Terms of use

1. Accepting these terms

By using yapatree.com, submitting a contact form, or engaging YapaTree as a real estate agency, you agree to these terms. If you don't agree, please don't use the site. We may revise these terms; the version live on this page at the time you use the site is the version that applies.

For booking-specific rules (reservation deposits, balance payments, cancellations), see our separate booking terms. Those rules govern when there's a conflict about a booking.

2. Who we are & what we do

YapaTree is a bilingual real estate agency in Cuenca, Ecuador. We list properties for sale, long-term rent, and short-term rent. We also offer a buyer's agent program, property search assistance, and investment trips. We are based in Cuenca and operate under Ecuadorian law.

Two principals trade under YapaTree: Jason Scott (RUC 1759662289001) and Michelle Pérez Scott. Both are registered with the SRI. Which RUC issues a given invoice depends on the service and the account the payment lands in.

3. Listings & property information

We work hard to keep listings accurate, but we don't warrant that every detail is current or complete at every moment. Information about properties — price, square meters, amenities, availability, fees — often comes from the property owner or a third-party source and can change without notice.

Before signing a lease or a purchase agreement you should verify every material detail in person, with the owner, and (for sales) with a notary. Photos are representative; the actual property at handover is what governs.

Listing prices are the asking price unless otherwise stated and exclude taxes, notary fees, registration fees, alícuotas (HOA dues), and utilities unless we explicitly say they're included.

4. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

• Scrape, crawl, or systematically harvest listings, photos, or other content from this site.
• Submit forms with fake or someone else's contact information.
• Use any automated agent to interact with our forms, WhatsApp number, or email.
• Reverse-engineer or attempt to break the booking flow, search, or any other feature.
• Resell, republish, or relicense our content (text, photos, listings) without written permission.
• Use the site for anything illegal under Ecuadorian law.

5. Forms, WhatsApp & what happens after you contact us

When you submit a form or message us on WhatsApp, you're inviting us to follow up. We may contact you by WhatsApp, email, or phone using the details you provided. Frequency is whatever we judge appropriate to serve your request — typically a handful of messages until the conversation is resolved.

You can ask us to stop at any time and we will. How we handle the data you submit is covered in our privacy policy.

6. Buyer's agent & representation

Our buyer's agent program is opt-in and signed via a separate engagement agreement that spells out scope, fees, and the retainer. Nothing on this public site, by itself, creates an agency relationship — we represent you only after a signed agreement is in place.

Where we list a property on behalf of an owner, we represent the owner. Where we run a buyer's agent engagement for you, we represent you. On a single transaction we will tell you in writing which side we represent so there's no ambiguity.

7. Intellectual property

The YapaTree name, logo, copy, design system, photography, and the structure of the site are ours (or licensed to us). You can read the site, link to it, and quote short excerpts with attribution. Republishing whole articles, listing copy, or photos requires written permission.

Property photos provided by an owner stay with that owner; we license them only for the duration of the listing. Articles bylined by an author belong to that author and are republished here with their permission.

8. Third-party services we depend on

The site uses these third parties. Their own terms also apply where you interact with them:

• PayPal — deposit payments. Card data is handled by PayPal, not us.
• Cloudflare — DNS, edge security, image delivery.
• Google Cloud / Firebase Hosting — site hosting and analytics.
• WhatsApp Business (Meta) — when you message us on WhatsApp.
• TwicPics — image CDN that resizes our property photos on the fly.

9. No warranty & limit of liability

The site is provided "as is". We don't warrant that it will be available without interruption, free of bugs, or fit for any specific purpose. We don't warrant that any specific listing will result in a sale, lease, or stay.

Where the law lets us limit liability, our total liability to you for any claim related to the site or a non-booking service is capped at the amount you've paid us in the 12 months before the claim, or USD $100, whichever is higher. For booking disputes, the booking terms govern.

Nothing here limits liability that can't legally be limited under Ecuadorian law (intentional harm, gross negligence, consumer protection minimums, etc.).

10. Governing law & disputes

These terms are governed by the laws of Ecuador. If you and YapaTree can't resolve a dispute directly, both parties consent to the jurisdiction of the courts of Cuenca, Azuay, Ecuador. Spanish-language versions of these terms and of any contract control where there's a translation conflict and Ecuadorian law requires it.

11. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms — typically to clarify language, add new services, or reflect a change in the law. We'll bump the version number and the "effective" date at the top. For material changes that affect an ongoing engagement (e.g. a signed buyer's agent agreement), the version that was live when you signed continues to apply unless you and we both agree otherwise in writing.

12. Contact

Questions about these terms? Write to info@yapatree.com or visit our contact page.