Colombia, Ecuador and Beyond

[Austin B.]

Hello all,

I spent my summer in Medellin, Colombia. At this very moment, I am hanging out in sunny Guayaquil, Ecuador. I have a passion for Latin American culture and love to speak Spanish and visit Central / South America. This got me thinking -- how, as an Estadounidense (American from USA), could I invest in short-term rentals in South America? Each country has their own laws & customs. In most South American countries it seems that mortgages, especially with foreigners, are nearly impossible to obtain. However, the home prices are very low compared to what I am used to in the States. I have been told by some other expats that you do not want to purchase property as it is extremely difficult to sell later on. The idea, of course, is to generate cash flow and not to purchase a capital investment. It is a legitimate concern, of course.

I also have a fantasy of owning, say 1 or 2 dozen homes all over the continent and just going wherever I please when they are not being rented out. That may not be realistic but it's kind of swirling around in my head. I can only imagine that managing such a portfolio would be very time-consuming.

Has anybody got experience doing this?

[John Underwood]

This seems much more risky than owning property in the U.S.

I personally would buy those properties here and then use the profits to travel to where ever I wanted.