The Ecuador Insider

This week the southern countries of South America like Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil are experiencing an extraordinary cold wave. It snowed in Curitiba, Brazil. In Asuncion Paraguay it hit a record low, -1 degrees C.

Many people ask why choose Ecuador with so many other “sexier” options in South America… well, for 3 months a year, Argentina is cold! So is the southern part of Peru and Chile. And now with the global climate changes, even parts of Brazil and Paraguay are also becoming cold for parts of the year.

Ecuador remains mildly warm year round thanks to it’s location straddling the equator.

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The government of Ecuador announced this week that anyone who catches the fish “Dorado” will have to spend 3 months in prison.

This law shows the government’s preoccupation for the environment, a good thing.

Just this weekend, I had a conversation with a local fishermen who said the amount of fish off the Ecuador coast has diminished significantly in recent years. He said before his boat just had to go two hours in order to get a decent catch, now they have to go farther and farther, sometimes as much as 10 hours out just to get their catch for the day.

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In 2000 there were 290,752 registered vehicles in the province of Guayas (Guayaquil) Ecuador, now there are 620,393 according to the CTE (Comision de Transito).

The traffic at rush hour in Quito and Guayaquil in particular, is horrible. I’ve noticedover the last few years a sharp increase in travel time necessary to get from one end of the cities to another due to traffic.

This will, and is, having a positive affect on properties located in the commercial centers of the cities.

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The “spread” is getting bigger.

In other words, the difference between the lowest-priced and highest-priced properties in the same areas is getting larger, save for some very renowned building companies which are reputed to sell house and land packages at a reasonable price.

That’s the first thing I noticed this week as I began my newest property search on the coast of Ecuador. For instance, in the area I was looking near Olon on the southern coast, one land for sale, a 270 sq. meter lot with a three story wooden house, right on the beach, was for sale for $500,000. Yet in the same area, one block back, I found a nice 220 sq. meter vacant lot for $30,000, meeting my current budget.

Good location with an ocean view from the second story of a house if I were to build one. Great, quick resell value, especially if I constructed a house… creating instant equity…the problem… the property has been in the same owner’s family for decades, and the owner himself has never bothered to do the legal paperwork to get the official deed/title to the property. A common problem of the best deals in Ecuador.

You see, the smaller communities in Ecuador are run by “comunas” or local governments that control local matters including property sales and zoning.

So half my morning one day this week was spent sitting in a local “comuna” or local community administration office talking to the president of the “comuna”.

He explained to us the process of legalizing the property. First, the current owner has to register himself as part of the “comuna” which costs $20 annually and needs to be passed by the board which could take up to 15 days. Then, almost immediately… because the owner is well known in the community… he’ll get issued an official “Right of Possession from the Comuna”. Then, the sale can be made. And with that “Right of Possession” the new owner can go to the Municipal’s office in Salinas, the capital of the province, and apply for and get the office deed/title. Of course, the local “comuna” will ask for a few thousand dollars in transfer fees… a glorified kickback.

The whole process is NOT a sure thing, but in this case may be worth the risk, just be sure not to give any deposit money until the papers are in order, and use a local lawyer when in doubt!

Additionally, the current owner is a local fishermen who’s never used a computer and doesn’t seem too motivated to see the process through… so, I think I’m going to have to keep searching, and we’ll see what happens by next week.

The stakes are rising! Big money is to be made if you know how to look for property in Ecuador like a local, which I cover in depth in my buyer’s guide, see more here… https://63s.e69.myftpupload.com/SalesInsiderGuide.html

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