Category: Investor News/Analysis

Cotacachi, 2br 2bath Casa 1500sq.ft on .25ac lot, in 5 home Urb. on edge of town Great Views of Mt. Imbabura & Cota, asking $119k (negotiable)

Beautiful stand alone casa with its own yard and gardens. Very secure 5 house small subdivision with an iron locked gate and high walls all around. There are permanent neighbors to keep an eye on things in a neighborhood watch setting. Nice living room with fireplace. Fully furnished kitchen appliances, with microwave, coffee pot, all silverware, dishes and pots and pans, washer and dryer.

A Lovely 2 Bedroom 2 Bath Home in quiet, secure gated community of 5 homes within walking distance of the Bus Terminal and the main street of Cotacachi where all the restaurants, gyms, clubs, coffee & pastry shops, grocery stores and the retail leather shops are located that Cotacachi is famous for.

Best of all — you don’t need a car to get around. Walk everywhere. The vegetable and fruit market is five blocks away, the nearest grocery store is three blocks and a larger store (Tia Department Store)is only four blocks. If you happen to buy a lot of groceries, a taxi is only a dollar anywhere in Cotacachi. Furthermore, the buses are economical too. How about 25 cents to Otavalo — a city of 95,000 and the home of the largest outdoor marketplace in South America – 45 cents to Ibarra – a city of 250,000 with the SuperMaxi Shopping Plaza and the newly opened Laguna Mall — a three story shopping mall — first in Ibarra.

Asking $119,950. (NEGO / Updated FEB2025) To see this Casa or to See more properties here in Ecuador Real Estate: http://ecuadorrealestate.org – contact us for more info photos & details: [email protected] Call Toll free from U.S. & Canada: +1-770-828-7913, ECU. Off: 02-380-4088, Ecu. Cell: 098-828-8953, WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal,+593-98-828-8953, For Virtual Real Estate Tours, PreTrip Planning Video Conference via Zoom, jitsi, “skype” user name: “Jack.Abercrombie” –

#StrategicRelocationEcuador – #JourneymanJackinEcuador – https://www.facebook.com/StrategicRelocationEcuadorExpatsSurvivalSchool/Celebrating 17 years of Service to the incoming and outgoing Ecuador Expats Community – N. Sierra – E. Jungles – S. Sierras and the Entire W. Coast. ~ ‘One Call does it All!’ +1-770-828-7913, Ecuador Real Estate .org | Quito | Facebook Page – https://www.facebook.com/EcuadorRealEstate.org

7 businesses I would put in Canoa, Ecuador right now

Disaster breeds opportunity.

The ying and the yang, there is a positive side to everything if you look for it.

This fact has became particularly clear to me since I started investing in currencies online (more on that soon).

But particularly since the earthquake last April, here are 7 businesses I personally would consider putting in Canoa (if I had the time to do so).

1. Rentals- So I’ve heard from sources on the ground, since the quake acceptable American-quality rentals are few and far between.

2. ATM- Everyone I know who lives in Canoa complains there is no ATM, solve this problem somehow and you will be rewarded.

3. Coffee shop- A good one with inside and outside tables, right on the ocean, with WiFi and good pastries, yea, I’d like to see something like that here (think Sweet and Coffee).

4. Liquor store- with ample selection of both foreign and local liquors and wine plus a whole bunch of other hard-to-find edible goodies like thai curry powder, Heinz ketchup, etc.

5. Late night street food, but something different (like a taco bus)– Right now the late night options are limited to average hamburgers on the street, shwarma (kebab), and pizza (moan).  How about a taco stand or pita pit, that’s what I’d put.  Add hot dogs and you can appeal to the local crowds too!

6. Chinese food (Chifa)- According to sources, no Chinese in town currently, could be a big hit with both locals and foreigners.

7. Bathrooms/showers on the beach- Especially since the quake pretty much non-existent.  Def. a need.

So, what are you waiting for? Give it a go!

Hasta pronto, if you liked this you’d love my Insider’s newsletter on living and investing in Ecuador,

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Earthquake rebuild update from Canoa, Ecuador

This week I had the pleasure to chat with a friend that has lived since June of last year in Canoa, Danial Turner (not a property owner there).

He said he’s noticed a lot of changes in the picturesque town of Canoa, Ecuador on the north Ecuadorian coast which happens to be one of the hardest hit towns by last years April quake.

Hard to get an official count, but many agree about 30-40% or more of the town’s buildings came down and some other required the help of knock down rebuild sydney to take down the rests.

According to Danial, he said Canoa is rebounding nicely, with a lot of vacant lots where buildings/houses used to be. He said that he noticed a pattern of builders who, rather than rebuilding, remodelled their home. It hit me that this was akin to the Home Care Contractors in Seattle advice that I’d received when I was in a dilemma of whether to build or not, years ago. But if you want the job done properly, you may need to work with one of the more experienced general contractors in Seattle.

No more tent cities now as was the case when he arrived in June of last year.

He said the enormous government project which was going to occupy a whole city block on the beach has now been fixed with the help from Sloane Homes. (Thank God.)

He said basic services are now fine, electric and water outages are rare, and the town even has city sewage treatment, a service most places on the Ecuador coast lack (they use septic tanks which need to be pumped once a year by the local septic pumping company ). But if you want the job done properly, you may need to work with one of the more experienced general contractors in Seattle. Home Care Contractors recognizes the importance of Communication, integrating it in all aspects of our services. We deliver professional service at an unbeatable value. Our response time and delivery is our top priority. You will get the best  contractor right here on Home Care Contractors.

Carnival last weekend, normally a holiday weekend that produces a packed house for the town, was underwelming but not bad.

Many businesses have re-opened like the Surf Shack, an expat mainstay, where they have gringo nights on Tuesdays and he himself cooks on Thursdays (Danial is a retired world-class chef).

Friday night try the Suki bar where they have a new cook from England who is doing a great job.

He said there is a big new grocery store in town doing well also.

And that many of the condos owned by expats to the south of town have been repaired with doors from the composite door Bristol  company in otder to be occupied once again.

He said security is not an issue as a big gringo he has not had any incidents and that the waves are still as good as ever!

He said tourists and expats have started to trickle back but still not coming in the numbers they were before the quake.

Big, new construction projects are still generally non-existent. Sounds like the big money is still spooked. But thanks to companies have contributed buying materials like the double glazed sash windows from this installer in London, machinery and more equipment to complete the reconstruction.

So next time you’re in the area give Canoa (one of my favs) a shot! You’ll be glad you did.

Hasta pronto, if you liked this you’d love my Insider’s newsletter on living and investing in Ecuador,

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How to save on your income tax in Ecuador

This week I filed my income tax return in Ecuador due every March (impuesto a la renta).

My accountant charged $30 and was done in 20 minutes.

It was so quick because she already handled my monthly sales tax declarations and already had the paperwork on hand.

Based on the monthly tax declarations for all of 2016 she quickly pumped out the annual return and submitted it.

Every independent contractor is entitled to a couple of deductions they can take in order to save on their taxes, such as mileage and equipment expenses. Self-employed people can also deduct their health insurance premiums, state and federal taxes and home office expenses. The self-employed should consult with an accountant to ensure they claim every deduction possible. You can check here how to pay taxes as independent contractor.

When you file if you have employees insist that your accountant submits the form declaring how much you pay to employees.  That will lower your tax burden greatly.

If you show less than $11k in profits for the year you pay ZERO income tax in Ecuador.  And it’s a sliding scale on up to the highest tax bracket for folks who make more than $115k profit who must pay 35% tax.

Hasta pronto, if you liked this you’d love my Insider’s newsletter on living and investing in Ecuador,

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Why you should start a tourism-related business in Ecuador now

2017 is the time to start a tourism-based business in a place like Ecuador where 80-90% of the foreign tourists are American (aka from the USA).

Why?

Because this is going to be a great year.

Being in the industry myself, I can’t help but notice the uptick in travelers so far this year.

Never before in the last 10-15 years has the dollar been so strong, the (DOW) markets at record levels and real estate strong all at once.

In other words, peoples 401Ks look great, their real assets on paper greater, and the dollar is stronger than its been in over a decade meaning you can buy more abroad. And people are realizing it.

Now, the strong dollar may have an adverse effect when drawing Europeans, Canadians and others outside the dollar zone, but who cares when your market is 80-90% Americans in a place like Ecuador?

So if you ever dreamed of opening a tourism-related biz in a place like Ecuador, now is the time to do it!

Hasta pronto, if you liked this you’d love my Insider’s newsletter on living and investing in Ecuador,

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