Ecuador Living » Business

I have known several of the developers of the Abboretto project near Mindo for many years so am happy to send you the paid advertisement below.
First let me add that Mindo is located some 2 1/2 hours west from Quito and is a fairly small village and popular [...]

Cotacachi Arts and Crafts

SteveM — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:04:35 +0000

Arts and Crafts in and around Cotacachi are becoming ever more known and in part that is due to our Import Export tours.
I’d say that at least a third of the 24 delegates on our last Ecuador import export tour were folks returning to Ecuador after being on other types of tours or seminars on [...]

Property Confiscation in Ecuador

SteveM — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 01:00:49 +0000

One of the great worries, at least for some potential foreign property buyers, prior to the passing of the new Constitution was the specter of property confiscation. The way some were portraying the situation the government was determined to confiscate unproductive land and pass it on to the poor.
But hearing this I checked through the [...]

Ecuador Mobile Internet

SteveM — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 22:13:28 +0000

Ecuador internet services continue to develop a pace and one latest development is mobile internet in Ecuador.
The three cell phone operators are now all offering an internet connection via a usb connecting modem that receives a data signal using the same technology their cell phone networks use.
This little modem has one outstanding benefit in that [...]

Ecuador Lakeside Golf Course … for sale

SteveM — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 01:19:11 +0000

As mountainous country as Ecuador is, with the Andes mountains being a gigantic ridge running the length of the country, there are not so many large lakes here, and even less at a lower altitude. Good Ecuador lake properties are few and far between and I’m 99% certain there is only one Ecuador Lakeside [...]

Cotacachi Business Opportunity

SteveM — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:00:47 +0000

How would you like to be able to invest roughly $50,000 to $60,000 or maybe less in a business in Ecuador that will likely give you a growing residual income for years into the future?

I am always being asked how you can make money in Ecuador, what can you do? My answer is always the same – you must start a business of some kind. Trying to compete against competent low wage workers is not the best way forward – I can guarantee that. I did no more than survive for three years teaching English in Quito. It was fun, it was interesting, stimulating and challenging. But not financially rewarding.

As Gary has explained, one very viable way to generate substantial earnings is to start an import export business, which is precisely why we offer our import export expeditions.
http://www.garyascott.com/catalog/ecuador-import-and-export-tour

Other possibilities are to open a restaurant or small hotel – many have done this very successfully. But for something completely different read on below to see an opportunity concerning technology.

After just spending two days without internet at Meson de las Flores after a short duration power outage caused all the modems and routers to lose their settings, I’ve been scratching my head wondering how broadband internet could be better and faster in Cotacachi.

Of course, once we are used to having something we take it for granted – human nature I suppose, but I never forget that it’s something of an achievement that we can live here in the Andean mountain valleys and yet we’re connected by broadband to all corners of the globe. If I had a stock portfolio, and I’m glad I don’t as of today’s writing, I could be subscribed to a data service and get almost instantaneous ‘live’ data to trade my portfolio.

At Meson de las Flores we used to receive broadband from a company that uses microwave dishes to bounce the signals around the mountains until they reached Quito and the global data cable network. The only problem was that up at 13,000 feet on mount Cotacachi the dish they used was often buffeted by high winds and in some way failed to operate. I was never sure if it was inadequate equipment or just a bad location.

Needless to say there were frequent outages and so when DSL finally arrived in Cotacachi about a year ago I was front of the line to receive that service in El Meson. It has been a real blessing, trouble free and reliable for a year now, until last Wednesday.

Even so the tecs from the phone company came out the following day to fix the dsl line and then I needed to wait another day for someone to come and figure the wireless inside the hotel – not such an easy job for the amateur as we have three routers, two password protected networks and a voip phone that runs off a separate router (free internet and international calls for all guests at El Meson).

But while working in the nearby super-modern internet café, I was talking to the owner and he told me his brother is now offering a service using internet delivered by microwave dishes. The difference being that this new company has three dishes within the village so the reliability is much more assured.

In fact one of our new ex-pat residents is sitting pretty in his condo in Primavera (still priced competitively by the way at roughly $50,000 for a 2/3 bedroom with great mountain views) yet he tells me the speed is slow, ok for browsing the web and emailing, and that he pays $35/month.

I went back to the owner at the internet café again and asked him how he says you can have any bandwidth you want. The issue is price. You do pay more down in Ecuador for broadband and to get the really fast speeds that many of us are accustomed to at home now, you’d really need to pay quite a hefty monthly fee.

I think we have all heard the phrase ‘where there is a problem there’s an opportunity’.

I’d heard that there was cable tv in Cotacachi so my thinking went along the lines of “if there’s a cable network here why can’t they run internet along the cable?”

I found the owner of the local cable tv network unloading supplies from the back of his pickup as I arrived at his office. He has the whole of Cotacachi cabled and charges $13 a month for his clients to receive 22 channels. I asked about the internet and he wistfully shook his head.

He’s aware of the opportunity but bringing internet through the cables would require another type of cabling. The cable costs about $3,000 for a 400 meter roll. He estimates the investment might be $50-60,000 but he doesn’t have that money. I asked if he would consider a partner or joint equity scheme and after stroking his chin and giving the matter some thought he said he would.

Do you remember the time when we all accepted dial-up speeds? This is where Cotacachi is at right now. I can’t cycle down the street without finding another internet café open. Yet it’s an inconvenience to work in an internet café for any length of time. High on the Christmas wish list of many Ecuadorians is a home computer .. and once they have that they want a fast internet connection.

And then we have the expats arriving in ever greater numbers. Doing a quick mental calculation my guesstimate is that some 200 homes are either built, being built or planning to be built. Specifically for foreigners, that’s you and me, resettling here. Nearly all of us want a fast internet connection.

Luis, the cable tv operator tells me that the monthly charge for cable internet would be about $50-60 a month – which would totally undermine the current competition. So there you have it – a potential partnership with a successful Ecuadorian business man who needs a partner/investor to move forward to tap a growing demand right here in Cotacachi.

If technology is not your bag and you enjoy searching for bargains, could see yourself sourcing new products (otherwise known as being a super shopper) and traveling as much as you’d like and deducting all your expenses as a tax write-off then you will probably want to read about our last import export expedition this year http://www.garyascott.com/catalog/ecuador-import-and-export-tour

Signing off over my now wonderfully stable DSL connection – Steve

New Refinery Means Even Cheaper Gas Prices In Ecuador

SteveM — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:40:17 +0000

Ecuador’s new refinery means even cheaper gas prices in Ecuador. One of the things that new visitors to Ecuador have always noted is the cheap gas prices in Ecuador. Super gas is at $1.80 per gallon whilst regular is at just $1.20 and diesel is at an incredible $1.03 per gallon.
How can this be?
Aren’t gasoline [...]

Ecuador Tax Haven & More

Gary — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 21:21:02 +0000

Ecuador is a tax haven…for some…in many ways.
However there is more.
Beauty, in the people, for example, who have retained their culture and dress though they have merged into the modern world..such as this woman of Cotacachi.

There are three main tax benefits.
The number one Ecuador tax haven benefit is that there is no income tax on [...]

Opportunity – Colonial Quito property

SteveM — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:37:51 +0000

Just a few days ago I wrote about the opportunity in Colonial Quito with property there.

If you missed those articles you can see them at www.ecuadorliving.com/2008/05/24/real-estate-quitos-colonial-center.html and www.ecuadorliving.com/2008/05/28/quito-colonial-real-estate-urban-renewal.html

Today I got to see the latest developments. What is fascinating for me is the opportunity in Colonial Quito property when I see one street where prices are still low and then two or three blocks away prices that have sky-rocketed. So you have this property below

where the owner is asking $180,000 (and would almost certainly sell for less) for many thousands of square feet for a colonial Quito property that has already had $70,000 spent on it. It would certainly be a big job to convert it into condos but across the street below …

… that is exactly what somebody else has done to a colonial Quito building that has a similar facade but looks very different inside

This colonial Quito property has been converted into modern 2 and 3 (small) bedroom condos. They are aimed at the local market and will sell at under $50,000.

Just 30 yards down this same road, Rocafuerte, in Quito other owners are converting a similar house. Part of the money is lent on favorable terms by the city government under a scheme called “Pon a Punto su casa”. Here are photos of construction under way.

Two blocks away we see a lot of restored Colonial Quito properties in Calle La Ronda and just four blocks away in the oppoite direction we can see Calle Junin where the whole area called San Marcos has risen in value. John Papski thinks that Rocafuerte will be the next street to be labelled ‘desirable’ by Quito’s young professionals and it’s hard to disagree with him. The opportunity certainly seems to exist here.

Below a house across the street is in really bad shape. But it’s 16,000 feet of land in a prime area and just pulling it down ready to restore may represent a good investment. Here is the group inspecting this property and it definitely is not for the feint-hearted!

Yet properties such as the first one the group looked at (top photo) are being restored and now the area has changed for the better and prices are rising fast too.

The square in nearby Calle Junin – just 4 blocks away from Calle Rocafuerte

This colonial Quito property above once represented opportunity.

The property above was once an old building, run down rickety and un-loved. Hard to believe that it is now being turned into 40 condos starting to be sold at $100 per square foot. These condos are of a high quality with communal areas and rooms.

John and delegates talk with the realtor in charge of the property development

Communal meeting room with fireplace

The impressive facade of this Colonial Quito building has been retained and behind, the condos start at $95,000. The architect tells me there will be an owners club that control who can buy into the project. For more information you can contact Karina Hernandez at khernandez@mail.mpichincha.com

These are the opportunities available with Colonial Quito property. We will have another group down for a coastal tour in September and again we will be taking the group to see Colonial Quito property as a fee add-on to that tour.

September 17-20 Ecuador Coastal Real Estate Tour; Quito Real Estate Tour
http://www.garyascott.com/catalog/ecuador-coastal-real-estate-tour

Sept 23-27 Ecuador Spanish Course
http://www.garyascott.com/catalog/ecuador-spanish-course

Sept 28-29 Imbabura Real Estate Tour
http://www.garyascott.com/catalog/ecuador-real-estate

See discounts for attending more than one Sept. course
http://www.garyascott.com/catalog/ecuador-tours-savings

Oct 14-18 Ecuador Import Export Course
http://www.garyascott.com/catalog/ecuador-import-and-export-tour

Nov 7-9 International Investing and Business Made EZ Ecuador
http://www.garyascott.com/catalog/international-business-made-ez-ecuador

Nov 10-11 Imbabura Real Estate tour
http://www.garyascott.com/catalog/ecuador-real-estate

November 12-15, 2008 Ecuador Coastal Real Estate Tour; Quito Real Estate Tour
http://www.garyascott.com/catalog/ecuador-coastal-real-estate-tour

See discounts for attending more than one Nov. course
http://www.garyascott.com/catalog/ecuador-tours-savings