By Domenick Buonamici
Low maintenance. Low effort (most times). Good return… I like vacation rentals, especially the siesta keys vacation rentals on the beach which I so frequently travel to.
Ecuador is great for vacation rental businesses because it has a constant year-round flow of tourists, little competition (as of yet), and you can buy in relatively cheaply.
For example, many charge over $50USD a night for their rental, and you can buy a decent condo in Ecuador in many places for under $40k…with a 50% occupancy…if you do the math, you’ll see in the above example you’d be making around 30% annual return on investment.
Of course, this is an oversimplified example, as a lot of factors will determine your ultimate success or not with this business, but just wanted to give you something to think about and give you a few pointers I’ve learned in the trenches…
A few things I’ve learned:
-Buy a “Keyless entry” system in the US and install it once in Ecuador. With it, all you do is give people the password to get in, and you can change it with your property manager at any time. WAY easier than trying to get people the keys (and getting them back when they leave!) They start around $170 and can be found in many Home Depot-type stores.
-Promote yourself heavily online. There are no walk ups in this business. You probably won’t even have a sign on the door. So be sure to promote heavily through not only offline sources like local realtors, but also online through both third party websites and your own website… to learn step by step how I promote my vacation rental businesses in Ecuador see my new eCourse here.
-Property management is key. A good property manager to clean and handle problems that may arise is important. For recommended property management companies in Ecuador and other high quality professionals check back for the newsletter next week when I introduce my new Ecuador Expert Directory.
-Don’t get too far off the beaten path. You can get off the beaten path and still get business, but I have seen vacation rental businesses do better when they are firmly on the beaten (travel) path, albeit with more competition.
-Don’t limit yourself to the coast. I’d say 90% of the people I talk to on the site are interested in buying near the beach in Ecuador. That’s fine, the coast is great, but remember that’s only one third of Ecuador, (the Coast, Andes and the Amazon) and all three parts see heavy amounts of travelers (and have different peak seasons).
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