-buyer relationship will vary.

I suggest that arriving, visiting and potential Expats just put aside any eagerness to buy right away, and instead get to know one or more towns/cities/neighborhoods during the first year.  Find out whether the climate(s), altitude, culture and environment are right for you.

One year in, you'll probably be an informed real-estate consumer .. and have gotten connections or referrals who can guide you to a successful purchase.

Frankly, we're getting too many reports of people who have rushed into a purchase and are trying to solve problems they did not anticipate.

cccmedia in Quito