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World’s cheapest houses Before going to Quito, I spoke with Gustavo Hernandez. We spent several afternoons together while I was in Ecuador, looking at the downright cheap houses being built by a quasi-government agency. The area manager priced two houses for me. The small one, 42 square meters or about 466 square feet, cost $4,653; the largest unit, 130 square meters (about 1,443 square feet)cost $12,815. Ecuadorians receive a 20% discount. Gustavo also accompanied me to Tumbaco where we met with Acosta Fausto, who’s building “earth” homes all over the country. The walls are hand-compacted, using an earth/straw compound. The roofs are covered with Spanish tiles. Looking at the compound with five variations of the structure reminded me of some very up-scale areas of Southern California. The walls of the houses are two feet thick so a 2,000-square-foot house does not yield 2,000 square feet of living space. But at a building cost of $150 per square meter, it’s hard to go wrong with a 300-square-meter house (about 3,228 square feet gross) for $45,000. The architect did agree that he would have to modify his building plans for me if I bought one of his houses. I am 6'5" and had to duck to get through the doors. Opportunities outweigh risks One morning I met with Kjetil Haugan, whom I believe will soon become one of the wealthy, influential business leaders of Ecuador. Talking with him reminded me of my commercial banking days in Beverly Hills, and the meetings I had with the movers and shakers of the time. He explained that many of the great, old properties in and around Quito area are being purchased by a local government entity, with financing provided by the Inter-American Development Bank. The interior of the properties are modernized and then made available for sale or rent to the ‘Quitenos.’ In my mind, Ecuador is the new land of Milk and Honey. The opportunities here are unbelievable. They far outweigh the risks. Anyone with a bit of adventure in his soul should move to Ecuador as soon as possible. It would take volumes to write about all of the possible business, tourist, and personal things you could do. I am 65 years old and may need two or three lifetimes to accomplish all of what I have already planned. Thank you for helping me find Ecuador. Sincerely, Lawrence Williams P.S. I stayed at the Casa Sol tel.(593)2-230-798. The people there are friendly and helpful, on duty 24 hours a day, and the food is very good. Except for the management, very few members of the staff speak English. |
