Best Real Estate Tour and/or Guide for the Cotacachi/Ibarra Area?

emoss28 wrote:

Please Help!!!!
Does anyone have any recommendations for touring the Otalavo/Cotacachi/Ibarra area with a reputable real estate guide? My boyfriend and I are planning to spend 3 days in the area on a real estate scouting trip....

Emoss, don't tempt yourself to buy a 'once-in-a-lifetime' property deal by going on a real-estate scouting tour right off the plane.  Your cry "Please Help!!!" indicates you may be over-eager.

The rule of thumb for new arrivals is not to buy or build on real estate in Ecuador until you have been living in the target area for a year or more.  We know from your profile that you are new to Ecuador.

By rule of thumb, I mean...

Rule #1 For Arriving Expats New to Ecuador...
Do not buy or build on property in Ecuador until you have spent at least one year in the target area.

Given the visa rules, this could take more than one trip.

Most Expats can adjust to the highland altitudes, but not all.

Some Expats cannot adjust to the completely different culture, the sense of isolation due to the language barrier and the mañana attitude where things take much longer to accomplish and can be complicated by bureaucratic factors.  Anyone who thinks he or she can show up and use a potential real-estate acquisition to fulfill a visa requirement within a reasonable time frame is tempting the fates.

Here on the forum we are getting reports of folks showing up in Ecuador, buying property in their first week or month .. and running into problems that have them tearing out their hair.

One gal showed up on the coast some months ago, put money down on a fixer-upper and then found out that the family members who were selling the house lived in multiple countries.  That presented a nightmare scenario of delays and international paperwork that, to our knowledge, is nowhere near being resolved.  The property had not been ready to put on the market, and the lawyer(s) involved did not exactly cover themselves in glory.

cccmedia in Quito

Hi Again CCC,
Actually, my anxt is created by my lack of knowledge, and time, to get this trip booked. I have some time right now, but later this week will not. Since Super El Niño and exploding volcanoes have become a factor, I have had about 10 minutes per day to discuss the itinerary with my better half, Tim.  That being said, this is just a scouting trip to figure out where we want to spend our first year while renting in Ecuador.
We arrive at 2PM on December 4th (Friday) in Quito, and then have a meeting with a "potential" employer on Tuesday. We want to visit Otalavo, Cotacachi and Iburra before moving on from the area. From what I understand, the Otalavo market is best to visit on Saturday, but is open 7 days a week. Since my boyfriend has Asthma, we will have to wait and see if he can handle the altitude for a Saturday market visit. If not, we could see the market and do a real estate tour on Tuesday afternoon/Wednesday & Thursday of that week. I don't know what the driving times are between Cotacachi and Iburra, or between Otalavo and Cotacachi for that matter. Are there real estate knowledgeable drivers that can take us around to see these areas? Should I book 1 night in Otalavo, one in Cotacachi, and one in Iburra? We want to see what the areas are like outside of the townships, as well as see what kind of accommodations we may find for renting.
Any and all suggestions are welcome!
Thanks again CCC. If Tim actually gets a position with his company's branch in Quito, we may become better acquainted! I would love to see your Elvis impression!
Take Care,
Elisabeth

I have been to all of those places over the carnival period, it´s not for me, and like my Ecuadorian family said ¨it´s good for day trips but nothing else¨Otavalo you have arts and crafts in the center, Cotacachi leather stores and a group of expats that walk up and down the stretch all day complaining there were too many gringos is this town, that was amazing to hear, then further down the road another gringo talking bad about a new arrival who had bought a house there Crazy stuff we all have our own opinion and that was mine from experiencing it first hand here is a post i made about it ecuadorlivingparadise.blogspot.com/2017/02/carnaval-2017-in-and-around-quito.html

Some people seek just that however or a place where time stands still.  I think visiting a place as a tourist is one thing but living in a place and delving in is another matter. And those places are not too far from Quito, so every once in a while someone can visit the capital to stock up on things that are unavailable there or to simply experience a change of scenery.

We toured Otavalo Market and Cotacachi with Ecuador Expats Crash course Tour - see their pages on facebook where you will find hotels that they stay in.   I believe we stayed in Land of The Sun, Cotacachi, a very clean little town, which was great.  From here it is easy to do day trips to Otavalo, (lots of goodies, make sure you have plenty of free luggage if you are in need of warm wraps or blankets) and Ibarra.    In Ecuador you can hire a taxi for a day to drive you around or rent a car.   We have been twice now and this year are leaving May to July.   When travelling pay attention to Security and make sure your bag is not snatched or cut open at the bottom in crowded places.   We have had no problems but have heard of others who unfortunately while travelling on trams in Quito had issues.   We are going to check out Pakakuna Gardens outside Quite.   Wish you look on your travels.