Discovering Cuenca’s Top Rental Agent: Jurgen Gorcke

According to a city survey, approximately 75% of Cuenca expats rent an apartment or house. Like most, I had a very difficult time finding the right place for the right price. Unlike in the US, there is no easy way to find places for rent—no real MLS system, nor city rental magazines. Even the local newspaper was little help. Many properties for rent don’t even have a “for rent” sign!

Most real estate agents, who are quite different from the professionals in North America, focus solely on sales, not rentals. With little Spanish, I even hired a “facilitator” to show me properties and speak to the landlords. Later, I found out he had actually asked the owner to add an extra $50 a month for him, even though I was already paying him to show me the properties. This has happened to many expats. Additionally, properties listed on English-language social media sites often have a “gringo tax” added, making asking rents above market level.

I wish I had met Jurgen Gorcke earlier. Ecuadorian-born, Jurgen returned to Germany to complete his schooling before relocating to Chicago for college. He worked in real estate in the US for two years before returning to Ecuador in 2011. Jurgen speaks fluent English, Spanish, and German, and has been a certified and licensed agent (#445A) in the real estate business for over eight years.

What makes Jurgen unique as a real estate agent is his specialization in rental properties. His deep knowledge of Cuenca’s rental market gives his clients an edge in finding the right property at the best price. Combine this with his fluent English (and Spanish for negotiating with landlords), and it’s clear why he’s the expat community’s first choice for finding rental properties.