Susan certainly has a story to tell, and her positive attitude is an inspiration in itself! It has been exactly a year since our first trip to Ecuador--specifically Cuenca. After years of contemplating expat life, when we finally did it, we jumped quickly. YapaTree showed us rentals and units for sale during that visit. Super helpful! We first rented in El Centro and once settled were off with them again to get serious regarding a condo purchase. We moved in last February. Cuenca was the right choice for us as was YapaTree! Susan's deed stories reminded us of our explorations regarding where we had thought we would end up--Portugal. Getting a clear deed there and use of the property as a living accommodation can be very tricky, expensive and time consuming. New condos are not a problem generally, but if its a fixer-upper, barn conversion, or old family home--watch out!

Such a great video and so informative. There are so many Ecuador real estate videos that just are sunshine and butterflies instead of truth and cautionary. Thanks

The disparities in wealth between North Americans and locals is always going to create an incentive to exploit new comers. Similar risks are present in North America when investing in real estate, but spiraling real estate prices in North America means that even poor investments will usually yield some profit. Those assumptions about real estate being the best form of investment do not apply when the market here is so different and the rule of law is so weak.

Honestly even if you’re familiar with an area even in your own home country …. It’s not a bad idea to rent in a place you’ve not lived in full time for a year or two before plunking down cash on a property. That said what she went through with all of this is quite a lot more than I’d ever expect!

Great video…would love to hear a similar cautionary tale from a renter…perhaps the capital risked is less but the transaction is no less critical.

When the realtor is not there , Bring a translator knock on the door talk to the sellers. Talk to the people who lives on the same street. Talk to the owner of the Tiny convenient store on the same street talk to the people who lives across the street. Talk to anybody and everybody get all the Info you can.

man. talk about a wake up call. good job.

Excellent content, another great interview. Loved your interview with Dra. Maite! Both interviews providing very useful information for the Gringo community. Am impressed Susan is so optimistic. As a ten year Cuenca renter, I can say it’s been a nightmare post Covid with the corrupt (a word you gratefully used) landlord/“realtor” situation. Surely there are laws protecting renters who have signed lease contracts. Would like to know the ‘Pueblo’ Ministry name and contact info that governs rental transactions and protects from abusive landlords.

What a terrible story that Susan shared! I think your advice to rent for a while before buying is really good. Still don’t know who to trust once we move there. It seems like that’s what it all boils down to: trust 😖

The way to secure someone to have ownership of something before the owner passing is to transfer ownership with usufruct rights. This protects the original owner and allow the heir to gain full access later on.

This type of stories also happen to Ecuadorians. There is even a case of a priest scaming an old lady to take her house away from her. It has happened to me that the seller wants to cheat and do 2 deeds. They say let's do a Promise of Sell, then the final deed. Some Ecuadorians are ignorant and don't believe the SRI, the bank will ask for a origin of the funds they received.

It is very disappointing when you are trying to do business here, it seems that the moment people know you are a foreigner all they see is an opportunity to rip somebody off. The saddest part is that I’m Ecuadorian living in the states for over 40 years and every year I come back and I have to any type of business or fixing a problem in my mom’s house I’m reluctant to ask just one person because I know they want to charge me more because they know I live in the states. Thankfully I have good friends who live here and I always ask for their advice before I do anything. But I have to say there are still good honest people who won’t rip you off.

Is Susan staying on the farm? or moving into town? How far out of /cuenca is she?

whos books?

If you are interested in another cautionary tale I would love to tell you about our experience having a 'luxury house' built in a coastal urbanization in a so called 'gated community'. I would love to know of an attorney who would be willing to take our case. The owner of the community is from Quito. I don't know if it matters if our attorney is from the coast or not. Thank you.

"Land just felt safer" shows a horrible understanding of investment. I guess she assumed all land is economically equal.