My first visit to Ecuador was in May of 2011. The trip was a 40th birthday gift from my parents. My father had visited many times in the past because of family who live there and also my grandfather was born there. I had always heard the stories of his travels there and someday wanted to travel there myself. After that first amazing visit, I knew right away that I wanted to someday have a vacation home there and eventually retire there. My girlfriend Janet and I traveled there in March in 2016. She immediately fell in love with the country as well and we both agreed how great it would be to have a home there someday. 

 

Fast forward to 2018, we were ready financially to pull the trigger on a property. While searching online for properties, I came across Tom and Lynn's Ecuador Beachfront Property website. Janet and I browsed through the great selection of properties they had listed and selected a handful that we were interested in. I contacted Tom in mid October and 3 weeks later Janet and I were on our way to look at the properties. 

 

We were initially interested in a condo as well as some wonderful free standing homes they had listed. During our visit, we stayed in San Clemente at Casa Aventura with Wayne and Jody. It was a fantastic home with beautiful gardens and a swimming pool. I realized while staying there that I would rather have an actual house rather than a condo,somewhere I could have my own outdoor space and gardens. The second day of our visit, Lynn was showing us another property and said she had to check in on a new construction home they had down at the La Boca part of San Jacinto. She asked if we wanted to stay in town or go with her. We decided to go along with her. The home we visited was still under construction. It was designed by Tom and had some really great features and conveniences. As Janet and I walked through the home we commented on how amazing it would be to own something like this but assumed it would be out of our budget. 

 

A few days before returning to the States, we were in Tom's office discussing the properties we had looked at so far. Janet and I commented on how much we liked the new construction home that we had seen with Lynn, but weren't sure if it was in our budget. Tom said if we really liked the home he could make it happen. We discussed numbers and then returned to the Airbnb. The following day Tom and Lynn came by and gave us the great news that it would work. I think we were speechless! 

 

Fast forward one more time to March of 2019 and we traveled back to San Jacinto to see the completed beach house. I think again, we were speechless. It is hard to describe how amazing it was. It was better than we ever imagined. It is by far the nicest thing we have ever owned. 

 

Tom and Lynn were there during every step of the buying process to assist us, whether it be setting up the power of attorney or helping to open a bank account in San Jacinto. Their assistance was invaluable. We can't thank them and their great staff of workers enough for helping to make our dream of owning a beach house in Ecuador come true. 

 

Graf Balda and Janet Barr (March 2018)

 

Kansas City, Missouri