We have a new direction at Ecuapro!                         

If you have read my info on our website at www.ecuapro.com, you know that I have been here in Ecuador for 9 years now. I have learned most of the good things about Ecuador and the not so good things to watch out for. I am telling you this because we have decided to move away from listing properties and work only as a buyer’s broker. The reason is that we cannot trust the sellers of properties to follow through with their agreements with us. The percentage of possible problems with sellers is quite high here in Latin America, and with Ecuadorian sellers inflating prices to take advantage of unsuspecting foreigners that would be willing to pay more than the normal price. I call this, impuesto de gringo (the gringo tax). Here there are middle men that raise the price up to 50%, and they will swarm you when they know you are in town to look at property! They get a price from the seller and then anything that he can get over that is his. When we worked for the sellers, we, even though we have taken the contract to sell for the seller, have made sure that we let the buyer know when we think the seller is inflating the price. We in good conscience, just to get a better commission, WILL NOT do this. When a deal is done, the buyer will not find out down the road that he paid too much and be unhappy with us. We want everyone to be satisfied when the deal is done and have new friends on top of it. This is the only way to stay in business with a good reputation..... But as I said before, we have learned that we cannot trust most sellers to be honest. So the best way to make sure that we get the best deal for the buyer and get away from the problems of contracts that don't work with the sellers. We will only be working for the buyers as a buyer’s broker from this point forward.

We have a team of trusted people that can take care of our clients from property searches to, starting the buying process to the finish with title in your hands. We will use our years of experience here of knowing the system and how it works to make your purchase the most secure and timely possible. You will be able to learn from our experience of making those bad decisions in the beginning.

We know the north coast of Ecuador better than anyone, and where the properties are that are for sale. We have spent years searching them out and we will save you time and money in those searches. We will take you from the search through due diligence with our trusted in house legal help, and walk your purchase through the entire process until you have a clear title in your hands. Many times there are problems that pop up in the title process, but we have an in house person that handles just those problems. I cannot tell you how many times that I have heard about deals going bad and the buyer losing all or part of their money because they are trusting. I know, I was one of those when I first moved here. Cesar Murillo, my Brother–in-law has done this work for 12 years and let me tell you, I could not have bought over 30 properties myself without his help! On our team we have a surveyor for the larger property purchases, an English speaking attorney, and personal contacts in every office that we have to do business in. This makes a huge difference in getting things done in a timely manner. 

We have over 100 properties of all kinds. Condos, homes, beachfront lots, large tracts for development, farms, business properties, rentals, etc. 
Here is what we offer:
Property search with guide (We charge $15 per hr. with a 6 hour minimum and this is reimbursed on property purchase.)
We negotiate the best deal with our Ecuadorian agent. (When they see gringos they want double)….
Earnest money agreement
Due diligence including title search
Problem solving
Payment of all taxes and fees
Notary and certified registration of your property
The title in your hands
Setting up bank accounts
All types of residence, investment, and retirement visas.
Powers of attorney
Construction services including development

We can walk you through the entire process and the best part is that it probably will not cost you a penny for our services.  We are most likely able to negotiate a much lower price than you would normally get. We know what things are worth here in Ecuador, so we won’t be taken advantage of. So even though we charge a percentage of the cost of the property, we will save you enough when buying at a lower price that in most cases will cover our cost. Most importantly, we will be saving you from grief and the possible loss of your money.

We look forward to making your purchase in Ecuador, an enjoyable experience.

Gary Swenson
Bill Stills
Cesar Murillo