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help finding apartment in Bogota

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jagledoux
  10/29/2014 07:14 EST

Hello, we presently live in Bogota but our apartment lease runs out and we need to find another apartment. Does anyone know of any decent real estate agencies?

stargazer2893
  10/29/2014 08:07 EST

When I looked for mine, I had help from my Colombian friends. We went around the neighborhoods looking for Arriendo signs and calling the phone numbers. Real estate people were not involved since I was not buying. Not sure how they list rentals.

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unclejack
  10/29/2014 08:40 EST

finding a rental in Colombia is a night mare . Before you even look for an apartment make sure you secure before hand the following:
1- 1 fiador if it is less than a mil.and 2 fiadores if the rental is over a mil.
2- your last 3 bank statements and have to be from a Colombian bank.
3- another fiador with carta labor and have to be making twice or three times the monthly rental.
4- another fiador that owns a property and the property title can't have patrimonio on it.

good luck with your search.

HugoMaracuya
  10/29/2014 08:55 EST

Stargazer. Excellent advice. Things are done differently here. Most Colombians don't go through a real estate agent when they want to rent out or sell their apartment. They stick a "se vende" or "se arrienda" notice in their windows.

Where most people are happy to pay real estate agents a fortune in the USA and some other countries, Colombians don't see the need to pay some hustler a few thousand bucks when they can do the job themselves. An agent might only reach a handfull of people (on their books), but a notice in the window reaches many thousands every day. But agencies are used for the paperwork, the contract and legal bits that they prepare for the notaries, after they have found the purchaser or seller.

Choose the area you want to live, and just walk down the street. You will generally see more properties for rent or sale that you could ever imagine. All you have to do is look up, and you'll see them. Write down the numbers, and call them. (They don't like opening their doors to any stranger that knocks, so a phone call is essential).

Try it. It will save you many thousands of bucks.

dandrie
  10/29/2014 08:59 EST

Going through an agency is a nightmare, and an impossible task, if you are not colombian, with a handful of wealthy colombian friends that are prepared to cosign for you. The best way is to rent directly from the owner... forget calling if its an agency sign in the window.

RussellO
  10/29/2014 22:08 EST

very good info. thanks

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Exbury
  10/31/2014 23:23 EST

Having spent several weeks looking at different properties through different estate agents and private lets I can say both are generally useless. The amount of times we have turned up for an appointment only for both agents and private owners to either be late (ok this is normal) or to answer with surprise saying that they were 'away in Melgar' or something similar....very frustrating. My wife is currently working as a part-time real estate agency for some friends to sell their property and sadly prospective owners are not much better, from estimates around 40% of people who make appointments dont turn up, 30% are there to compare their apartment, 20% are dreamers and probably around 10% are actually interested in looking and comparing. Just this week she was then told that an exclusive apartment she had to sell was sold by.....another person who was actually showing the apartment as well and was sold at a lower price than she was allowed to deal to.....and the seller had rejected three previous offers that were higher than what she eventually accepted. And the seller seemed to think this was all perfectly normal.

Anyway rant over, we found one reasonable agency, although we found the apartment we liked by walking around and looking, at an agency called Aliadas (link below). A guy called Michal Gomez was really helpful (actually bothering to call back, chase the owner and chase us). I can suggest them over anyone else I have dealt with. Otherwise good luck!

http://www.inmobiliariasaliadas.com/pg.php?Cat=1

enretiro
  11/5/2014 08:11 EST

Talk to Remaxx in Bogotá, Claudia Navarro. There are rental agencies that can help you. Also in the newspaper, El Tiempo, El Espectador, etc, they have signs. Go around subdivisions and see signs for rent, Se arrienda.

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