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Ecuador is an excellent location to purchase Real Estate. The global economy has gone through some tough times. Yet it is the economies of the US, UK and Europe that have suffered the most. The drop in real estate prices, or the lack of growth has encouraged many to look elsewhere. A drop of $50,000 in your home price, can actually buy a house in Ecuador! Attractive parts of the Europe, US and UK are now often out of the common man’s reach because of high prices. The dream for many of a nice beach house, or beautiful tranquil home is just that, a dream. But not in Ecuador. He you can still buy that dream, at a fraction for the price of Europe or the US. And the cost of living is much, much lower so with what would be a very modest income elsewhere, here in Ecuador you can live very well. Ecuador has several other major pluses. It is a stunning beautiful country with huge variety in flora and fauna. For example, Ecuador is the home of the amazing Galapagos islands, the Amazonia, the Andes and the Pacific coast. It is on the Equator, so its warm all year round! Ecuador uses the US dollar, so currency fluctuations and risk is very much minimized compared with other countries and volatile currencies. Costa Rica and Panama are now expensive, Venezuela and Colombia are to volatile, so Ecuador is the next logical choose for many wanting an excellent lifestyle, while it is still inexpensive. This will change, so now is the time to buy and invest. Some important fact about buying in Ecuador > Foreigners have the same legal rights as Ecuadorians to own properties anywhere in Ecuador. > You do need a “special visa to buy a property in Ecuador. Your Tourist Visa (the one you are given when you enter the country) is more than enough. > Buying a property in Ecuador is one way to gain an ‘investors’ Visa. This Visa give you’re the right of residency, to come and go for as long as you please. This Visa is optional and not needed to buy property. > How do I buy? First find the property you are interested in. Hire a good lawyer to check on the lands paperwork. Then you can obtain the "Escritura" (land deeds). Legal advice is “a must” to make sure the purchase is clean. > How high are the taxes? In Ecuador they are relatively inexpensive. In big cities such as Guayaquil, Quito or Cuenca, it is a little bit higher depending upon the property you’re buying. > How much does it cost to buy? Land taxes are small, and so are lawyers etc bills. You should expect to pay about 6-7 per cent of the total price of the’ property price’. There is selling tax of about 7%. Therefore you will often sign two documents in two different provinces. One is the real one, with the real price. The other is much lower, so that the seller (and buyer) pay less tax. This may seem a little disconcerting the first time, but it is normal practice and your lawyer will be very happy to tell you that with this, and that he just saved you so many thousand dollars! |
