Testimonials
Back to main testimonials page
My Journey in Ecuador
My name is Gerald Wightman. I am from the United States, and I have lived outside my home country all my adult life for over thirty years. I have worked in eight countries and visited more than fifty. Approaching retirement and living back in the U.S. full time just doesn’t agree with me.
Therefore, in the past few years I have been researching retirement havens in different countries in hopes of finding property to buy with hopes of building my dream villa. I narrowed the field down to the Philippine, Nicaragua, Panama, and Ecuador. I have been in and out of these countries over the years and speak their languages. Manabi province, Ecuador was where I ended up purchasing my dream property and this is where my friend, Jorge Loor came in the picture. I first met Jorge through emailing him from his website www.crucita.com. He offered to pick me up at the airport and gave me the name of a good hotel to stay at in Crucita.
This was the area of Ecuador I had identified of most interest to me. I declined his offer to pick me up at the airport because I speak Spanish and am use to providing for myself. However, in the realm of real estate, lawyers, laws and procedures I know nothing. So I agreed to have Jorge be my agent for in and around Crucita for a day. Jorge arrived at my hotel just after I had finished breakfast. We sat and talked half an hour providing information about each other. I liked Jorge immediately as just about anybody would. He was very personable and I immediately sensed a trust in him.
So we were off to the development above Crucita, called Balsamaragua. There were only a few lots left for sale on the front of the development of which I was interested in. We inspected them, Jorge got the owner on the phone, and we talked. We went to other properties in the area including beachfront land that was selling at super reasonable rates. We had lunch in Portoviejo, met with International Living’s recommended lawyer for title insurance, and finally went to Jorge’s home.
After meeting Jorge’s mother (I will tell you how wonderful she is later), I made an offer for three lots in Balsamaragua. A quick phone call by Jorge and the offer was accepted. It was a done deal. I had made my first international real estate deal. I met Jorge again the next day with the lawyer and drew up a contract where she would do the title search and contact First American Title Insurance Co. in Florida to get this deal underway. Jorge then introduced me to a wonderful architect. I explained pretty much what I wanted included in my villa, paid him a down payment, and he began immediately to work on my house plans. This all went so smoothly that I was left with more time on my hands than I had planned for. I decided to go to Cuenca and see what had changed since the last time I was there in 1992. Not the end yet... I came down sick in Cuenca. As it turned out, it was Dengue that I got from a mosquito bite in Panama ten days earlier. I didn’t realize it, so I made things worse by taking Aspirin. I kept getting worse. I didn’t know anybody in Cuenca, so I struggled to the airport, flew to Quito, and on to Portoviejo where Jorge lived. Jorge’s mother put me in a bed and called her doctor. The doctor arrived and she told him she thought I had Dengue. With my blood pressure dropping to 80/55, she called in her Cardiologist. The two doctors concurred and rushed me to the hospital. Diagnosed with Dengue, I was out of critical condition in twelve hours after which the doctors voice their concern that I might have been down to only minutes left before dying. Thank you again, Mrs. Loor Zambrano. Feeling better but certainly not one hundred percent, I got out of the hospital and completed paperwork, lawyer business, and electric money payments for my real estate. It was all very easy with the assistance from Jorge. All during this process I was socializing with Jorge, his family, and friends. I was accepted in their circle with open arms. I forgot to mention that during my forty-eight hours in the hospital in Portoviejo I had eleven visitors and several of them multiple times. Practically everybody I met in Manabi province visited me wishing me well.
That number of visitors would never have reached anywhere near so many if I was hospitalized where I live in Japan or my home town in Michigan. So many Ecuadorian people (Jorge’s friends and contacts) told me they were very pleased that I had decided to come live among them. You can’t imagine how good that feels coming from many different people. Jorge and friends saw me off at the airport. As I was flying away, all I could think about was how lucky I was to have met Jorge Loor. If you are interested in purchasing real estate or beginning a business, or joint venture along the coast of Ecuador, Jorge Loor Zambrano is the person you need to know. Had I not met him, it is quite certain that I would not be alive today. I have met many people of all walks of life from around the world. Jorge is right at the top of my favorites. I am proud to call him my friend!
Gerald Wightman
31 DE JULIO 2007
Menu
