Condomania and the Home Front

This weekend we met a delightful Ecuadorian couple who just returned to Cuenca after five years of being in the States. They said, "What happened? We hardly know our own city!"

I had to chuckle because I feel that way too sometimes. I think they were referring to the redondel which is the center of construction "paradise" right now and all the various condo complexes that keep sprouting up all over the city.

Redondel Construction

Most folks seem to think that all the new condos are due to the gringos in town. Not true. Most of the condos are occupied by Ecuadorians -- either returning from the States -- or living abroad and investing in their own country. One of the expats -- who recently moved into a new condo complex -- told me he's renting from an Ecuadorian couple and he pays $500 for a two bedroom two bath apartment. I think that's about the going rate these days. Renting a place unfurnished seems to be the way to go until supply and demand level out.

When I tell folks what we pay for rent, they gasp and say, "How did you find that?" Actually $185-$200 per month is what Ecuadorians normally pay. Although yesterday I was at the home of one of our Ecuadorian friends and she has a two-story penthouse and pays $250. It's a lovely place and has a great view of the city. The rental prices are definitely inflated and that's because more gringos are renting (than buying) and willing to pay more. Until the supply and demand ratios even out, I think you'll continue to see rental prices go up.

A couple of weeks ago, I talked with Michael Berger of Cuenca's Best Properties and he shared with me his thoughts and wrote a great article on the subject which I suggest you read if you're planning a move to Cuenca.

In the meantime, we're back to school as students of Spanish (Intermediate/Advanced Level) and we're both teaching this semester. Our condo is starting to look like a schoolroom with all our supplies, books and lesson plans floating around. This cycle I have the Advanced Conversational English Club and let me tell you...they keep me on my toes!  I think our brain cells have quadrupled since we moved to Cuenca. If learning a new language helps to delay dementia, I think we just might have some protection in that regard.

While construction goes on in Cuenca, we have another form of "construction" happening in the States. Mark's dad fell and fractured his hip and then had a heart attack. He's now in the ICU and we've been care giving from a distance. Many nights we have fallen asleep with one hand on the phone and the other on our suitcase. Mark's dad is 85 years old and was living independently until he broke his hip. Mark's sisters are visiting him every day in the hospital and they keep in contact with us daily.

We know that many of you have been through this, but we're treading uncharted waters at this time. My parents are in their 80's, so we enjoy each day with them through e-mail, Skype or Magic Jack. The other day I talked to my dad for an hour! He said, "You kids did the right thing retiring in Cuenca because things sure are a mess here in the U.S."  Bless his heart; I never thought I'd hear him say that.

With so many things changing on the home front and Cuenca emerging into a new city, it reminds me that few things ever remain the same. That's why they call it life!

Until next time...hasta luego!

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Under Construction!

It’s hard not to notice all the new condos under construction in Cuenca. We live on the north side of town (Gringolandia) and new buildings are cropping up all over the place. If you miss a week, it’s already built (almost!).

When I walk Mocha we usually head to our usual place along the river, but sometimes we venture down some of the side streets and I have to wonder, “Where did all these buildings come from?”

Last week, there was a flyer in the newspaper which listed all the new construction sites that now offer financing over a ten-year period. Some of the buildings I was familiar with (like the Rosenthanl), but the others I had no idea where they were located.

One of the questions I receive a lot is: “Should we rent or buy?” I really can’t answer that one for you! As long as our rent stays at $200 a month, we’ll be renters. Over a year’s time, it ends up being about as much as the price tag for my root canal back in the States. And we enjoy not having to take care of all the problems, like the leaky faucet that happened today. In ten minutes, the Oro Verde plumber was on our doorstep fixing it. Our cost: zero dollars. For once in our life, we’re enjoying not having to pay for all the “fixins”!

For those of you who would like to invest, there are a lot of opportunities. Some of the larger projects like “Las Praderas de Bemani” are entire communities within a community. And the building projections look a tad bit like a university campus. I’m partial to the Old Cuenca, so I’m slightly disappointed that “urban sprawl” has started to take over. It’s almost as if the architect handed out plans in small, medium, large and “super-size” it!

Here’s a partial list of what’s “constructing” in Cuenca:

Las Praderas de Bemani: Click here to see YouTube "virtual showing."

Rosenthal: http://www.rosenthalcuenca.com/

Riverside:  http://www.riverside.com/

La Verbena: Houses (3 and 4 bedrooms); Condos (1, 2 and 3 bedrooms); 30 percent down and 70 percent financed.

Condominio Orillas de Yanuncay: Av. 27 de Febrero. Information: 09-005-9385 or 08-551-7801.

Rivera del Carmen: http://www.eldoradoconstrucciones.com/

Edificio Asturias: Starting at $42,000 (one bedroom, one bath); 25 condos, 7 penthouses, six suites (four floors), parks, shops, centralized gas, elevator and common area. Av. Iro de Mayo y Av. de las Americas. Tel: 09-849-3868.

Some of the projects are so new, they don’t have websites yet: Conjunto Miravalle, Torres Alhambra, Terrazas del Parque, Edificio Los Fresnos, and Edificio El Ejido. As more information is available, I’ll pass it on.

Construction is part of the landscape of Cuenca and I’m afraid that it’s not going away! The good news: you’ll have a lot of choices when you arrive.

Until  next time...hasta luego!
 







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Condo Considerations

“Mark, did you hear that hissing noise?” I asked.

As Mark rolled over to go back to sleep, I decided to investigate. It was 3:00 a.m. and all was quiet except for the sound of “hissing snakes” in the kitchen.

I opened up the cabinet that houses the “cilindros de gas” (propane tanks) and realized that was the problem: it blew its top!

By that time, Mark was by my side trying to put a “lid” on the whole thing. He turned off the propane tanks and called the security guard downstairs. While they both talked about the leak and how fortunate we were to be alive, I shuffled back to the bedroom and fell asleep.

As you know, I’ve been a “little” under the weather lately and the thought of dying in my sleep went right over my head. But looking back on it now, we both realize that we were very fortunate. Adding to the distress was the fact that our carbon monoxide alarm didn't go off, which was perfectly normal. Carbon monoxide is a different gas than propane (duh!). Back to chemistry class we go!

If you’re looking for a condo, you have two choices: centralized gas or “cilindros de gas.” These propane tanks are sold everywhere and little vans circle the neighborhood--honking their horn--signaling everyone to get out their empty tanks and exchange them for full ones. Our security guards do this for us. They carry the full tanks upstairs to our apartment, hook them up, and away they go. “Yes” we tip them for their services!

Normally, tanks are housed outside your condo along with the tank-less water heater system, but our “cilindros” are housed in the built-in cabinets by the kitchen door. We now close the door, open the window in the kitchen, and turn off the tanks at night (lesson learned!).

The newer condos in Cuenca and many of the high-rise condos are all being built with centralized gas. Those that are not contain the propane tanks or “cilindros de gas.” It was no big deal for us to make the switch from the Palermo building to our current place because we had dealt with “cilindros” in Italy for six years. It was just part of life!

In all our years in Italy, we had absolutely no problem with "cilindros" and this incident was our first in Ecuador. There are ways you can test for leaks in your tank, which is a subject of another post, and also if you buy from the same vendor you can probably lessen your chances of getting a faulty tank. But life is not guaranteed—things go wrong.

If you want to sleep better at night and not worry about things that go “hiss” in the night, I suggest that you look for a place with centralized gas or at the very least, make sure your place has tanks positioned outside the house!

Until next time…hasta luego!






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Condos in Cuenca!

Mocha and I walk at least twice a day on the river trail by the Tomebamba and then hop on over to the sidewalks around the condos of Cuenca. I enjoy the trail, but Mocha likes to see his girlfriends, Lulu and Lucy, in the neighborhood where condos mingle with houses. In fact, it’s not unusual to see a huge condo complex, large homes, and townhouses all on the same street with a few guard shacks nestled in between. Today, while we walked (in the rain -- again!), I saw three condos for rent and one house for sale— all in a 30-minute walk.

It’s really the best way to find a place in Cuenca—walk in your favorite neighborhood and scout out places for rent. Most of the time the sign will be taped to the window with the words: se arrienda, se renta or “department for sale.” I chuckled when I saw that sign because it was in the gringo neighborhood “(departamento” is Spanish for apartment!). We live near the Oro Verde Hotel and Gringolandia. But if you walk across the Tomebamba River you reach a residential section of homes which has a panoramic view of the Cajas!

We lived in a high-rise luxury condo for about two months which had a gorgeous view of the city, but the noise level was not conducive to sleeping. So we headed across the street and asked the security guard if there were any “departmentos” for rent. He said, “Not right now…can you come back next week?” And the following week, we came back and he showed us a two-bedroom, two-bath apartment overlooking the Tomebamba River for $200. It was that simple.

The last two weeks, I have received a lot of e-mails regarding how to find the best deal on a condo and these are my thoughts:

*Make your “wish list” of all the things you want in a place (three bedrooms, two baths, large kitchen with granite countertops and a view of the Tomebamba River in a quiet neighborhood).

*Decide on a location. Do you want to be in “el centro”; outside of town, but within walking distance to town or close to the shopping malls?

*Budget. Are you willing to pay a little more for rent to have your “wish list” complete or do you need to stay within a fixed budget?

*Noise factor. We lived in a gorgeous apartment with a fantastic view, but we just couldn’t enjoy it because of the noise. I traded my granite kitchen countertops and my view of the city for a quiet place “down by the river” and now the ripples of the water lull me to sleep. So how do you know if a place is going to be noisy or not? This is where a little detective work takes place. We actually ran across the street four times a day to make sure there wasn’t any outrageous noise at our new place. I remember reporting back to my husband, “I don’t hear anything—what do you think that means?” We couldn’t believe it! All we heard was the rippling sound of the river. But some folks would be willing to put up with a “little” noise if they could have a spectacular view of the city and a dream kitchen. Only you can decide that.

*Word of mouth. This is the best way! Our neighbor found a luxury condo along the Tomebamba for $300 a month (3 bedrooms, 2 baths, granite countertops, and an amazing view of the city). He was talking to his Ecuadorian friend and they knew some “friends of some friends” who were looking for an American to rent their condo. Believe it or not, Ecuadorians like “gringos.” We pay our rent on time, we don’t stay for very long, and we usually improve the property!

*Be quick. The best deals happen before the sign goes up. If you inquire about a place before the sign goes up, you most likely will get a better deal. We had an Ecuadorian couple call on our behalf because we wanted to make sure we weren’t getting the “gringo” price and then we made an appointment the same day to meet with the landlord in person.

*Newspapers, Real Estate and the University of Cuenca. One of our favorite places—La Esquina de las Artes—is right by the University of Cuenca and so we often wander on campus and check out the bookstore. Mark picked up a newspaper, while I glanced at the student bulletin board—trying to decipher all the messages. I found pictures of condos for rent and one for sale! Why didn’t I think of that before? A lot of the university teachers and students come for a semester (or a year) and then leave their “condos” behind. Between semesters and at the end of the school year are probably the best times to check the “message board.”

*Rental Agencies. You are going to pay more for using a rental agency, but you already knew that! They are performing a service and in turn they need to make a profit. Apartments come furnished and unfurnished and sometimes they pay the utilities as well, which will result in a higher rent. We used a rental agency and signed a short-term lease and we were able to get out of it when we found our new place. Be sure to ask!

There are plenty of condos in Cuenca, you just need to have a little patience, keep your eyes and ears open, and act fast when an opportunity arises.

Until next time…hasta luego!

"Houseboat" and Friends!

It’s always fun to meet bloggers, Facebook friends, and other folks who come to Cuenca for a visit. I like to get their first impressions and thoughts on the city and hear about their plans for the future. Some come to invest, others come to live here part-time, and the rest sell everything and now call Cuenca home. There’s no right or wrong way!

Retiring overseas used to be considered a luxury, but today it's almost a necessity -- especially for the baby boomer generation. We're thankful we can combine both retirement and luxury in Cuenca!

This weekend we had fun dining, going to concerts, eating out with friends, meeting new folks in town and attending cultural events. Not all our weekends are this full, but there’s a lot going on with pre-Easter activities. It’s been fun to slosh around in the rain while hopping from one event to the other. The river is at full roar with no sign of letting up. Normally we can see boulders popping out of the water, but they’re completely buried under a rush of white water rapids.

We’re so close to the Tomebamba that we’ve already made an exit plan in case the river overflows its banks (which is unlikely!). We can jump from our second story balcony and man the life rafts (which we don’t have). We had friends over on Saturday who commented, “This is like being on a houseboat!” That’s probably the best description of our place that I’ve heard yet. We’re enjoying our new “vacation” home!

Sunday we took a break from our "houseboat" and met up with blogger friends, Bill and Donna, who are here to check out Cuenca. We enjoyed “almuerzo” at La Esquina where an art festival was going on. We’ll catch up with them later on in the week for some Chicago Pizza after they’ve had an opportunity to view some properties. We’re excited to see what life has in store for them. Although the days of $30,000 luxury condos are gone, there are still some really great deals in Cuenca and the surrounding areas.

Back at the” houseboat,” we’re winding down from the weekend and we're enjoying being lulled to sleep with the sound of "waves lapping at our feet"!

Until next time…hasta luego!