Yesterday we looked at our first potential rental a 3bdr/3bth unit in a fairly new building. The bedrooms are large, airy and comfortable. Living, dining and kitchen are open concept and modern. The building also has a heated pool, hot tub, sauna and fenced sun deck. Also a very large party room with complete kitchen. It is furnished renting for $860. We have more to view today.

We also began the process of applying for our pension visas. There are a few ways to do this; A. swim through the quagmire on your own, B. swim with the assistance of an interpreter, C. swim with the assistance of an attorney, and D. employ a visa service. All of these options will cost money (government fees, background check fees, notary fees, sundried fees, travel and incidentals

We chose to employ a service. The one we selected is owned and operated by an Ecuadorian who went the US for university, married and lived for 12 years before returning to Ecuador only to find that she was considered a foreigner and would have to apply for papers like all the other foreigners. She is a nice, experienced advocate. She has staff in the US who obtain all of the background checks, earnings statements, etc. and ensure that they are all notarized and stamped by the Ecuadorian consulate in the States.to

She also has staff in Cuenca, Quito and Guayaquil who do the bulk of the legwork in those locations and deal with all of the various government agencies.

She also suggested that we begin the process by registering our marriage in Ecuador. We would need a notarized current copy of marriage certificate from the States anyway. She says that this will cut through a good deal of local crap and also give Jackie access to all of our shared and individual assets in case of my demise.

We are also obtaining cedulas. These are government identification cards similar to a US driver’s license. They will allow us folks over the age of 65 to receive a refund of up to $214 per month in paid taxes and free and discounted services in Ecuador. They do take care of the older folks down here.

Anyway, we are off to view more rentals and do some paperwork for our visas