Category: Ecuador for Investors

The biggest danger you face in Ecuador…

BAM!!

“What the f@ck was that,” I thought as I sat up in bed.

The noise woke me up.

BAM!!

There it was again, sounded like a gun shot, in my house!

Now, I was really worried.

You see, I was a new arrival immigrant in Ecuador, three plus years ago, with no money and just a carry-on full of belongings, staying in a run-down student housing building on the ghetto south-side of the “Centro” of Guayaquil.

My only furniture was a little-box-bed I was sleeping on.

I was new, I didn’t know that this was NOT a good place to live, especially for a foreigner.

So…

I opened my bedroom door and still rubbing my eyes walked out through the hallway past the other students rooms and into the main area at the front of the house where I saw a gardener working.

“Buenos dias, boss” the gardener said.

I waved and went back to bed.

Later that morning I got a powerful knock on the door, it was another student that was in the building.

“Dude, we’ve been robbed!” He proclaimed.

“What?!?” I was shocked, remember, I was a newbie North American in Ecuadorian student housing. Afterall, this stuff never happened in the cushy suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio where I was born and raised.

We went to his room where it had been ransacked, along with the neighbor, and examening closely my door, it had been broke too, the noise I heard was the burglar trying to kick in my door, twice!

Thankfully, it was a solid wooden door cause if he would have got in and saw me there, it would’ve been two caged rats, only one getting out alive.

And then it hit me, the “gardener” was the burglar, he didn’t have time to get out when I came out and faked it, boy did I feel stupid when I told the other students.

He thought on a holiday weekend a student housing complex would be empty, well, I having no family in Ecuador had no where else to go and was there.

The next day I was out of there, moving to a nicer part of Guayaquil.

You see, the biggest danger you’ll face in Ecuador is from break ins, and yes, Ecuadorians already know this and take measures to prevent against it.

For instance, they put up big walls around the property, live in gated communities, put ghetto glass on the tops of the walls, get big dogs, even let poor local families live on their property so it’s not so vacant.

Usually, robbers in Ecuador will only go for a house that is OBVIOUSLY vacant.

Know this and take it into account before you buy or rent in Ecuador, how’s the security of the house/condo?

If you liked this article, you’d love my weekly newsletter, revealing everything you need to know BEFORE you invest in Ecuador. Unsubscribe at any time:

First Name
* Email
* = Required Field

The Exact step-by-step process and costs for getting your (second) Ecuadorian passport

 I got a friend, a young American guy in his early thirties who goes by the name Bart Simpson.

He’s rich, specifically, a “dot com” millionaire.

And his hobby in life now is collecting passports, he has six already to be exact.

A South American one is his next target as it would open up the whole continent for him.

He’s done his homework, and according to him, Ecuador is the EASIEST to get.

So that’s why he’s here.

I was helping him out, and here is the exact process you need to follow to get your second Ecuadorian passport.  

1. After at least 2 and a half years of residency (technically they say 3 years but my contact who works in the Quito office told me you can really apply after 2 and a half years from the day you get your Ecuador cedula or ID card) you can apply for the dual citizenship which gets you an Ecuadorian Passport.  You can not be out of the country during those first 2 and a half years a total of more than 90 days, but you can apply for citizenship anyway even if you pass this limit but you’ll have to submit a letter stating why you passed the limit and hope they still sign off on it.

2. Gather the requirements.  
– Birth certificate, apostilled and translated to Spanish.
– Passport color copy of the passport where you have the residency visa stamp.  Your passport must have at least 6 months of validity.
-Color copy of Ecuadorian Cedula(ID card).
– Get document from civil registry (registro civil) that states first date of cedula (tarjeta indice de filiacion que dice la primera fecha de cedulacion)
– Certificate of compliance (Certificado de cumplimiento de obligaciones) from the SRI (IRS of Ecuador) stating you are up-to-date on any taxes.
– Certificate of compliance (Certificado de cumplimiento de obligaciones) from your local Municipality stating you are up-to-date on any taxes.
– Certificate of compliance (Certificado de cumplimiento de obligaciones) from the IESS social security system of Ecuador stating you are up-to-date on any payments.
– Police record from all the countries (including Ecuador) where you’ve lived the last 5 years. They are currently accepting only federal level checks from countries with a federal government, for Americans, that means an FBI check, apostilled.
– Migratory movement card, obtained in Ecuadorfrom immigration for $4. (Movimiento Migratorio)
– 4 color passport sized photos.
– Proof of Ecuador solvency:  Like a bank certificate, bank statements last three months, for business owners the monthly sales tax declarations, copies of the title (escritura) of any property or businesses you own in Ecuador or a copy of your rental contract properly inscribed in the rental agency (Juzgado de Inquilinato).

3. In person, they require you submit your documentation in Quito in the Immigration office (Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores) on 10 de agosto. You can also submit in Guayaquil.

4. You’ll be called in within a few months to take a written exam in Spanish on basic Ecuadorian history.  it is not pass/fail, it is just to put in your file, and they would like to see some effort.  It is not verbal in anyway but they reserve the right to do some verbal questions if they wish (but they usually don’t according to  my contact).

5. Upon acceptance of application you must publish an ad in local paper announcing your new citizenship.

6. You will then be called in with all the others that day accepted into Ecuadorian citizenship to sing the national hymn (together, not solo) and confirm your new citizenship.  You will need to bring three Ecuadorian witnesses.  You can then go get your Ecuadorian passport.

Duration: about 6 months.

Cost: $200 application fee, $500 acceptance fee, approx $403 publication fee, $285 Civil Registry fee.  All fees are one-time-only, but Ecuador citizenship is for life unless you renounce it.   These costs are the cheapest you can do it for without using an attorney.

Total: Appox $1300.

And to prep for the test, simplifying it and giving you just what you need-to-know, you’d love my weekly newsletter, revealing everything you need to know BEFORE you invest in Ecuador. Unsubscribe at any time:

First Name
* Email
* = Required Field

Will your pet be detained upon entering Ecuador?

Recently a friend of mine brought her pet to Ecuador… here´s what went down…

First, before coming she made sure she had the necessary documents: A vaccination certificate for international travel and a certification from an FDA approved veternarian that the pet was healthy. All of which needs to be done right before traveling and for extra security I´d get all the documents certified by an Ecuador consulate before coming.

The airline in the USA initially caused concern saying she MUST have a “pet broker”, but she got around this explaining she had a friend lined up that was going to help her. Before flying check with your airline on if a broker is NEEDED or not to board the plane, usually not, but some are more strict.

If possible, bring the pet as a carry-on as if they are in the cabin they often can just walk right out with you upon arrival, if they come in cargo, and you arrive late at night the pet will stay detained until the next business day.

Her dog was too big to ride carry-on. So it spent the night detained in customs.

The following morning she went to the Quito airport, where she was told she had to go to the UNITED CARGO pick up offices in the nearby town of Tababela.

There, she was told she had to go to another building near the airport to pay an environmental inspection tax of about $28, from there on to Customs where she had to pay another small fee and wait for another inspection.

After that she had to go pay the storage of the dog for the night which was $15 in order to release the dog. The payments were made in a nearby bank, no bribes, no brokers needed.

In all the spots she was asked for the documents she brought from the states plus the bill of lading and her BOARDING PASS!

The whole process took about 8 hours so don´t expect it to be quick!

T.I.E. my friend, This is Ecuador.

For more specific information on this I´d call an Ecuador consulate in the US. They´ll tell you what you need to gather.

If you liked this article, you’d love my weekly newsletter, revealing everything you need to know BEFORE you invest in Ecuador. Unsubscribe at any time:

First Name
* Email
* = Required Field

Is Ecuador the new American dream?

Dom,

“So, where you from?” I asked.

“Gambia,” the guest in my hotel responded.

“Wow, Gambia, I thought, where the heck’s that?” I thought.This young guy I was chatting with was obviously an immigrant, fresh off the plane, about to try his luck inEcuador.  Just like i was 3 years ago.

You see, Ecuador is the NEW American dream, a place where you can truly come with nothing and hit it big.

So let’s look at what America was and what Ecuador now is:

Accessible to newcomers.  While the US has long since “shut it’s doors” to new immigrants from developing countries, Ecuador remains wide open for about anyone from anywhere in the world.  Foreigners can easily own land and businesses and have the same rights as the locals.

Low taxes.  This was one of the main reasons Europeans left in droves for America, a place that was once a place with a much lower tax burden, just like Ecuador is now compared to North America.  Income taxes (many pay under 10% of their income), property taxes (usually under a few hundred dollars a year per property).  You name it, they’re LOW in Ecuador!

LOTS of opportunity.  Literally, ANTHING you want to do, any business you put, chances are Ecuador needs it.

Cheap land.  With the Oklahoma land rushes a thing of the distant past in North America, land is still cheap inEcuador, its where i bought my first house for $14k 3 years ago when I could only have dreamed of buying something back in Montana, the last place I lived in the US.  For me, it’d be depressing living in a place like Canada or Australia or California where young people can only DREAM of owning their own property without a 30 year nuse mortgage around their neck.

Low labor costs.  Before Ecuador I lived in China where i worked at a factory and I can tell you those guys in inner China don’t make a whole lot less these days then the minimum wage worker in Ecuador.  For instance, my colleagues in China made around $300 a month while in Ecuador the minimum wage is about $350 a month.  Still low for sure, breeding lots of entrepreneurial opportunities.

Low lawsuit concerns.  In the US, its well documented people sue like it’s their job, in some cases it is.  I for one would be paranoid about opening a business there while in Ecuador the inefficiency of the legal system actually prevents most cases from even happening as most settle differences out of court.

So, what’s one thing you’ve always wanted to do that you couldn’t in your home country?

If you liked this article, you’d love my weekly newsletter, revealing everything you need to know BEFORE you invest in Ecuador. Unsubscribe at any time:

First Name
* Email
* = Required Field

Expansion complete: the surprising difference between a 6 and 23 room hotel

Often, the first business most of us expats think of putting in our new country is a guesthouse.

It´s not a bad idea cause you really don´t need any formal education on the subject to do it. It wasn´t my plan either, I just kind of fell into it.

First in Guayaquil, partnering with a friend to start a small guesthouse, then here in Quito.

But most people start like I did in both Guayaquil then Quito: with five o six rooms.

My advice… don´t!

Unless, you really enjoy it of course.

Why?

Well, a few months back i finished an expansion from 6 to now 23 rooms.

And what´s the surprising difference between running the two, or between a small and a large guesthouse?

Nothing!

Really! The costs are ALMOST the same and either way it´s still a 24 hour business you just need to check the cell tower lease rates because it can vary in the same county or metropolitan area.

Even the email load is about the same.

Time invested… the same! It´s a 24 hour business either way! You need at least one person there ALL the time unless your cheap and want to handcuff yourself to the place.

Before, with six rooms, I had one person at night, one cleaner, and one part timer receptionist in the daytime with a part time cleaner that works when the full timer has off.

Thats two full timers and two part timers.

Now, with the 23 room place I´ve needed to add one more full time cleaner so i now have two cleaners daily, yet the same part time afternoon receptionist and the same night receptionist.

That´s it!

And cause I serve dinner I´ve had to hire a part-time chef cause with that many people one person can´t cook and attend the clients like they could before.

So what´s the difference between 6 and 23 rooms? One more full time cleaner and one part time chef.

But the difference in revenue is substantial.

It´s simple math, if you can charge $50 a room and fill the place, with just 5 or 6 rooms thats $250-300 a day revenue minus all your expenses equalling a bottom line of NOT MUCH.

But with over 20 rooms you can obviously generate over 4 times as much (with minimal increased expenses) if you can keep it full.

So if you are going to do it, do it big. Below is a pic of the new addition that was completed at my hotel near the Quito airport, total build time, roughly 3 months.

hotels-near-quito-international-airport

If you liked this article, you’d love my weekly newsletter, revealing everything you need to know BEFORE you invest in Ecuador. Unsubscribe at any time:

First Name
* Email
* = Required Field