Bolivia situation guide
Two numbers, one honest question
A house ficha adds a layer apartments don't have: land versus building. 'Terreno' and 'construido' are almost never the same number, and the gap between them (patio, quincho, garaje, or room to grow) is worth reading closely. The condition line rewards the same careful eye: 'a refaccionar' is a softened way of saying the house needs work, and pairing it with 'antigüedad' gives you an honest starting picture before you ever visit. This chapter teaches you to hold what a house IS (its size, its floors) apart from the state it's IN (its condition), and to turn both into calm, direct questions. The app never says whether a price is fair or a house is a good buy; that stays with you and, later, with the professionals who verify.
Essential vocabulary
- el terreno: the lot / plot of land The total land size, the first number in the key house distinction, always paired with 'construido'.
- construido / construidos (m²): built (m²) Only the roofed, built part of the property, usually a smaller number than the terreno.
- las plantas: the floors/stories A false friend for garden plants in this context, it names how many levels the house has.
- el quincho: the BBQ pavilion A roofed grilling space in the patio, a very common feature on Santa Cruz house fichas.
- a refaccionar: needs fixing up A softened way of saying the house needs repairs, the phrase to decode calmly, not fear.
- la antigüedad: the age (of the building) How many years the house has stood, the number to pair with the condition line.
- ¿está en buen estado?: is it in good condition? The single honest condition question every house ficha invites, whatever it says about itself.
- ¿qué antigüedad tiene?: how old is it? The age question that, paired with the condition question, gives you the honest picture before a visit.
Bolivian Spanish terms
- el quincho: the BBQ pavilion A roofed patio structure built for asados, and such a Santa Cruz staple that many fichas mention it before the number of bathrooms.
- a refaccionar: needs fixing up (fixer-upper) The common Bolivian softening for a house that needs repairs, a phrase worth decoding into specific questions, not a red flag by itself.
- el anticrético: the anticrético (interest-free deposit lease) Some houses are offered en anticrético alongside a straight sale, a word worth recognizing even on a ficha, like this one, that is a plain sale.
Useful phrases
- [X] m² de terreno, [Y] m² construidos: [X] m² of land, [Y] m² built The standard formula for stating a house's two size numbers together.
- ¿Está en buen estado?: Is it in good condition? Your default honest question about a house's current state, whatever the ficha claims.
- ¿Qué antigüedad tiene?: How old is it? Pairs with the condition question to give you the honest age-and-upkeep picture before visiting.
- La casa es de dos plantas, pero está a refaccionar.: The house is two-story, but it's in need of fixing up. The model sentence for keeping a house's lasting identity (ser) separate from its current condition (estar).
Learn this in the app
Read Property and Land Listings in Bolivia, Spanish