Ocean View and Luxury in Crucita, Ecuador!

Without a doubt, Crucita is becoming a great place to retire for expats from all over the world!

This is the view from Loma de Crucita from one of RE/MAX Propiedades listings. You will be able to find out more about this property on the following link: http://www.remax.com.ec/Casa-De-Venta-Crucita-Manabi_890021006-44

Panoramic View from Loma de Crucita, Manabi-Ecuador

What To Expect When Dealing with Real Estate Agents in Ecuador

Real Estate Practices in Ecuador are far from what other countries are used to. There's a Federal Real Estate Association in Ecuador, and there is a Real Estate Law and a Code of Ethics and these two are the core of its origin just like any US Real Estate Law and Code of Ethics. The problem is that the government pay little attention to the Federal Real Estate Association.

This is about to change and one of the major requirements is going to enforce licenses.

If you are thinking about buying o selling Real Estate in Ecuador through a Real Estate Agency these are the things you must know:

Real Estate Talk

1. Art. 2 of the Federal Real Estate Association states the following: In order to represent a seller the real estate professional must list the property in writing, under a written contract.
2. When you are thinking about selling your property, verify that the Real Estate Professional possess a valid license. It  is not necessary that the agent possess a license if  he or she works under a licensed Professional or Real Estate Company, but if the individual is an "Independent" Professional who works for himself, then he or she must have a valid license.
3. The Federal Real Estate Association, promotes Real Estate Professionals  to market properties under an Exclusive Right to Sell or Rent Agreement for one main reason: To avoid confusion and misunderstandings with clients and among Real Estate Professionals. Another very important reason is that if you have more than one company marketing your property, all of them use the same channels to promote the sale or rent of real estate, so, it doesn't make sense to have more than one agency since the listing is going to be in the same channel.  One thing that is going to have a negative impact is to have more than one agency marketing the property. Homeowners have this misconception that "the property is  going to sell  faster by having 3 or 4 agencies marketing the property when in fact, having 3 or 4 listing of the same property will "burn" the property 3 or 4 times faster! specially if all of the companies involved have a different price for the property. It is very common to have this issue
4. It is very common the use of Verbal Agreements, but it is not "safe" for any of the parties involved. The most common of all Agreements is a Verbal Open Agreement, where the real estate professional lists a property, and then, he refers it to his "friend" whom is a real estate agent as well  and this goes on and on until you start to see a parade of real estate agents coming through, your property coming through your home. Not too secure since there's not control of who has come to see your home, and if there's something missing or stolen, there's no one to blame but yourself.  (It happened to me) It is  better to have one Real Estate company working for you in that way there is more control of traffic, prospecting, visits, even, bringing other agents from different companies.
5. Companies such as RE/MAX in Ecuador, work under the same structure as RE/MAX anywhere in the world. The success of this company is due to its professionalism. Is the largest Real Estate Company with almost 90000 agents worldwide and chances are that you will be able to find a RE/MAX agent in your home town whom will get in touch with the RE/MAX Real Estate Agent in the country where you want to relocate. 
6. Use a professional photographer i. As I stated before, Real Estate Professionals use the same internet channels. I am a Real Estate Photographer and a Virtual Tour Provider in Ecuador. The reason for using professional photos is simple: Open a newspaper in the classified section, what are the ads that cause an impact on you? The ones with the pictures. Although I don't personally use the newspapers to market my properties, same thing happens in the internet, the difference is that more likely 95% of the ads have pictures, right? So, do exactly the same thing, open your browser and do a home search and more likely you are going to get a long list of listings, all of them with pictures. But what pictures are the ones that caused an impact on you the most? The good pictures, right?  Remember a first good impression is by far one of the most important things when it comes to sell Real Estate. So, if your Real Estate Agent doesn't make suggestions about image, show them the door.

I am not trying to bad mouth other real estate professionals, but ever since I arrived to Ecuador, I have had lots of issues with these real estate practices, to the point that I had to report two real estate agents with the Real Estate Commission for interfering with two of my Clients. One of them was preparing a written document with the intention of breaking a contract between my client and I, This type of procedure is illegal since she was trying to take unfair business advantage by instigating our client to break a legal contract. Her case is in hands of the Federal Real Estate Association of Ecuador.

Energy Efficient Home for Rent in Cumbaya, Ecuador

Post by Ivan Moncayo Agente Inmobiliario.

Commercial Real Estate in Ecuador 9.3% ROI

Post by Ivan Moncayo Agente Inmobiliario.

Que No Hacer Cuando Vendes Tu Casa

Terrazas Del Moral Dormitorio Master con Hermosa Vista A Cumbaya. Cortesía: VirtuoMedia360 Interactive

Esta es la lista de los errores más comunes que un dueño comete cuando esta vendiendo su casa. Algunos de ellos pueden completamente desanimar a un prospecto comprador.

1. USAR AL CORREDOR INMOBILIARIO QUE PROPORCIONO EL  VALOR DE VENTA MAS ALTO: Sin lugar a duda, el precio es el factor mas importante para vender. El mejor indicativo del precio lo proporciona el Mercado. Pregunte al corredor como obtuvo el precio, un corredor experimentado puede proporcionarle un ACM (Análisis Comparativo de Mercado)
2. ESTAR PRESENTE CUANDO SE ESTA ENSEÑANDO LA PROPIEDAD: Esta es una de esas situaciones cuando es mejor no esta presente. Recuerde que el prospecto comprador tiene que "visualizarse" viviendo en su casa. La presencia del dueño incomoda al prospecto comprador, y muchas veces estas visitas no duran mas que un par de minutos sin que se desarrolle ese "sentido de visualización"
3. LAS MASCOTAS SUELTAS EN CASA: No todos los seres humanos son amantes de los perros, muchos de ellos pueden ser hasta alérgicos al pelaje de ciertos animales. Cuando se planifiquen visitas es mejor si "Rudolf" no este presente. Cualquier ítem que pertenezca a su mascotas como platos de comida, camas, deben estar fuera de vista. Una buena idea es usar algún tipo de ambiental para repeler el olor de las mascotas.
4. EL ARBOL FAMILIAR EN LA PARED: Es una buena idea des-personalizar la propiedad para ayudar al futuro dueño a "visualizar su vida dentro de la casa. Mientras menos fotos o figurines o artículos decorativos, mejoran las posibilidades de venta.
5. OLORES VS. FRAGANCIAS: Muchas veces, para enmascarar ciertos olores utilizamos ambientales que pueden ser desagradables para otros. Fragancias que son acogidas puede ser la fragancia del cafe fresco en la cafetera. El efecto del olor a cafe es muy bueno y muy utilizado por las perfumerías  ya que después de oler dos o tres perfumes nuestro sentido del olfato confunde los olores. Recuerde, encuentre fragancias que se asocien con el Hogar como el olor a canela, a pan fresco, vainilla son muy efectivos.
6. PUBLICAR NO MUY BUENAS FOTOS: Una fotografía dice mas que mil palabras. No permita que su casa sea fotografiada sin antes preparar la casa para la venta. Es mejor utilizar a un fotógrafo profesional que se especialice en fotografía inmobiliaria, Inmobiliarias como RE/MAX proveen servicios de fotografía, muchas veces sin costo alguno
7. TENER LA PROPIEDAD PUBLICADA POR MAS DE UNA INMOBILIARIA: Aquí es donde muchos dueños "Queman" oportunidades de venta. La mayoría de corredores inmobiliarios en la red, utilizan los mismos portales inmobiliarios para publicar sus propiedades. Otorgando un Acuerdo Exclusivo de Venta con Una Sola Inmobiliaria es mucho mejor que tener múltiples inmobiliarias publicando la propiedad. Por Que? Porque tener el inmueble publicado con múltiples inmobiliarias da al consumidor/comprador un aire de urgencia de venta, minimizando su poder de negociación.  Otro problema que se da muy a menudo es tener diferentes precios publicados por las diferentes inmobiliarias por el mismo inmueble. El concepto del propietario/vendedor de tener mas de una inmobiliaria publicando un bien con el fin de incrementar las posibilidades de venta, simplemente no funciona. Inmobiliarias con reputación trabajan bajo acuerdos exclusivos. y las posibilidades de venta son mucho mas altas que las inmobiliarias que trabajan sin exclusiva. En otras palabras el profesional inmobiliario le meterá mas ganas sabiendo que existe un acuerdo bilateral de compromiso y que garantiza sus esfuerzos.
8. LIMITAR y CONDICIONAR LAS HORAS Y LOS DIAS DE VISITA:  El comentario mas común por parte de los compradores es: Entonces para que la esta vendiendo si no la puedo ver? La mejor solución es otorgar una llave de la propiedad a un corredor, con un Acuerdo Exclusivo, ya que este puede coordinar las visitas incluso con otros corredores. Entonces, no hace mas sentido tener una sola persona o inmobiliaria que se encargue de coordinar las visitas que tratar de coordinar visitas con 10 corredores?
9. PENSAR QUE UN ACUERDO EXCLUSIVO LIMITA LAS POSIBILIDADES DE VENTA: Esto no es cierto. El Acuerdo Exclusivo de Venta no limita a otros corredores que participen. Los corredores que pertenecemos a la Cartera Inmobiliaria trabajamos bajo un "Sistema Cooperativo"  en otras palabras: Yo tengo la Propiedad y tu tienes el Cliente, entonces los honorarios se dividen 50/50.
10. NO TENER LA DOCUMENTACION DE LA PROPIEDAD EN REGLA: Es importante que, antes de poner la propiedad en el mercado, asegurarse de que todos los documentos estén en regla, esto incluye los impuestos prediales, escrituras, etc.

Argentina Vs. Ecuador

This is a great day, indeed! Ecuador is measuring Argentina in a soccer match valid for the 2014 World Cup in Brasil. Although, Ecuador lost against Peru last saturday, Ecuador still remains in 3rd Place. Argentina is still #1 on the board and Colombia advanced to 2nd after a tie with Argentina.

What is the advantage that Ecuador has over Argentina? The altitud! The match will be played in Quito at 9,600 ft above sea level.
The disadvantage is that Ecuador does not have a  Leonel Messi on their squad.

Best of luck for both teams, but of course Ecuador will be my favorite to win.

5 Essential Tips to Prepare Your Home for a Speedy, Top-Price Sale

"Home staging" was coined in the early '70s,and the concept has become well known as "house fluffing," "dressing to sell," and "home presentation".

The focus of staging is to make a home more marketable by creating the most appealing home to the greatest number of prospective buyers. It should be impersonal enough not to infringe on a buyer's own sense of style.

Decorating is optional. Staging, on the other hand, is essential - that is if you want to sell your house for the most possible money in the shortest amount of time.

You can make at least 3 percent more with home staging. In some areas, that number can go as high as 50 percent! Statistics also show that homes that had not sold in an average of four and a half months after listing sold within a week of being staged by a professional. Homes staged before listing were under contract more than twice as fast as comparable homes that had not been professionally staged.

As you know, your home becomes a house - a product for sale. Staging your property gives you a more competitive edge in today's market by transforming it into a marketable product. A staged property helps you sell your investment for top dollar and is the first line of defense over lowering the price. Do not settle for less at the closing table simply because you did not understand the value of staging or did not want to take the time or spend the money to do it properly.

In this world of busy buyers, a property has to be staged to appeal to their imagination. They want to be able to look at your home and know that they can live there. They want to know that their furniture will fit. They want to know that everything is in "move in" condition. That is why staging is so important. It allows buyers to imagine themselves living in your home with their stuff, not yours.

Presentation is everything and staging is presentation! The result is improved functionality and complementary space. Following the techniques in this guide will maximize your equity while reducing the market time for your home.

1. Be sure that your home is staged before you or your Realtor takes the photos for the web. Over 70% of all new apartment/home searches are started on the Internet.It is imperative that the property looks good in the photos so that it can attract as many people as possible to see the real thing.


2. You should not have one person look at your house until it has been staged completely.It should not go through the broker walkthrough, MLS, open houses, or anything.Stage first!


3. Home staging works for all properties regardless of the price point because home staging is about preparing your home for a faster and more profitable sale and marketing your property to the most potential buyers for its target audience. A home stager who has have staged homes ranging from $100,000 to $10 million has had the same result - the homes sell faster and for top dollar compared with the competitors within their price range.


4. Do not offer money towards painting or installing new carpeting. Remember, if you are not willing to do it, your buyer is not likely to either.


5. You need to be willing to change paint colors. Paint is very inexpensive and gives you a big bang for your buck. Although a bit labor-intensive, painting is not expensive and gives your home a new, fresh, clean look. There are certain universally accepted colors and these should be used when repainting your home. Yellow or shades of gold are warm and inviting. You should also accent with yellow. Your eye absorbs more yellow and therefore sees it first. Green or blue in the bedrooms are great colors because they are restful.