Moving to Cuenca, need help getting situated

Welcome to Expat-blog,Megan

For info about accommodation, view the Cuenca forum and read the article "Accommodation". It might help.

Regards,
Sheetul

Dear Megan,

I run a rental agency in Cuenca, Ecuador called Cuenca Condos.  It can be difficult to tackle finding a rental in Cuenca as many of the structures here are old and not up to American standards. There are also more and more foreigners moving to Cuenca which means that the best quality rentals are harder to find.


Based on your estimated arrival of February, I suggest starting a search for your property around the middle of January.  This should give us enough time to find you the rental you are looking for.

I can certainly recommend the areas of Cuenca that I prefer but it will be easier to explain when you are familiar with the layout of the City.  Have you ever been to Cuenca before?  You might find this article on Neighborhood safety to be helpful.


Please contact me if I can help you further.

Best Regards,

Benjamin

Hi Ben - I'll keep this breif since I already responded to your other posting.  But I've been to Cuenca twice.  My fiance's family lives up in the mountains (way up) on the outskirts of Cuenca.

My last trip was just a week ago, but I had such a hard time finding out I was looking for (our method of looking for an apartment was pretty poor) so I thought it would be more lucrative to find an agent who I could pay a little money to go scout a place for me.  And yes, I will contact you again in about a month, and we can see what is currently available.

Can you please estimate the monthly cost of internet and cable tv?  What other bills should I plan on dealing with?  Electric, perhaps.  Please just let me know what to expect.  Thanks!

Sincerely,

Megan

Megan,

Average Costs

Internet: $20 - $80 depending on Speed.
Cable TV:  $13 - $40 depending on package
Direct TV: around $60 depending on package
Electric: $20 - $40
Water: $5 - $10
Gas: $2 - $4

Regards,

Benjamin

Before we moved to Cuenca I lived/worked in Quito.  Finding a place was a hassle.  In the end I paid a young man to find me a residence.  It cost me $300, $100 to find the house and $200 when he found a place I liked.  I can give you his name and email if you want.  I got him from an Expat.com.  They had used him and I thought I would give him a whirl.  Rents vary as do amenities. We had to put mirrors etc in.  Furnished, short term rentals cost more than long term, unfurnished rentals. 

For me the money I would have spent on air fares, hotels etc made it way cheaper to get this guy.

Yes, please give me the contact info so I know who not to turn to as this is a rip off.

IndyJones101 wrote:

Yes, please give me the contact info so I know who not to turn to as this is a rip off.

What is a rip off?

Everybody and everything are rip off, only IndyJones 101 is honest!!!

Hello Lehnertm1980

I work with expats in Cuenca, before, during and after the journey. If you want, I can give you referals that will tell you my kind of work.

I'm not a realtor, but I work with many of them. I think I can help you.

jfgranda@gmail.com

Regards

Megan,

Hi, my name is Tom.  My wife and I are looking to move/retire in Ecuador as well.  We are doing our research and it has taken me a long time to find an Expat.com..We were looking at Panama originally but my wife cannot handle the climate there.  We are looking into Cuenca and we are planning our first visit in Oct 2011

Did you move in Feb like your blog says?  Please share any insights that might be helpful for us.

Regards

Tom and Jaudon