Hey, I’m Jason, and I’m excited to take you along on a client viewing for land in the serene Tutupali near Tarqui. Join me as we delve into the neighborhood and gain insights into the nuances of buying land in Cuenca.
Introducing Caty and Marco
Meet Caty, one of the dedicated agents we collaborate with, and Marco, the owner of the land we’re exploring today. As we navigate through Tutupali, I’ll share essential tips for potential land buyers in Cuenca.
YapaTree’s Approach to Land Listings
At YapaTree, our focus has traditionally been on houses and apartments rather than land. Why? The demand for land among expats is comparatively lower, and the unique challenges of manual searching and complex due diligence make it a less preferred option for many.
Challenges of Selling Land in Cuenca
- Manual Searching: Unlike houses, finding available land is a manual process, requiring time and effort to locate suitable listings.
- Due Diligence Complexity: Due diligence for land involves navigating through unique challenges. Issues like multiple landowners and relaxed regulations in rural areas can complicate the process.
Buyer’s Agent Service – A Unique Offering
For those interested in our buyer’s agent service for land, we may request a retainer fee. This fee helps cover the time and effort our team invests in searching for suitable listings. If you decide to purchase through us, rest assured, we deduct the retainer from the commission.
Exploring a Tutupali Property – Factors Affecting Land Prices
We check out a property in Tutupali, emphasizing the importance of usable and semi-flat land in determining the price per square meter. The terrain significantly influences land values in the Sierra region.
Two Types of Expats Buying Land
- Full Commitment: Some expats seek a complete change, opting for land to build a home, buy a car, and fully embrace life in Ecuador.
- Simpler Lifestyle: Others desire a simpler lifestyle without committing to a car. They look for affordable land near essential amenities like bus stops and local shops.
Positive Client Viewing Experience in Tutupali
Today’s viewing went well with two sets of clients showing interest in 9,000 square meters each. While it’s early days, the prospects look promising, and Tutupali’s countryside offers a refreshing break from the hustle. View the property listing here.
Inviting Inquiries for Land, Apartments, or Houses
If you’re in the market for land, apartments, or houses in Cuenca or its surroundings, feel free to reach out. I’m here to assist you. Contact me at [email protected].
Wrapping up
In conclusion, Tutupali presents a unique opportunity to shape your living experience in the tranquil beauty of Ecuador. Whether you’re considering land, apartments, or houses, YapaTree is here to guide you. Get in touch, and let’s embark on this journey together. Ciao!
Further reading:
View full video transcript
Tutupali Land Viewing – Vlog 6 (Transcript)
Jason 00:00
Jason here with another blog from Cuenca, Ecuador. Today we have a client viewing for land in Tutupali. Come with me as we explore the neighbourhood and I’ll also give you a few little tips about buying land more generally in Cuenca.
Jason 00:45
And say hello to Caty. Caty is one of the agents that we work with and back here we have Marco. Marco is one of the owners for the land and here we are making our way in the beautiful Tutupali right now, beautiful day for it as well.
Jason 01:05
So where we’re going right now is a nice block of land in Tutupali, which is about 25 minutes away from Cuenca. Our model is a little bit different so this listing is with Caty. And so yes, we obviously have our own listings, but we tend to share a lot of listings with different agents.
Jason 01:24
And so for that reason a lot of clients would tend to come and and look to me for more of a buyer’s agent type model, especially if you’re coming from the US and and you’re sort of used to that. That is a bit of a sweet spot out of ours that were found in the markets and we’re getting a lot of follow through with that.
Jason 01:41
But at YapaTree, we actually don’t sell a lot of land. There’s a couple reasons for that. Firstly, it’s probably just the demand. A lot of our market is expat driven and just buying land for expats is a bit more of a commitment. A lot of expats tend to want the houses and the apartments closer to the city and so that’s probably the main reason why we just don’t target it that much. Second reason, it’s just tough, it’s difficult to target land. It’s very manual. So for example to find a listing, you give me your requirements for land, I’m going to have to go and find a bunch of different places, spend a lot of time finding the places. There’s no MLS or something like that that we can just tap into. And then once we actually find a place, the due diligence side of things is is really quite different and and really quite tough.
Jason 02:27
A lot of the times when it comes with land, a couple issues you’re going to come up against one is the land might belong to a bunch of different people or family and then you need everyone’s permission and that’s really tough. But secondly, just out in the “campo” so to speak, the the laws are just a little bit different. They’re a little bit looser. And So what you tend to find is that people will just start building their properties here without any proper planning permission and it’s OK for them but then when they come time to sell it or or something like that, you’re going to run into some issues. So there’s just a lot more time that we need to spend on the due diligence as well. So they’re probably the two or three main reasons. One is less demand. Two: more time for us in general and thirdly, just tougher due diligence process.
Jason 03:11
So if you do want us to to work with you for for land, we are happy to do that, but we may request some sort of retainer for that because I would have to pay our team time to go search and find the listings and stuff like that and if you do purchase property through us, then yes, we’ll take the the retainer out of the commission that that we get at the end of the day.
Jason 03:49
But before we get to the land. Now Marco, one of the owners of the land, he mentioned that one of his friends has a couple of properties out here to check out. The client’s running a little bit late. So it was a perfect opportunity to potentially list another couple of properties whilst we’re here.
Jason 04:05
So this is a really good example of what to look out for out here. So this is a nice looking property it’s all new, but obviously when it comes to land, especially in the Sierra, it’s the amount of usable land or you know like semi flat land that you could potentially build on that’s that’s going to make a big difference in the price per square meter as well.
Jason 04:26
The land that we’re going to check out, it’s relatively quite flat and you’ll see that in a little bit and that’s why it’s priced as it is. If it was hillier then it’d be cheaper. So I’m not sure if we’re actually going to list this property or not, maybe we will. But if you are interested, feel free to send us a message as well on this one.
Jason 05:11
So here we are we’ve arrived at the property and this particular development. There were 8 lots available. They’ve sold three, so we have 5 left. They’re between 9,000 and 12,000 square meters. They’re all obviously a little bit different, a little bit different slope and all that sort of stuff. The price is the same and the price is $6 per square meter, which is really quite good value given where we are in Tutupali.
Jason 05:37
When it comes to the types of expats that tend to buy land, at least through through me in Cuenca, there’s generally two different types. The first time, the guys that just want to go all in, maybe they’re sick of city life in the US and they just want to buy something here. They build a house, buy a car that’s important. That opens up a lot of different access areas for them and they basically just fully commit to to living life here.
Jason 06:02
The second type of of expat that that tends to buy property here, at least through me, is someone that’s basically just looking for I guess more of a simple type of lifestyle, but they’re not necessarily willing to commit to a car. So that does really change the dynamic and limits the different types of options that are going to be available to you.
Jason 06:23
This type of buyer, they generally say, “Hey look Jason, I want just a cheap piece of land relatively close to Cuenca. I want to say relatively close. We need some sort of transport so yes, it does need to be near a bus station or stop or something like that, but it can be outside the city center.” And the second thing that they generally want is like a tienda, you know, basics little shops for little food so you don’t have to go into Cuenca 5 times a week or anything like that. So they’re the two main buyers that we service here, at least from an expat point of view – for the guys that are looking for land in particular.
Jason 07:27
Today’s viewing went really well. Both… basically two lots of clients, friends of each other and I think they’re both interested in and maybe 9,000 square meters each. Obviously, it’s early days so haven’t signed or made an offer or anything like that, but it was a very promising viewing.
Jason 07:44
And honestly, it’s just lovely to get out here and and be in the countryside for a few minutes on a busy day. Especially after all the the stuff that the whole country’s been through recently. It’s just really nice to get away, breathe some fresh air. Here, nothing except animals and a little bit of wind maybe. It’s beautiful.
Jason 08:03
Hope you’ve enjoyed our little video today of of doing this land viewing out in Tutupali. Obviously, if you’re in the market for land or apartments or a house in Cuenca or surrounding Cuenca, feel free to contact me at [email protected].
Jason 08:40
Now I just need to create a little listing video for this. I’m going to do it in vertical format, I think just a little social media tease type video and I’ll probably provide that as well if you’re interested.
Jason 08:54
Welcome to Tutupalli 25 minutes from Cuenca. We have 5 lots available between 9000 and 12000 square metres. There were eight but three have been sold already. Located at the end of a quiet road it’s surrounded by native trees with all these beautiful views and at 6$ per square metre the price is right. Get in contact with me for more information [email protected]. Ciao.
