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Email:
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ICQ: 114970838
email us
Phones: (593) 99-581-219 (593) 91-847-091 USA Fax: 1-253-595-6153 USA: 1-305-515-8137
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an intentional community in south Ecuador |
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FAQ III |
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Do you have professional architects and builders? Yes we do. We have professional licensed architects. We can do your design using AutoCAD and email it to you. Note: We only build high quality earth-quake resistant homes.
What is the going price for land in your area? $7,500 - $25,000 per hectare. Hectare = 2.5 acres. Near town prices are much higher; as high as $100,000 per hectare.
How much does it cost to build a house? $200 / square meter for rustic low cost housing or apartment type. $350 / square meter for custom home. $450 square meter for luxury custom home. Note: These prices are for only the house, plan on an additional 30-50% for outside work such are electricity, water, septic system, road, garden, gates, etc. Loja does have very good architects. We can build your home to your specification in 12 months, 6 months for an additional 30%.
Will I need building permits? Yes if building in town or in the city. No for all rural areas.
How far is Malacatos from Vilcabamba? Malacatos is 10 minute ride by car from Vilcabamba. Offers a little better climate and it is 10 minutes less driving to Loja.
Can foreigners own property? Yes, you do not need to be a resident to own property. All you need is your passport.
Is buying a complicated process? Roughly speaking, how does it work? It is a simple and very secure process. In Ecuador there is a minimum two lawyer requirement by law to do any real estate transaction. One makes a written request to a notary (notaries are all lawyers) and the notary keeps a copy for life, later on it is also registered with the county public register. The lawyer will do property title search, lean search, tax searches all prior to sending it to the notary. The seller may also use an attorney. Overall the process is simply an inexpensive. Though it is not required by law, we recommend a topography drawing and pictures added to the documentation signed by the seller.
Is financing available? If so, on what terms? For the most part financing is available at 70%. Email us for updates on this.
What sort of tax burden can new owners expect? Taxes are very low, most rural properties only pay a few dollars a year in real estate tax.
Do you expect prices to go up or down? We expect that prices will continue to go up since Loja has a shortage of 30,000 homes and many foreigners are moving to Loja each year. Commercial real estate investment is at its prime at this time, there is a huge demand for apartment in Loja a business offices.
See the FAQ at: www.RealEstateLoja.com for further details on buying, property prices, etc.
What about earthquakes? Though we are not expecting one nor had any in the past 30 years, Loja is known to be in an earthquake zone, same as most any other place in the world, buying or building an earthquake resistant property should be a top concern for you. WARNING: There are many constructions throughout Loja that will not withstand even a small earthquake.
What "lifestyle" can I expect? Semi-rural life with the comfort of in town restaurants, small stores, parks and occasional outdoor and indoor live entertainment. The city of Loja offers recreational parks, night-life, many outdoor events throughout the year such as indoor and outdoor fairs, indoor and outdoor concerts throughout the year, shopping for most items is available, several large food markets, two large universities, banks, even a large supermarket. Shopping here is mostly in small sidewalk stores throughout the city vs. large shopping malls. Keep in mind that with the Internet you can order most anything you want and have it here in a few days.
If you are an outdoor person and like the mountains, there is a lot to do. Horse riding is quite popular. There are plenty of parks.
Peru is only 6-8 hour drive from Loja and offers many good recreational coastal beach activities at very low prices. Traveling south to Peru and Bolivia can be fun for quite a while.
Cuenca is 2 hours by car from Loja.
Overall there is a lot to do south and north of Loja, and east and west.
Fell free to email us specific questions.
What's the cost of living? One of the most attractive reasons to live here is the low cost of living combined with the high quality of living in many areas such as plentiful fruits. 2-4 bedroom house or apartment rentals go for $200-500. Gasoline $1.48 Diesel $1 Propane gas refills $1.80 Electricity is high 12-16 cents / Kw. But not used much. Keep in mind that you will NOT need air-conditioning not heating, stove use propane gas, one refill last a month for a family of 4. Nice lunch in Loja $1.50 – 3.50 per person. Dinner $2.50 – 5.00 Sorry no movie theaters; for which we recommend DirecTv for $32-45 / month. CD movie purchase and rentals $1 DVD rentals $2 Internet $45 for wireless unlimited service.
What are some examples of prices for items you'd typically buy like milk and bread? Milk 90 cents / litter. Whole-wheat bread loaf $1, 7-grain bread loaf $1.50 Most small fruits such as apples, pears, peaches, plums, kiwi, etc. are 20-25 cents each. Local grapes 35 cents / lbs. Imported grapes $1 / lbs. Watermelon $1.50-3.00 Small melons 50 cents. Huge melons $1.50. Organically grown eggs 20 cents. Rice 20 – 50 cents / lbs. Coconut $1 Banana 1-5 cents. Limes 1 cent. Lettuce 40-50 cents. Mangoes $3 / box (20 cents each). The most expensive and top choice meat maximum $2 / lbs, though do not expect the awesome flavor of grain-feed beef meat. Chicken $1 / lbs. Chicken meat is quite good. Fresh fish is available weekly at the local markets in Loja for $2.50 / lbs. Shrimps $3-5 / lbs.
What does it cost to visit a doctor -- and what's the medical care like? Specialist $10-20 per visit. Surgeries cost up to 80% less than in most first-world countries. Dental work also cost up to 80% less. It is quite important to know how to pick a medical practitioner, because they vary from the absolute worse to some of the best. Ecuador does NOT have any control whatsoever in medical care, therefore it is buyers beware. There are many doctors that do pride themselves in the work they do and invest constantly in further education and equipment, but do NOT expect them to be 100% up to date, most doctor do NOT even know what the WWW is, in fact this is a simple test to know if they are up to date or not. For example there are several very good plastic surgeons that we DO recommend, if you need a nose job, this is the place to get it. There are also a few very good dentists. Most drugs cost less, for example female anti-conceptive pills or shot cost $3.50 – 5.00 for a month supply. Most drugs can be bought over the counter in single units without prescription. Ecuador has drug manufacturing labs; therefore many drugs are low in price. There is medical insurance available, but they do not make a habit of paying in time and one must pay in advance to get medical attention in a hospital. We recommend that you keep some savings at hand for an emergency. The main thing to keep in mind is that improving your quality of life here should be enough to keep the doctors away.
Can we rent vehicles and equipment for roadwork, and agriculture? Yes. Several small tractors are available for $25-50 / hour. Minimum 40 hours for the larger ones. Autos are also available for rent in Loja.
Should I import my car or buy one there? You may import one NEW vehicle duty free. For the most part we do NOT recommend the importation of a vehicle, you can buy most models here, it is better to get service and parts for a popular model vs. an imported one. We do NOT recommend Chevrolet for Loja on the other hand we DO recommend Toyota. There are many brands available, including TATA a low cost rough terrain and city 4x4 made in India. Small 4-5 passenger car cost $14-17,000 USD NOTE: Prices are expected to drop a lot in late 2005 early 2006, due to a new trade agreement. Many cars are assembled in Venezuela.
Water locations, purity, water rights? WARNING most water systems DO have chlorine added, if this is a concern for you, be sure you ask and do tell us. There are very few properties that offer non-chlorinated water systems. The water is quite pure from contaminants at the source and known as one of the best water in the planet, but adding chlorine ruins it. You can buy drinking bottle water. For $15-25,000 you can have a well dug for you. Another option is to donate portion of the cost for a ultra-violet system for the area you want to live in; people here do understand the dangers of using chlorinated water but cannot afford the UV-system. The good news is that we have already done all that! Click here for picture of our water system
How are we going to earn money over there? This is perhaps the most difficult thing you will have to face if you need to earn a living here. Pay rates here are quite low and there are plenty of professional available in all the fields. If you have a need to earn a living, plan on being creative, such as doing consulting work, some off-site over the internet work or own a business. Real estate investment is one way. Most professional earn $200 – 800 per month. On the other hand, your monthly expenses could be as low as $200 per person per month. Read the archive forum message for several post on how to earn a living here.
Other comments? At the present time we are unable to provide a person to meet you at the airport. Many visitors, including young women alone have come here by themselves. Transportation even for those who do not speak the language is not too difficult. This is a high traffic touristy area, 60,000 tourist come by each year. We are under construction of our main community building, at the pace we are going, with the amount of people, resources, and members we have, we expect it to be finish by 2005, expect inconveniences related to noise, workers, sleeping space available, lack of privacy, etc from M-F 7:00 am – 7:00 pm The only accommodations we can offer you at this time depending on availability are bunk beds in a shared very modest room. We are not a hotel or motel. Our work schedule is based on a minimum 40-hour weeks. We work twice as much most of the time. This includes most house chores such as washing clothes, dished, cooking, childcare, repairs, construction, agriculture, laundry, etc. It is also negotiable if you wish to contribute with a fee that we can negotiate depending on your needs. We are here to work less and enjoy life more, unfortunately we are in the middle of building a community and community infrastructure with limited resources; the more we advance and work and get accomplished the higher the minimum investment for full members it will be. We would like to enjoy what Ecuador has to offer more, but some one has to cook, clean, fix things and earn money to pay electricity, gas, fuel, toilet paper, soap, and things we do not make or grow here, etc. All this does not come free… you have to have the funds or work at something… We highly suggest that you learn some Spanish before coming to visit. Do not expect all things to go smooth for you if you do not even know at least a 100 words to get you around. If you come from an industrialized country such as the USA, Canada, England, etc. The living standard here is much lower, DO NOT EXPECT THE SAME THINGS… This is a 3rd world country and does not offer many of the comforts that you may be accustomed too, this is a land of opportunity and adventure, not of full luxury and comforts…
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