Why Choose YapaTree Properties in Cuenca, Ecuador?
YapaTree is a property services company that specializes in understanding the needs and requirements of international buyers. Their personalized service makes you feel at home, even as an expat. The company is run by Jason and Xavier. Jason Scott is the General Manager. He was the most responsive when I was doing my research and he gave me some very interesting insights into YapaTree and the real estate market in Cuenca, Ecuador.
Head over to my Resources page for more useful recommendations for your property purchase process.
Plan Your Property Investment
With My Trusted Resources
– Make money transfers for less with: Wise
– Book your flights and hotels: Trip.com
Booking.com
– Book your airport transfers here: Kiwitaxi
– Rent cars here: DiscoverCars
– Hire affordable shipping services here: Eurosender
Table of Contents
Why Choose YapaTree Properties as Your Trusted Real Estate Company?
1) Hybrid Local Agent + Expat Model
Our business model is unique in that every buyer gets their needs looked after by both a very experienced local agent and a knowledgable expat (myself). Our local agents are the best in the business, giving us access to every quality buying option in Cuenca. For Condos, we have direct access to every quality development. No other real estate agency here can say that – they probably need to go through us for access and we’ll do a deal with them. We have access because we treat all customers fairly – developers know this and want to work with us.
2) Products designed for expats
We offer these real estate investment trips (video) for expats currently deciding whether Cuenca is right for them. We layer neighborhood knowledge with real listings so customers can start to get a guage on price and location. These are paid trips, and we do refund 50% of the fee if a property is purchased on the trip.
3) Reject 3 out of 4 listings
There are agents that specifically target gringos and inflate the prices to take advantage of the buyers’ lack of market knowledge. I hate this and so do my agents. My agents do 95% of their sales in the local market so they truly understand what the market price is. But, sellers know that we do sell to expats too and we do get a lot requesting that we price the property above the market rate. We reject these and other properties that will result in low-quality buying options.
4) Trust
The Cuenca real estate market is cowboy country. Many informal agents doing whatever they can to scrape together a few dollars. Using a low-quality agent can easily result in a very poor result for buyers. But, there are also many successful, yet very unethical agents, that do specifically target the expat market in the hope of either scamming (see this video) or maximizing the transaction value at the expense of the buyer (overpricing, secret commissions for legal fees & maintenance etc).
We specifically entered the Cuenca property market years ago to be the change we want to see. It’s not easy, but it’s working, and our customers do appreciate this.
5) Property Education
I want our buyers to be educated. This gives them the best chance of success with their new home or investment. From a commercial perspective, it also helps us be more efficient. If a buyer is educated, we can spend more time on the deal aspects as opposed to answering basic questions that we’ve already covered on our website and YouTube channel.
This is just one piece of the puzzle. For everything else on buying and living in Cuenca, check out my complete Cuenca Property & Relocation Guide.
