Silly silly rules, or are they? Investment visa

Hello all. Just spent the last 2 hours searching through this site looking for clear info on how to obtain a investment visa.

Thanks to the great info from usher127 (http://poorbuthappy.com/colombia/post/investment-visa-summary/) i am pretty clear on the process but i have a couple of questions if anyone could clear my head of them.

I have been here for over 4 months now(on a 12 month student visa) and only just decided to sell up at home and buy here but i hear that if i am here for more than 6 months i cant apply(of fill in form 4)? i can´t for the life of me work out why this rule is in place but like a lot of things here it´s best just to take it how it is as i am sure a lot of you guys know. It will take a while for my house to sell and obtain the money so if it does run over 6 month(as likely it will), is that it? do i have to forget the whole thing? or do i have to go home for a while and come back and try again?
Will i need forms from the sale to prove where i obtained the money? What forms will i need from home?, and Colombians like things stamped so do i have to get things stamped somewhere too?

ALso, i was thinking of buying 2 places, one for myself and one 2 let, if i do get an investment visa will i be able to buy the other place and rent it without paying tax? HOw does it work, or should i just buy the second property without regestering it as a let property?

I have a cedular now (after waiting 4 months as it was at the bottom of the draw) but no bank account, which is the best bank to be in in your opinion?

It seems that this is the place to find out regulations and rules from peoples experiences, the consolate website itsn´t very clear to say the least.

Thanks in advance,
Paul

By paulr on Dec 29, 2007, 11:15 in Visa & paperwork.

john_stark says on Dec 30, 2007, 14:29:

My question is with a country that so clearly does not want extranjeros coming in, why even mess with it? There are loads of places far more friendly to foreign investors.

john_stark says on Dec 30, 2007, 22:43:

I fail to see any payoff. Brazil, yes. Colombia, no.

paulr says on Dec 31, 2007, 06:00:

Thanks for your responses. It does seem to be the land of confusion where no-one seems to know clearly what to do. I feel i am taking a bit of a risk by selling up with no definite answer to say that i would be able to buy over here or not. But, if there´s a will, there´s a way. I´m meeting with a lawyer this coming week to open a big can of worms!!

I love it here in Medellin, i don´t know of another place i would rather invest in or live in so i´ll stick with my plans and see what happens.

If i get any definite and clear answers i will post them.

Life is like a ten-speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use.

mark1 says on Jan 5, 2008, 21:32:

the investment oppurtunities are great. i've purchased many properties here but it gets very fustrating to constantly get mis information. there are so many variables, compounded by the different ways you can purchase, then multipled by not many people knowing the correct law and proceedures, the fact that in this political society the rules for you and against you were made to be broken, then multiplied by what the specific person you're dealing with feels is correct for that particular day, topped off by most colombians not forseeing future problems and then waiting for the ultimate moment to solve a problem. get ready for lots of stress. if you get off easy and everything goes smooth it's simple. your bank must type a letter notarized to be faxed to the recieving bank at the time of your money transfer to a colombian bank stating where your money came from. make sure the recieving bank fills out form #4 for you, registering your transfer. do the contract, purchase complete and then get your public scripture deed back and make sure you then file it with form #4 and now also with a new form, form #11, all filed with the central bank de la republica. get all this back registered and you're set. remember, any documents that you need to present from the USA will need to be notarized and then apostilled by your state government. if you have slightest doubts about your attorney then consult a second or third for consistency in proceedure.

aztec says on Jan 6, 2008, 08:40:

mark1, and be sure to keep all paperwork because two years latter you may need them.

Happened to me and a friend! I was able to resolve my problem with no fine but my friend had to pay!