The Ecuador Insider

These days, a cell phone is practically a necessity. Thankfully, getting set up in Ecuador is rather easy.

First, you’ll need to buy a sim card (for around $5)… I recommend buying “Porta” if you plan to live on the coast. Or “Movistar” if you plan to live in Quito or the Northern Andes area.

Then, if you want to find a phone cheap, I’d look for one in the two major cities of Ecuador, Quito or Guayaquil. In Quito, try the “Centro” Colonial (Historical area), specifically a complex called the Montufar. Beware! Only go during the daytime and don’t wear a lot of jewelry, the area is a little seedy.

In Guayaquil, for the cheapest cell phones try the open air market in the city center called the “Bahia”. Again, don’t go at night or dusk, the area is a bit seedy as well.

Also, in both places beware of brand name phones that are pirated, buy at your own risk…

In these areas you can find a cheapy for around $25.

Saludos, Dom

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One of the great perks for foreign residents living in Ecuador is high-quality, low-cost healthcare. Bloomberg recently rated Ecuador as having the 20th most efficient healthcare system among advanced economies, while the U.S. ranked near the bottom in 46th place.Most medicines available in the States are also available in Ecuador, as well as their generic versions, here is a sample of some of the current medicine prices…

…if you have other sample med prices…PLEASE LEAVE THEM IN THE COMMENTS BELOW… thanks!

_Diovan 320 mg caja of 28 pills x $38.95 (for each 42 bought get 14 free)
_lotensin HCT 20/2.5 (pricing not available without perscription, but med is available)
_Metropolol 100mg box of 28pills x $11.58
_Baby aspirine flask of 100pills x $5.00
_Mobic 15mg box of 10pills x $21.00
_Bupropion (pricing not available without perscription, but med is available)
_Testosterone in gel 80gm $13.19 (Consider the best testosterone booster with out prescription)
_Nasonex spray nasal 18 gr $20. 75
_Astelin 30ml (pricing not available without perscription, but med is available)
_temazepan 15mg, there is a generic: diasepan 10mg box of 60pills x $6.26
_Temazepan 30mg, there is a generic: diasepan 10mg of 60pills x $6.26
_Oxycodone, there is a generic: Oxycodal 300mg 30pills x $14.04
_Nexium 40mg box of 14pils x $ 26.92

If you’d like me to check up a specific med for you, I can free, if I am in Ecuador, just write me via the contact form… saludos, Dom

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It’s true; most foreigners buy in Ecuador with cash, or take a HELOC out on their US property in order to buy in Ecuador. Some people also sell their houses to companies like Druther Home Buyers that works with property located in Moore County, NC.

Few know that foreigners are actually eligible for getting home loans from banks in Ecuador. But this is not the case in Sweden as anyone can get lån med betalningsanmärkning as required without any issue there.

Most of the foreigners I run into down here fall into the category of “Well, I was living in Ecuador in my home and I came across this other great deal I just had to have, so I took a local loan and snagged it before someone else did.”

OK, so what do you need (being a foreigner) in order to qualify? You should alwas go with qualified brokers.

The requirements greatly differ from bank to bank in Ecuador, but below are the basics.

In the smaller banks, they ask you to have some type of resident visa, along with 2 years living in Ecuador with an active bank account showing your pension income or work income movements.

If you are working in Ecuador and not receiving retirement, some banks will ask for at least 2 years in the same place of work with a legally established business in Ecuador (a deal breaker for most Americans).

Some banks, like Banco Pichincha, are a little more lenient and only ask for you to be a resident of Ecuador, and have 6 months of bank statements (in one of their bank accounts) showing your current retirement or work income.

So, in other words, within 6 months of moving to Ecuador you could be qualifying for local home loans. Loans SOS grants you such a possibility. You can check out the RedInk Homes house and land packages if you are still havent selected a house and choose from their many home design packages which are bound to make you fall in love with them.

But yes, some banks will require a basic medical exam if you are over the age of 60.

Home loans in Ecuador usually take about a week to approve, and 6 weeks until the distribution of funds.

Now, the point of this article was to show you that you do have local financing options, but if you are able to bring the money from the US, all the better and here is why.

Mostly all banks in Ecuador will require you put at least a 30% down payment, and will finance the rest for up to 15 years at the going rates (in 2010 it is 10.75% apr). But when it comes to myinstantoffer.com pre approval loans, you get the full loan amount with low interest rates.

That may sound like a lot, but if you find a real steal down here and can’t get money any other way, this may be your only option.

Now, me personally, I have funded my endeavors in Ecuador taking out personal, non-secured loans from my bank in the US, which only charges 8.5% annual interest and from cash advances on 0% APR US credit cards (hey, property in Ecuador is still cheap!)

Until next time, happy hunting, Dom.

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OK.

I’d recommend Quito. It’s got other expats, a lively foreigner scene and has low humidity, tucked high in the Andes mountains.

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Great question. Ecuador is still rather undiscovered so it’s not that hard to be the only foreigner around if that’s the kind of immersion you’re looking for.

In the Andes region, I’d try Ibarra or one of the small towns around it.

On the coast, I’d try one of the smaller towns on the northern coast like Cojimes or Muisne.

Hope that helps, Dom…

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one of the smaller towns on the northe