How to transfer money to Colombia to buy land

Manolo58 says on Feb 9, 2007, 09:11:

Money to Colombia.. Contact your bank about an international money transfer...
I've done it before and its relatively easy but there are certain fees and check with your Colombian Bank Branch and get all in writing...also if you are buying a property and hopefully guaranteed with a fidiciaria, which means insured by the bank to be given to the property owner upon completion of transaction....good luck

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bhill says on Feb 9, 2007, 09:19:

Re: buying property This describes the process:

http://www.cartagenarealty.com/investors.html

-Brian

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tomtom33 says on Feb 9, 2007, 12:44:

Bancolombia I had no problem wiring money to Bancolombia last month to buy my place in MDE. The problem was getting Bancolombia to release the funds. Nine days and many mindfucking hoops later, they released the funds.

It kind of went like: "We need X." I got X for them. Then they said that they needed Y. So I got Y. Then they said they needed...... I said, "Look motherfucker tell me EVERYTHING that you need and I'll get it." A few hoops later...listo.

Getting laid is easy in Colombia. Everything else is very, very hard.

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aztec says on Feb 9, 2007, 17:57:

Search this site. You will find much discussion on the subject.

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stephen99 says on Feb 10, 2007, 04:51:

sending money to colombia I have just done this ....and the problems are not here but in colombia
You must do the following to be sure of success
1 gather documents that clearly show the source of your funds...from banks etc
2 get a letter from your bank saying you hae been a good customer for the length of time
3 get it translated by a certified translator..english to spanish
4 go to clombian consulate and have them authenticate documents
5 send to a friend in colombia who must then go to a dept of the government that authenticates the consuls signature
6 have someone take the documents to the bank and ask them if they will accept the transfer...only then
7 send the money make sure the exchange rate is specified in the transfer contract
be ready for a poor rate of exchange in Colombia and a withholding tax of 0.004%
The banks are not following any laid out process in writing and so the onus is on you to prove the funds are not laundered
Its a pain....but if you do this

you will be ok
any less and you are taking a big risk the bank will not accept the money
no land and you lose your deposito
it worked recently for us
good luck

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Gator says on Feb 10, 2007, 08:20:

We Have A... City bank Gold Account with their international division in NYC. We. when we have the need, transfer to our City Bank Colombia account at the branch on cr. 7 and about 72. Fund transfer is $10 and we have done $25.000 USD. It is instant(almost) as long as you have a City Bank account in a Colombian branch. Another bonus is the city bank atm card(debit) does not incur charges as long as we us the City Bank ATM

If you are a City Gold account holder you can also do a wire transfer for $20.00 with no limit to other banks as long as the recipient has an account. When we purchased out apartmento we used this method to send the funds to our Conavi account in Colombia.

A big plus is we can do this on line as well as using online banking to pay US bills or recurring expenses.

"Brevior Sltare Cum Deformibus Mulieribus Est Vita!" .

"Credidi pretio parvo emere et magno vendere tibi in animo fuisse!" .

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jediknight says on Feb 10, 2007, 10:09:

i just bought an apt in colombia and it was painless. i transferred the money from my bank to davivienda through international wire transfer. the funds wouldn't arrive in pesos so i had to calculate the dollar amount with the current exchange rate. now i dealt with a construction company so i deposited the money in their account. what davivienda needed before releasing the money was a letter of employment from my employer stating how long i've been there, copies of the last 3 bank statements to show where the money came from, a copy of the compraventa which is the sales agreement of the purchase showing how much i bought the property for. also the following is needed to make the transfer:
the name of the bank where the funds will be deposited
account number
their swift code
aba number

also....
the intermediary bank swift code and aba number since the deposit isn't done directly. below is the info i used between davivienda and citibank. some us banks use wachovia as the intermediary, i'll include the info also

Bank Name: Banco Davivienda
Account #: XXXXXXXXXXXXX
SWIFT CODE: CAVDCOBB
Address: XXXXXX
City : XXXXXX
State: XXXXXXXX
Country: Colombia

Intermediary Bank: Citibank
SWIFT CODE: CITIUS33
ABA: 02100089

wachovia
Swift code intermediary bank: PNBPUS3NNYC
ABA code: 026005092

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Gator says on Feb 10, 2007, 12:38:

Never... encountered any problems-of course we do have a long-time banking presence in Colombia

"Brevior Sltare Cum Deformibus Mulieribus Est Vita!" .

"Credidi pretio parvo emere et magno vendere tibi in animo fuisse!" .

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arthur brode says on Feb 11, 2007, 09:01:

. I work with a Realtor/Lawyer here in Colombia.
She charges a 4% fee for transfering funds legally from the exterior to Colombia.She says that the reason she charges the 4% fee is because she has to declare/justify/report the funds.She also says not just anyone here in Colombia can receive a large wire transfer.The account of the person on the receiving end needs to be abilitated(show credebility) to receive that amount of money.She also says that if these steps are not followed the Dian(IRS) can implicate you for many reasons.
If you would like i can schedule a free consultation for you.Send me a "private message"

http://www.calirentals.net/

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aztec says on Feb 11, 2007, 09:18:

Just as Gator... ...we have a Citibank account in Bogotá. We have experienced nothing but excellent service. When we wire funds from our US bank (not Citibank) there is no trouble and the whole process takes about 3 days.

As I understand it all transfer's from the US to Colombia are processed through NY via Citibank even if one doesn't have a Citibank account in either country.

Funny thing happened to us regarding changing from one Citibank branch in Bogotá to another. The managers actually began to fight over our account. The one from which we moved would call us several times a week attempting to convince us to stay. She would give us all kinds of reasons for not changing.

Our reason for moving was because we already had established a relationship with the manager and he was promoted to a larger branch. He is also bilingual and has some experience with foreign investors. Now when we enter the bank he leaves his office to personally escort us into the bank.

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Gator says on Feb 11, 2007, 09:54:

Auther Brode CitiBank charges me $20.00 USD. Your attorney charges 4%??
On $50.000 USD (not an unreasonable amount for a property transaction) that would be $2.000 USD. City Bank branch in Bogotá does the required Colombian paperwork including Form 5 as part of its service. If you EVER intend to repatriate the funds then you need to worry about Form 4 and 11. Then Of course there is the cuatro por mil tax.

Aztec, was this your experience with CitiBank ????

"Brevior Sltare Cum Deformibus Mulieribus Est Vita!" .

"Credidi pretio parvo emere et magno vendere tibi in animo fuisse!" .

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arthur brode says on Feb 11, 2007, 10:20:

Gator You and Aztec both have bank accounts here in Colombia.Many foreigners do not have bank accounts in Colombia.My Attorney advises AGAINST transfering funds from the exterior to third parties here in Colombia.And the 4% transaction fee my Attorney charges is much less than what Western Union charges.

http://www.calirentals.net/

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aztec says on Feb 11, 2007, 10:58:

Yes: Aztec, was this your experience with CitiBank ???? One of the very few people who understood the differences between Form 4, 5 & 11 and talked with us about which one best served our purposes. Most will automatically use form 5.

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tomtom33 says on Feb 12, 2007, 06:10:

Art Of course your attorney advises against such transfers. It was a huge headache, but I managed. Was it a US$2000 headache? No.

Note: I have never had nor do I ever intend to have any bank account in Colombia. The Colombian banks can go collectively fuck themselves.

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Brians says on Feb 14, 2007, 04:44:

4% is a lot of $$$ I wired the money from Merrill Lynch (Free with threir Beyond Banking accounts) to my Banco de Credito account. They had to convert $ into Pesos as ML would not. I was worried about the exchnage rate but actually it was the exact rate I was quoted on the FX at the time. Now filing the correct forms is tricky. Whoever said they assume to file Form 5 is correct it needs to be 4. The bank handles that process. Then yourself or attorney simply files a Form 11 within three months. My cost was $0 on the whole deal other than filing form 11 which I had to pay an attorney and show where the money came from etc.. The trick is actually getting a bank account. If your wife simply opens one and you wire into that account then she is at risk of a "Windfall Tax" therefore you need the account in your name. This requires a cedula and 6 months of residency (They will check passports). Therefore without knowing if you have or can even open an account is your name is the trick. If you can't then you will have to wire the money into the seller's account which also requires a lawyer to protect you. Same process as the recieving bank will still file the Form 4 (must be 4) and then you will have 3 months to file 11. Fees charged for wires out and exchange rate are the biggest issues as far as costs. However my wires have been very favorable for conversion (Knock on wood as I do another next month).

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Gator says on Feb 14, 2007, 09:19:

Brians

The reason I use Declaracion (form)No. 5: is I am a resident and my wife is a Colombia so I am only interested in reporting the importation funds to the Banco de la Republica. Assuming the funds are remaining in Colombia, which they are, I have no further reporting responsibilities for the importation of dollars. However, I fully realize that if at a latter date have a need to sell the property and repatriate the $$$$, the funds will be taxed at a 46% rate. Since I will NOT be leaving Colombia Form 5 does the trick for me.

Incidentally, you will need from DIAN a RUT (Tax ID number). This number identifies you as a tax payer in the district and Country. You will use this number to report any annual tax liability on assets in the Country. If for any reason whatsoever you think you may sell and repatriate the funds follow Brians post and file 4 and 11.


"Brevior Sltare Cum Deformibus Mulieribus Est Vita!" .

"Credidi pretio parvo emere et magno vendere tibi in animo fuisse!" .

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Brians says on Feb 15, 2007, 04:28:

Gator I understand that you are a resident and was just reemphasizing the above mentioned point that most banks assume and want to file from 5. When you are going to keep assets there that is correct (like you) but I had to pull teeth telling the bank that I wanted Form 4 not 5 and they kept telling me I needed 5. They finally filed 4 for me. It just was exactly as stated above that they assume Form 5 is needed and if you want to ever bring the money out of Colombia you need Form 4.

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Gator says on Feb 15, 2007, 05:37:

I Thought That Was... your advice but wasn't sure. This was the line in your post that threw me: "Whoever said they assume to file Form 5 is (in?)correct it needs to be 4."

Thanks

PS I hope anyone contemplating a purchase seeks the advice of a good REAL ESTATE attorney and a qualified Contadores Públicos

"Brevior Sltare Cum Deformibus Mulieribus Est Vita!" .

"Credidi pretio parvo emere et magno vendere tibi in animo fuisse!" .

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treedoc says on Feb 27, 2007, 16:21:

wire transfers Wow! Sounds like Colombia is a much better place to visit than live. I would never choose to endure so much bullshit to transfer funds to buy a property. Geez, it all makes Panama seem like a dream. Its all in $, its a world banking center, and the service is generally world class. It amazes me that a country that is still effectively in a state of civil war could really impose so many strident requirements to open an account or transfer funds. No wonder Colombia is so fucked up. Whose responsible for all this anyway, Uribe or Bush/Cheney Patriot Act?

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Virgilio says on Mar 20, 2007, 17:48:

Are gringos prohibited from buying apartments in Isla San Adres? I am considering the puchase of an apartment in San Andres. The seller advised me to contact the consulate. She thinks Americans are prohibited from buying property there. I hope she is wrong. Any advice is welcome. I gather from reading posts here that I will need a cedula from the DAS.........by the way, what is DAS? If i buy the place, I plan to retire there for 6 months per year. Does anyone have contact information for a bi-lingual real estate attorney in San Andres?

Thanks for your help

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Lisa Zee says on Mar 20, 2007, 21:17:

My brother Just had a house built in San Andres, but he can not stay more than 4 months in one year! he can visit many times but not to exceed more than 4 months. I wanted to buy a lot and build a house, and live 6 months there and 6 months in Medellin.

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aztec says on Mar 21, 2007, 06:56:

Also Brians... ...remember that if you use Form 4 there is a limited amount of time in which you must follow up with Form 11.

This is the point where we threw the Government in a tizzy. We returned the money to the States before the time limit and did not purchase property.

Therefore, no requirement for Form 11. They are now sitting there with a form 4 with no corresponding Form 11. This is even in the face of the fact the form filed for the transfer back to the States clearly has a line to explain the transaction.

The problem is the bureaucracy has no procedure for matching all these requirements, especially if the transaction is unusual. We are having to provide the notarized paperwork filed two years ago.

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orestesdd says on Mar 12, 2008, 17:47:

I was told that you need a Davivienda account number in either Citibank or Wachovia which was not supplied above. I guess that particular account belongs to Davivienda S.A. and then the money goes form this intermediary account to Davivienda in Colombia.

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