Category: Ecuador for Investors

Most expats and travelers in Ecuador just skip it.

It’s hot, it’s humid and the mosquitos plentiful. But if you stay there for a while, you’ll automatically be compelled to know the best way to stop mosquito bites from itching.

Ecuadorians will tell you not to go there cause it’s dangerous.

Welcome to Guayaquil.  Ecuador’s largest city and top international port.

But after a year of living there I can honestly say it is also a great investment for short-term, furnished, up-scale rental properties.

There simply is more demand than supply.  And it’s year round!

Guayaquil along with the heat and humidity also happens to be the main crossroads of Ecuador.  Wherever you’re going, chances are you’ll need to pass by Guayaquil.

Locals in the city haven’t quite grasped the idea, and almost all the properties for rent ask for long-term leases (1 or 2 years) and come unfurnished.

But…

…it’s an easy sell to many executives and travelers alike as to why stay in a hotel room for weeks or months when you can enjoy the privacy of your own apartment and kitchen.

There’s money in Guayaquil.

And you’ll soon discover you’ll have just as much interest from local, Ecuadorian executives as you will from foreign travelers just passing through maybe on their way to the Galapagos… or maybe on their way from Salinas/Montanita to Cuenca (they have to pass through Guayaquil).

You could rent by the night, week or month to month.

So where in Guayaquil is best for this type of rental?

Well, I’d avoid the city center like the plague although the river boardwalk (malecon) while nice to visit in the daytime it’s dodgy at night.  I’d avoid the south of the city too cause it’s just plain ghetto.  Samborondon is nice, and where the local rich live but it’s far away from everything and your renters will need a car to rent there from you.

Urdesa is a pleasant neighborhood with lots of restaurants that is nice to live with tree-lined streets but being in a narrow valley the traffic during rush hour can get untolerably bottlenecked, not for me.

I’d stick to the north central part of town between the city center and the airport.  Particularly, I like the Kennedy Norte area and even more specifically the Plaza del Sol area.

The Plaza del Sol area is the new city financial center, right next to the Mall Del Sol and where both travelers and the locals (with money) want to be.

You’re in the middle of everything.  A few minutes from the airport, a few minutes to Urdesa or Samborondon or even the old city center.

There is a Sheraton and Howard Johnson in the area too.  The Hilton is nearby.

There are a few condo towers I like specifically with pools, parking, elevator and 24 hour receptionist.  Two are the twin towers adjoined to the Howard Johnson, and another is the Elite Tower across the street.  In any of these towers you can find a luxury one bedroom suite starting around $85k resale.  The two bedroom start about $10-20k more.  The suites rent for $1100-1200 a month, or around $80 a night.  But there are VERY few for rent as short-term furnished rentals!

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OK, so it’s been a bit over 6 months since I finished my Tiki Hut building project on the coast of Ecuador near Montanita.

It’s hard to declare something a success when you finish building it.

You gotta wait and see how it actually rents.  And now, the numbers are in.

3 tiki huts built with oceanviews near Montanita in a little over 6 weeks.  Plus a remodeled ‘budget’ 4 bedroom house with oceanview, subcontractors at https://northernlightsexteriors.com/ providing windows installation and roofing service.

There are also to as high impact windows, impact-resistant windows, or storm windows. But regardless of what they’re called, hurricane impact windows perform some vital functions, one among which is to guard your house and shield you and your family from the devastation that violent weather can create. Hurricane Impact Window Installation, provide superior protection during a storm . Since they’re an integral a part of the structure of your home, there’s less chance for the wind to travel around them and tear them faraway from the wall, something which will happen with storm shutters. They also simultaneously let light enter an area while protecting your carpeting, furniture, and drapes from the damaging effects of ultraviolet rays. They require little or no effort to manipulate; all you would like to try to to during a storm is to form sure that they’re closed securely and locked.

4 VERY different styles.

Well, here are the final conclusions and what I learned renting each and what Id do different next time…

Tiki Hut 1, I bought this All-wooden hut pre-built from a builder I know from the Ecuadorian Amazon, Tena region.  It took 3 days for them to install it on my location elevated a few feet above the ground.  It has a wooden balcony, wooden floor, wooden walls, a “sing”roof, a beautiful oceanview, one bedroom, one bathroom, a sink, kitchenette, mini-refrigerator, WIFI, one queen bed, closet, one full bathroom with The Original Frameless Shower Doors and a hot electric-powered shower with a tile floor and vinyl-covered walls. Saalfeld Construction Roofing proved very professional.

I had to tile the floor myself first laying a small web or rebar, then laying a 5 cm layer of cement, then laying the tile… and then I had to stick vinyl on the bathroom walls with rubber cement as well as install the water and electricity outlets and hook up. After all the installation were done, with the help of HANOVER POWERWASHING PROS I was able to clean off everything giving the hut a spotless and perfect finishing.  Roof and guttering store services were provided by Pressure Washing Adams County | Gettysburg Powerwashing Pros. For rent (based on market prices) at $25/ night, $100/week or $250/month, the price is the same for one or two people.

Total build time = 7 days.
Total size = 24 m2 or 258 ft2
Total cost = $3753

Final Conclusions from SC Roof Repair Greenville: Should not have included the bathroom within the wooden structure.  Better to build bathroom out back end with cement block and tiling, hut can get very humid and damp after showers.  Size was a bit too small for comfortable living with couples.  At 6m x 4m another meter of width would have helped out a lot.  Would have used different material for roofing cause when it rains it makes a lot of noise and in the sun the metal sing can really heat up. But an occasional power wash from york powerwashing pros, even if it’s under the pretence of washing, can cool down the roof for a while. Amazonian wood holding up good to coastal climate, still cant beat the view from the balcony.  Occupation rate over last 6 months as vacation rental 70%.  A success.

Tiki Hut 2, The budget option with little ocean-view built with a cement floor and cement block with the “Sing” metal sheet roofing so common in this area of Ecuador.  It has WIFI and a mini-stove and bathroom (all in the same room) while the shower is behind a blind from https://affordableblinds.com/.  I hope to rent it to a surfer or backpacker for around $100 a month or $5 a day for shorter time periods.  It’s good enough for me and someone not very picky, I could live there if I needed to live somewhere rent-free.  It is very soviet-esque but comes furnished with bed, table, chair, Wifi internet, electric cooker, sink, and a half bath with the shower around back which does have a curtain.  Currently its listed for rent at $100 a month.

In stamping simulation, the forming of sheet metal is simulated on the computer with the help of special software. Simulation makes it possible to detect errors and problems, such as wrinkles or splits in parts, on the computer at an early stage in forming. In this way, it is not necessary to produce real tools to run practical tests. Forming simulation has become established in the automotive industry since it is used to develop and optimize every sheet metal part.

Total build time = 6 days. (One Ecuador workweek).
Total size = 16 m2 or 172 ft2
TOTAL COST $892.49

Final conclusions:  This Tiki hut was a bust and by far the hardest to rent.   Occupation rate over last 6 months as vacation rental mainly to younger backpackers, surfers is 12%.  Proves saying if you don’t have the money to do something nice, save your money first.  For most, feels too much like a prision cell with all the cement and lack of windows.  I would not have done this Tiki Hut again if I had a do-over.  At least I have a place I can live rent free if need be.

Tiki Hut 3, By far the most labor intensive and time consuming, I designed the hut myself based off similar “mixed” models in the area.  Due to inexperience building these types of huts (it was my first time) I made mistakes all along the way that caused me to go about $2k over budget (see the end of this email for details). the base of the project was completed thanks to https://www.mtecscaffolding.com/case_study/scaffolding-surrey/ scaffolding builders that had the fright tools and knowledge.

By “mixed construction” I mean a building that uses a mix of both eco-materials like bamboo and normal construction materials like cement and brick.  My idea was to build an elevated structure a few feet off the ground with a cement, tiled floor and walls made partially of brick and bamboo.

The roof would have bamboo cross beams and a typical-for-the-area grass roof with a hidden layer of heavy-duty plastic and mosquito netting to keep the bugs out.  The hut would have a balcony, one bedroom, one full bathroom with electric-powered hot shower and a kitchenette area complete with a quartz countertops, sink, mini-refrigerator, one queen bed, closet, WIFI and a dining table for two.  For rent (based on market prices) at $30/ night, $100/week or $250/month, the price is the same for one or two people.

Total build time = 5 weeks
Total size = 30 m2 or 322 ft2
Total cost = $6557.36
Final conclusions: By far the biggest success of the three.  The size is much more comfortable for a couple as a longer term residence at 6m x 5m, a full meter wider than the wooden bungalow.  Very easy to rent, most folks extend their stay, great for single person longer term or for a couple on a shorter stay.  Average rent 1-2 months as folks explore nearby areas.  Would have built on ground to lower cost of construction by about $1k, would have built balcony larger to convert it almost into a deck for barbecuing, etc.  Occupation rate over last 6 months as vacation rental 84%.

Overall conclusions after renting the huts for 6 months:  If I had to do this project again, I would have built two of the brick/bamboo huts instead of the wooden and cement ones.  I would have hired an architect to manage the building project for me (was very time consuming for me).  And I would have explored 2 bedroom designs cause my far-less-attractive-budget 4-bedroom-oceanview very-Ecuadorian house I found for $15k still rents even better than the huts (at $450-480/mon) because people like the space.

(Related information: Get all information of the greatest furnoture that would go with your new home from a list like they’re building here at the website of Clever Shop List)

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