We are often asked what type of property is the most in demand.  Among English-speaking ex-pats who purchase in the Cuenca area, condos are more popular than all other types of properties combined accounting for more than 60% of all property purchases.  Nevertheless townhouses are purchased by the vast majority of Ecuadorian buyers.  In this article we take an in depth look at why townhouses are so popular among Ecuadorians, give you a list of 20 things to keep an eye out for when buying a townhouse, and reveal insider secrets on how to get a custom-built luxury townhouse that will be a whole lot better than any of your neighbors’ but that will only require a slightly higher investment.

Townhouses or “Villas”, as they are called here in Cuenca, are houses built side by side which have concrete foundations and brick walls.  They almost always have 4 bedrooms, which are located on the 2nd floor.  Most Villas are three stories tall but some have only two floors.  Out front they tend to have a metal fence with a small garden area behind one side of the fence and on the other side a gate that leads to a tiled parking spot.  Out back there is usually a tiled patio and laundry area which is walled.  One of the key factors making Townhouses so popular among the local population is the price per square meter of construction vs. that which one would have to pay for a condominium.  Prices per square meter of new construction on condos top out at around $875 per square meter.  New townhouses cost up to $650 per square meter of construction but can often be a whole lot more affordable.  4-bedroom townhouses go for between $60,000 to about $95,000 depending on their location, whether or not they have a good view, and how much green area they have.

Quality of construction varies dramatically depending on the builder which is why it’s important to know who built the place that you’re going to buy and what their track record is.  Even the most prolific builders are often not the best and sometimes, as is the case with one of Cuenca’s largest condominium builders, they are one of the worst.  We’ve never ran into a builder that claimed to do things half-assed so if your strategy is to ask a builder or a salesman if the quality of construction is good then you may end up getting into trouble down the line.  By seeing how houses that a builder made 10 years ago are holding up today and by talking to other people who now live in those homes we are able to get a good idea of who does quality work.

Due to extremely high demand, most Villas are sold before the construction has been finished.  There are many things that most of us would assume would be included in the house once the construction is complete and they hand over the keys.  In reality many of those things are not included.  We help our clients to make sure that all the finishing touches the builder must complete are included in the legally binding notarized purchase agreement, “Promesa de Compraventa”; it’s a part of our professional services.  It’s important to check with the builder to verify which of the items in the list below are included and which will incur an additional cost.

♦ Hot water heater
♦ Hot water in all bathrooms
♦ Washer and Dryer connections
♦ Glass roof to protect the Washer and Dryer in the outdoor Laundry area
♦ Interior light fixtures
♦ Exterior light fixtures
♦ Mirrors
♦ Shower doors
♦ Bathroom Fans
♦ Water line for Refrigerator
♦ Garbage disposal
♦ Dishwasher space with the necessary connections
♦ Doorbell / Intercom / Remote
♦ CATV wiring
♦ Alarm system wiring
♦ High quality windows
♦ Adequate kitchen lighting
♦ Plastering and painting the outsides of the exterior walls
♦ Dirt in the garden area or grass planted in the backyard
♦ Remote controlled parking area gate

We always create a written list of all upgrades and modifications along with their associated costs. Can you really expect a contractor to do anything other than the minimum required to be able to move on to the next project once a house has already sold? Verbal agreements are not generally taken seriously in Ecuador and getting people to commit to things in writing is difficult and often impossible for the average real estate agency to achieve. There are many important things that the average agent, who spends a mere 10-15 hours a week dabbling in real estate and has some other way that they actually make a living, simply does not know. Do you want to own the land that the house sits on or just the house? If you are in a private community how much a month are you willing to pay in monthly dues? Is having a skilled negotiator who is familiar with the local real estate market important or is it ok with you if you end up paying the Gringo price? Is getting a property title all that’s important to you or is having a house with all the legal construction permits also something that you are interested in? Are you just interested in somebody who can introduce you to the owner of a For Sale property or do you need to have somebody that’s really going to go to bat for you if something goes sideways and someone tries to pull a fast one on you? In an environment such as we find ourselves in here in South America, having a fully functional agent is a lot more important than it would be in other countries such as the U.S. or England where there are strict regulations and other safety nets to protect the consumer’s interests.

In Ecuador Stoves, Ovens, Water Heaters, and Dryers are gas not electric.  Often people will choose to live in a condominium building because those usually have centralized gas distribution.  Most people who live in villas in Cuenca are probably going to have a lot less mechanical ability than you do and yet they are able to exchange their empty gas bottles when the truck comes by with refilled ones.  If you think that that might be too much of a hassle then maybe paying 40% more per square foot for a condo as well as having to pay a monthly condo fee might be a better fit for you.

Rather than seeking out a luxury home builder who caters to rich people we’ve found that we can get the same level of luxury finishings at a much lower cost by finding a builder that does quality construction and having them make the modifications, improvements, and upgrades necessary to provide you with a place that you would be proud to call home.

For those clients who do not need to live in the property right away or who are willing to rent for a few months while their place is being finished, we highly recommend buying partway into the construction process.  This allows us to get you quality upgrades for a minimum of additional cost.  You can also make creative changes to the floor plan such as combining 2 of the 4 bedrooms to create a large master bedroom with a luxurious bathroom.

Our budget-conscious clients often choose an affordable luxury townhouse over cramming themselves into small condo which would require the same level of investment.