The Ecuador Insider

So this week we broke ground on the 3 bedroom, 2 bath oceanview house here south of Manta, Ecuador.

The first step was to level the ground and dig the holes for the foundation and septic system all in one shot; a high pressure jetting services company came to clean the pipes and make sure the system was going to run smoothly.

As you can see in the pics (click display images in your email reader) in came the heavy manchinery, which I rented for $25 an hour with specialized driver included. Although an entirely prefabricated house is one of the cheap homes to build, the panels offer a lot more flexibility in building as well as materials. According to Davis Frame Company, prefabricated panels save on labor costs and time.

The 2014 Survey of Construction (SOC) from the Census Bureau shows that the average completion time of a single-family house is around 7 months, which usually includes around 25 days from authorization to start and another 6 months to finish the construction bu the this projects total came to 36 hours or $900.

Next step, get water to the lot, easier said then done, maybe, stay tuned!

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Building permits can be tough in Ecuador, but they can also be ridiculously easy, especially when you can obtain blueprints online at places like mysiteplan.com.

Depends a bit on the project and the municipal where it´s located.

In my experience, the municipal in Playas Villamil is really a pain.  Quito not so much.  While the municipals in Santa Elena (Salinas area), and Jipijapa (for area of coast south of Manta) are pretty easy.

My experience this week at the municipal of Jipijapa getting a permit to build my 170m2 (1829ft2) house on a 330m2 (3552ft2) lot was pretty straightforward.

The hardest part was the week or two wait for the municipal to send an inspector to define the construction limits or as they say here “linea de fabrica”.  It helped my architect knew somone in the municipal who owed him a favor (I guess).

Once that happened I had to go to the municipal with a signed official copy of the architectural plan which after heavy negotiating cost me $500 for a plan guaranteed the municipal would approve.  If not, he´d redo it.

Plus, I had to take several copies of the property deed (escritura), certificate of registry (certificado del registro de la propiedad), electrical plan also made by the architect, and a copy of the 2015 property tax payment (predios) which for my property cost well under $100.

Altogether the permit cost $135 and took 3 days.

The requirements are basically the same all over Ecuador but every municipal will have their particularities.

So now on the blueprints, permit, the 2015 tax payment and a few other minor things i´ve now spent a total of $900.

And now I´m also ready to build!

Now, how to find the best-priced properties in Ecuador? For that and more subscribe to my weekly Ecuador Insiders Newsletter below, you can unsubscribe at any time:

OK, so I have flipped property on the Ecuador coast with success.

But it’s obvious to me now after doing it that that’s not where the real money is.

You see, truth-be-told, a lot of the cheap, Ecuadorian-made homes, especially on the coast, simply don’t meet North American standards, and chances are you’d spend more to fix it up then the whole place is even worth. Wood is the quintessential fence material. It is relatively inexpensive and you can find it pretty much anywhere. Wood has been a forefront building material since old times, and its popularity hasn’t waned even with the development of vinyl as a low maintenance alternative. But if you really want the mark of a professional, get the job done right with the expertise of privacy fencing brisbane. 

So, what’s the opportunity?

Build your own house.

And that’s exactly what I’m going to do starting later this week.

Can’t say I don’t practice what I preach.

Below is the plan for my new project… in Puerto Cayo, just south of Manta on the coast with a beautiful oceanview and a short walk to the beach.

Might be a little hard to see, its just a quick pic from my cell phone of the blueprints the architect gave me.  The nice oceanview is to the bottom right of the plan.

 But here’s my thinking based off my experience selling property on the coast of Ecuador.  

3 bedroom, 2 full bath.  That’s as small as I want to go, even though most people who move here or retire here are moving down as a couple or a solo person, I’ve seen they still prefer at least 3 bedrooms because they like having at least one guest room for their kids/friends visits and one room they can use as an office or storage den.  While 4 or 5 bedrooms is often a little much.

2 non-master bedrooms separated by bathroom.  This is nice cause the people in one bedroom won’t have to walk through or outside the room of the other to get to the bathroom. Find more plumbing services in Manassas to make sure your bathroom is well maintained.

Spacious kitchen with island.  Important for extra space and entertaining.

Plenty of closet space with walk-in closet in master bedroom.  From my experience, especially women really focus on closet space, important!

Laundry room with door to exterior so folks can take advantage of the nice weather and walk outside to hang clothes on a line like the locals if they wish.  Plus, you got to have your machines inside and out of the elements to prevent from rapid erosion in that ocean air. Additionally, insulating the rooms with the help of experts from All Seasons Insulation 7665 Palmilla Dr #5124 La Jolla CA 92122 (858) 225-1316 or you can get redirected here to prevent the elements from affecting the room.

A dining area and patio with a BBQ area and sliding glass doors that take full advantage of the nice ocean view, if you need special doors for your home going here will lead you to a contractor that can help you.  Especially us North Americans, like a good BBQ on the beach.

2 sinks and a bath tub plus shower in the master bathroom which will also be extra spacious.

Raised floor of house by about 1 meter so that even if there is a 2 meter fence around the property the house will still have a nice oceanview over the fence and you can use a company from this homepage to help with a fence like this.  Plus this should help keep moisture and insects out.

Spanish-tiled roof with porcelen tile floor.  The roof because thats the style most expect when down here  and its good for insulation and the flooring because with the humidity of the coast that’s really the best option,  so if you want to get the best services for this you can find more here about this.

1-story only making it good for older folks who don’t do stairs, I have found some designs from Adelaide stairs with ramps for those.  Plus, this will lower construction costs a lot because I won’t have to invest in a lot of rebar as needed when making a floor-roof (losa in Spanish).

An outdoor shower for getting the sand off before entering the house.  This also has to be easily unaccessibled if the house is going to be vacant for a long time, don’t want this to turn into the community shower.

170m2 (1829ft2) of construction on a 337m2 (3627ft2) lot.  Nice spacious house with a small but cozy yard for a garden or the pets.

Minimal use of wood and metals with a focus on materials like aluminium and other materials that won’t erode like crazy in the salty ocean air.

So that’s the basic concept and thinking behind the plan, if you have any suggestions just click on reply to this email.  I’ll keep you informed every step of the way from the ground breaking to the sale!

Datson Fence – installation and maintenance of wooden fencing

Now, how to find the best-priced properties in Ecuador? For that and more subscribe to my weekly Ecuador Insiders Newsletter below, you can unsubscribe at any time: Insulwest Pty Ltd