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Buying an apartment in Medellin

A friend was looking for a nice apartment in Medellin that he wanted to buy... he thinks that he found one that the owner wants to sell directly to him at a discounted rate and asked for my opinion.

Few questions:

1. After finding an apartment, where does one go to appraise it to make sure that the discounted price is a fair market price or below? What is the typical cost?

2. Where to go for a home inspection company? Since there are no major HVAC systems, this may not be necessary... but I would advise him to do it to check on electrical and plumbing. What is the typical cost?

3. What are the additional initial costs? registration fees, sales/purchase tax (if any), title search, title insurance (if any), etc..

4. What does a real estate attorney charge to do all that is necesssary including contract and closing?

5. The cost of the apartment is close to $200.000.000 but not quite... Can this alone be used to applay for an investor's visa? If not, any recommendations for the additional 20-30 Million necessary to meet the visa requirement?

Thanks to all...

By Poorbutsnappy on Aug 28, 2008, 16:22 in Friendly Talkzone.

juli says on Aug 28, 2008, 16:40:

Those aren't your cigarrettes, your just holding them for a friend. :)

3 funny, 0 helpful.

Poorbutsnappy says on Aug 28, 2008, 21:20:

It is good to be Juli's butt of the joke... no pun intended, Jules...

I see you have no friends... I'll be your friend, Juli... :)

And seriously, I am not buying an apartment.... my friend is...

Colombia tierra querida, himno de fe y armonía!...

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Poorbutsnappy says on Aug 29, 2008, 15:30:

All it took was one phone call to a friend en Medellin, and the closing costs are typically 1- Million pesos.... For apartments, there is no need for inspection since almost everything is the responsibility of the Administration and/or the utility companies. Appraisers cost around 50-100,000 pesos. Typically attorneys are not used... but an attorney runs around 100- 150.000 pesos. For the investor's visa, my friend will need to invest a total of 200 Million pesos.

Thanks for your help Juli.

Colombia tierra querida, himno de fe y armonía!...

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Ctg Bound says on Aug 29, 2008, 17:45:

Poorbutsnappy,

Investor Visa is US$100,000.

Notary costs will depend on how much the OFFICIAL sales prices is, which normally is not related to the actual sales price.

Sales tax is 3%, normally buyer 1% seller 2%, based on the OFFICIAL sales price again.

0 funny, 1 helpful.

Poorbutsnappy says on Aug 29, 2008, 17:58:

Thanks Ctg Bound... I may be wrong, but I understood that the sales tax is 0.15%... and I told that to my friend... All is all, the entire closing costs is around $1,000 total... the wiring of money needs 2 forms 4 & 11.... I will get more info tomorrow or Monday to send to my friend...

Colombia tierra querida, himno de fe y armonía!...

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Ctg Bound says on Aug 30, 2008, 07:56:

Sales tax is 3% in total.

Total costs will depend on what the OFFICIAL price is as everything is based around that.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Poorbutsnappy says on Aug 30, 2008, 09:11:

Yes, the OFFICAL price is usually 1/3 od the purchase price

Colombia tierra querida, himno de fe y armonía!...

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Ctg Bound says on Sep 1, 2008, 11:40:

Poorbutsnappy,

I woudn't say that, just les than the actual price normally.

The general rule is if the person is registered for paying tax, you sell it more than you bought it for.

ALSO, you can't sell it less than the rate that the predial tax is calculated at.

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