gerry07 has left 8 comments

gerry07 comments on Buying Apartment in Colombia - Tax and U.S. Dollar Repatriation Issues

Ctg Bound, perhaps I'm overthinking this whole thing but the commentary regarding forms 4, 5, and 11 on this board frankly scares the hell out of me. The potential problem I see for myself is that I sell the apartment in five years. The buyer pays me pesos and I go to Banc Colombia to convert those pesos to dollars and attempt to wire them to the U.S. But then someone at the bank taps me on the shoulder and says that (i) I can't transfer the dollars since there was never a form 4, 5 or 11 on file with the bank or Dian for the original purchase price, and/or (ii) I need to pay a 42% - 47% tax on the funds as Gator has stated in his other postings (since he apparently used form 5 as an existing Colombian resident when he bought property .... although that repatriation tax doesn't bother him since unlike me he doesn't have any future plans to move the money out of Colombia). Anyway, like I said, perhaps I'm over thinking this .... but a 42% - 47% potential tax translates to a lot of money so I obviously want to be absolutely 100% clear on this issue.

gerry07 comments on Buying Apartment in Colombia - Tax and U.S. Dollar Repatriation Issues

Thanks miamimike. I've searched everything already but my situation is a little different since unlike the traditional situations discussed on the board I won't initially be bringing any money into Colombia to purchase the property (since I'll be paying US dollars directly to the seller's U.S. account). Any additional thoughts or lawyer referrals would be much appreciated. Cheers.

gerry07 comments on Very Modern Fully-Furnished Cali Apartment Available For Rent

I wanted to edit this post but it unfortunately seems like the administrators no longer let you do that. I've decided to rent the apartment as a 2 bedroom instead of a 3 bedroom (I'll simply be locking my own room in order to cut down on the amount of work it takes to pack-up, lock and un-pack my valuables when I rent the apartment). It is still available in June and July (and perhaps later in the year too) so please e-mail me with your dates if you're interested.

gerry07 comments on Fine for Not Registering Visa with DAS within 15 days

Just to close the loop on this issue, I carefully peeled the old student visa out of my passport. Problem solved! No fine! I later succesfully applied for a 1 year rentista visa while I was in the U.S. The consulate in San Francisco didn't charge me anything for the visa and were kind enough to inform me that I had to go to DAS to apply for my cedula within 15 days of entering Colombia. DAS also told me the same thing when I arrived at the airport with my new visa (this is in stark contrast to when I originally entered Colombia on my old student visa when nobody told me about the requirement to register the visa with DAS within 15 days). Anyway, I headed to DAS to register my new rentista visa and had no problems. They gave me my "contrasena" within a few days and my cedula will be ready to pick up from their office in 2.5 months.

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***UPDATE AS OF JANUARY 3RD*** The person I was going to rent the apartment to had to cancel their Cali travel plans. The apartment is therefore still available for rent from January 17th - February 9th. Please contact me ASAP if you are interested and would like to see pictures. p.s. The apartment listed above by Calipro is also very nice and in a good location. You can be the judge but based on his pictures I think my apartment is a little nicer and larger too.

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gerry07 comments on Moving to Cali -- I Need Accommodation and Advice

Thanks Lolita Lolita, Thanks so much for providing all this useful information. Universidad de Javeriana is apparently in "Estrato" 6 in the very Southern part of Cali. I'm not too concerned about prices but could you let me know if that is a nice area? Hopefully I can find a good place close to the university with some fun Colombians. Anyway, could you send me your e-mail address so I can get in touch with you when you arrive back in Cali? Alternatively, feel free to e-mail me at gerry06 at gmail.com. Thanks!