Buying Property in Colombia

Boca Bob says on Oct 1, 2004, 11:15:

Property in Bogota I am in the same boat, I will be moving there soon and I am sure where to buyor how much a condo in a safe area will cost.

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Dan says on Oct 1, 2004, 12:45:

You can start off with this:

www.poorbuthappy.com/colombia/node/view/3175

If you know what or where your looking for, you can try going to:

www.eltiempo.com and look for the link that says "Bienes Raíces" on the left side by the Clasificados. When you click in there, you can click on the link for metrocuadrado.com where you can search for properties and see where they are in the city, and the neighborhoods. and you can even see some of the pictures of what's available. On the el Tiempo site, they have just what's also printed in the papers. At the metrocuadrado, they show pictures for a lot of what's listed, prices, Area in M2, ammenities, estrado numbers, and sometimes a discription.

God Bless America!

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pointofview says on Oct 1, 2004, 13:14:

Buying Property In Colombia - Think Twice Think twice about buying property in Colombia because laws, regulations and reality of Colombia are structured to discourage foreign investment. It's almost not worth the effort. Rents are cheaper than ownership costs anyway. Pick another country with immigrant friendly laws and regulations.

Technically, you could buy a property with no resident status or Colombian cedula but then try to obtain utilities in your own name. First you really need to obtain a resident status Colombian Visa, cedula and bank accounts in Colombia. Then you are in a position to obtain utility accounts in your own name and pay them through automatic debit from your Colombian bank accounts and pay your quarterly real estate tax bills.

Panama and Chile are examples of much more friendly environment(s) for foreign people and foreign investment.

Hunter, a regular poster, can walk you through all the requirements and knows all the hoops.

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bickerss says on Oct 1, 2004, 13:54:

Thanks for the info guys.

I will look into it, and the renting as well. Colombia is the place iI want to buy or rent as I spend a lot of time here and really like it. The hotels cost me about 600 USD per 2 week stay, so was thinking that is a bit of a waste as I am going to continue to come.

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Desideria (Moderator) says on Oct 1, 2004, 14:06:

Desi's B&B in Cali will be a more affordable option for you gringo or Colombian travellers:) unfortunately we won't be opening for business for another 6 months at least....
Cheers,
Desi

"I have opinions of my own, strong opinions, but I don't always agree with them."-President George W. Bush

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Dan says on Oct 1, 2004, 14:16:

Much of what I read, or thought I did, on this site is that Colombia would encourage foreign investments/buisnesses. I am interested in Colombia myself because I am about to get married and would like to someday live in Bogota & Melgar when I retire. I've even thought about buying an apartment so that I have a place to stay when I visit and then upgrade to something else after retirement. If I thought I could get a good income in Colombia, I would move this very moment.

I think the B&B sounds very inviting. How far in advance should one book their stay? :)

God Bless America!

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pointofview says on Oct 2, 2004, 05:09:

Dan - Bring Money Dan:

Just make sure you bring plenty of money to Colombia when you move there because you won't make any while you live there unless you arrive with money, are completely bilingual and goddamn smart.

The Colombian people will certainly welcome you (and help you) as a foreign person but once you work your way into Colombian laws, regulations and rules you will rapidly find a bumpy road with many roadblocks for you as a foreigner.

Even the Colombian citizens are stuck with the same complicated red tape paper shuffling bullshit. Imagine a business society that requires almost every paper to be submitted in original with no photo or fax copies accepted. The Colombians are artful at operating within this framework but foreigners less so.

In the USA and most civilized countries billions (probably trillions) of dollars in transactions and business occur each and every day based upon faxes, email and telephone calls. Try to do anything in Colombia and you will run into a brick wall of people trying to justify their jobs exchanging mountains of papers mostly for nothing.

Colombians are streaming into Panama to immigrate for better job and/or business opportunities. A substantial amount of Colombian capital has always been (and is continuing to be) invested in Panama. The two largest Colombian construction companies have a presence in Panama.

Colombian capital for years has built a lot of residential and commerical buildings in Panama including the largest shopping mall in Panama (Unicentro on Ave Balboa) which is all enclosed and air conditioned occupied almost exclusively with Colombian buinesses staffed with mostly (60-70%) Colombian workers.

Early Monday mornings, flights from Bogota, Cali and Medellin, depart arriving in Panama with Colombian owners of Panama based businesses who spend the week managing their Panamanian businesses returning to Colombia the next weekend to spend with their families.

Capital finds it way to the markets of most opportunity. They do not exist in Colombia without great hurtles to jump.

Hunter (a regular Colombian-gringo) poster is well experienced in navigating the Colombian system of real estate investing and is well qualified to weigh in with his suggestions. In the meantime, I am busy trying to find original copies of documents for the paper shuffle people so they can justify their existance. Their final suggestion is that I not send faxes but rather scan all my documents and email them so they can print them which they say makes them originals (that's the mentality of the beast you will be dealing with).

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oldbongo says on Oct 2, 2004, 08:41:

cogent words dude... i wish i could articulate in person
as well as you write your point of view.
at the same time, it is gratifying to hear that
it is not only my own imagination. colombia is really
a test of patience and character.
many personal rewards,...many frustrations,disasters,
dilemmas,problemas,disfunctions,delays,disappointments.
en fin,most of the time,..nothing happens, you lose your time.
enjoy the good things, but don't try to change anything.
rent in colombia,..buy in british columbia.

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Luisa14 says on Oct 2, 2004, 11:47:

Buying Property In Colombia If you want a good example of buying property in Colombia you can go to "Friendly Talkzone" and then to page 2, third item from the bottom of the page and get some information there. Also click on
Luisa's Photo Gallery to get some pictures. Phone or e-mail for more information.

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jmbone says on Oct 17, 2004, 10:54:

Buying Property in Colombia....In Cartagena try: Paul Juan Realty at:

cartagenarealty.com

His site is in both Spanish and English. Paul is an LSU grad in systems engineering and speaks....and acts....like a Gringo. His site has many features you won't find in other Hispanic websites, such as PRICES, hundreds of photographs, maps, buying tips, cost of living studies, etc., etc.!
Enjoy

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getting better says on Mar 16, 2005, 15:38:

Buying a house in Bogota I have to buy a house in Bogota very soon
It is used as an office by a very well-respected and good Colombian NGO
I will rent to to them, but give them a side letter that they do not have to pay rent until further notice
They are already tenants and I am buying from the existing landlord
What does anyone think I have to do to satisfy the bureaucratic requirements?
Thanks
GB

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juanalejo says on Mar 16, 2005, 16:41:

Buying Property If you are not a resident in Colombia you need to go to the embassy and get and investors visa. Then you are allowed to buy it legally. To buy it you simply go to a notary´s office and they will produce a model contract that you fill in with the appropiate information. After that a line at a bank where you pay the sales tax, then on to the registar. Two weeks later registar produces the form on your name. With that you fax into the utility companies the registar form and your id. and those change to your names. If your are using a bank for loans they do require a few more beaurocratic forms such as a certification of no dues with the city. This is also useful if you do not know the seller.

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