First, find the property you want to buy and make a sales contract.

Second, wire the money to your BanColombia account, when it gets here, show the bank your sales contract and they will convert it into pesos and deposit into your account.

The bank will assist you in filling out a formula 4, keep a copy and send it to Banco Republica.

One business day befor the closing, go geta new certificate of title, certificado de tradition, just to make sure nothing new has come up.

On closing day, show up with a bank check for justa little less than the estimated closing amount and some cash to make up the difference

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Go right away, the same day or the next day and pay the tax and register your property.
Trust no one and especially not the sellers or any family members that have advise.

This is the only way, anybody that has another idea is looking to screw you or is an ignorant fu-k.

Agian, trust no one......

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My Colombian wife just read this and Agrees 100% w/ loco.... she owns 2 properties in Colombia... an apt. in Medellin and a Finca in the Guatape area..

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Loco,

The potential buyer has not stated if he wishes to buy the property in his sole name, or jointly with his "paisa" wife. Could this change matters?

I bought my property in Colombia jointly with my Colombian wife. Because she is a "local", the bank transfer could not be with the formulario No 4, which I understand (?) is specifically for "foreign investors"?

I am NOT a specialist on such matters and expert advice may be necessary. When I tried (wrongly) to use a Formulario No 4 for an inwards transfer whilst I was already deemed a resident fiscally (more than 183 days in Colombia), I was threatened with a fine for infringement of Colombia's exchange control rules of up to 200% of the amount being transferred. Fortunately, I was able to argue my way out of it and then used the Formularion No 5 which is used by Colombian resident expats.

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Fech, I read where you were going to purchase the property, not your wife.

Everything remains the same either way, just what form from the Banco Republica you use.

The banco de republica has a standered 200 % penalty clause for any transgrection, even filing the wrong form. They never apply this. Over 10 years ago when I purchased my first property I didnt bother to file the form 4 for 2 years. In the end,, they fined me 600,000 pesos. My expert lying piece of sh*t Colombian Lawyer used this "Potential 200% penalty to extract 2 million from me" and just filed a form. Could have done this all by myself.

Do not trust any one who has thier hand in the till, trust less any lawyer, less a colombian lawyer and if you have a colombian lawyer that speaks English, run away as fast as you can.

Just a little advice from some one who has bought and sold dozens of propertys all over Colombia, without the help of any lying, thieving lawyer.

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"On closing day, show up with a bank check for justa little less than the estimated closing amount and some cash to make up the difference "
what difference does it make LOCO?

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Hi Jack, because the closing amont is justan estimate. There always offsets or additionall fees or somthing else that comes up. Also utility bills can not be paid up to closing so that has to be negotiate or prorated.

I will, depending on the seller or amount or situation, show up with a check for 5 million short and 10 million in my pocket.

Additionally if the seller does not come with some good references or is not known by me, I will ask to inspect the property early in the morning of the closing day befor we meet at the notary.

I have more than once closed on a property and the seller has not compleatly moved out or has removed items that wereto stay.

Also the paz y salvos need to be up to date, as much as possable.

After the closing, there are no go backs.

We come from an environment where we want to do the right, fair thing. They do not.

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Sorry Fech, I was refering to the original poster as saying he was not a colombian and going to purchase this property.

Wasn't Chevy Chase some kind of detective in a movie called Fech?

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Want that Fletch buddy :)

Great info on the property closing procedures btw..

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Here is some information about the process of buying a house in Colombia.

http://escapeartist.com/colombia/invest/2014/04/07/real-estate-closings-in-colombia/

http://escapeartist.com/colombia/invest/2013/09/10/real-estate-closing-in-colombia-2/

http://escapeartist.com/colombia/invest/2013/09/11/real-estate-closing-in-colombia-3/

http://escapeartist.com/colombia/invest/2013/09/11/real-estate-closing-in-

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Loco,

If buying property in colombia remotely (while living in us), is there a way a buyer can verify that the property was properly registered? would this require flying down to Colombia to verify?

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BMCB,

Not really sure how you purchase a property remotely, that is unless you gave your power of attorney to someone for you.

In regards to confirming that the property you thought you purchased, is truly yours. You need a revised copy of the title report. This is called "Certificado de Tradición".

This title report is avialable in the recorders office in the Department where the the property is.

The process is:

The seller signs the title, the buyer signd the title.

The notary office authenticates everything.

The new title is taken to the registrars office, taxes and fees are paid.

The law gives you I think, 30 days or more to pay the taxes and registrar the property, however:

Untill you have registered the property in your name, any debt, lien, encumbrence or claim agianst the previous owner can be recorded agianst your property and will stick.

It is prudent to record as soon as possible.

I have heard of people who purchase a property and do not registar right away. Then somthing like a tax lien or a claim from a relative comes along BANG! Your just another victim. A big giant Colombian screw the gringo fiesta.

Remember, as soon as your lawyer says, thIs is how we do it here, that is code word for, "Bend over and slather on the KY"

Good luck

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Fech,

How do you know that Formulario no. 5 is used by resident expats?

I'm planning to buy a house soon. Some websites are saying that Formulario no. 4 is the one to use.

Otherwise, a lot of tax will have to be paid if you want to export the money back to your home country. Is this true???

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soontobco - Here we are over a year later and I would be very interested in your experience how the purchase went?

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LGs opinion about Colombian lawyers is well justified! Instead of doing their fiduciary duty, they always look to fleece their clients. God forbid you get into a legal mess, you have to fight your adversary while your attorney attacks you from behind.

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ColombiaExtrangero,

Which formulario should you use.....I learnt the hard way. I initially used Form 4 and then had to change to Form 5.

The idea is, you are either identified as a "tax resident" in Colombia, or you are not.

The Form 5 is used by "tax residents" in Colombia when they want to bring money into the country from overseas. But if you are not a "tax resident", then the money you bring in is registered by the Banco de la Republica as a "foreign Investment", and Form 4 is used for this purpose.

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I am lawyer admitted in Colombia and Germany.

Many of my clients are foreigners who are relocating to Colombia (or who are already here in Colombia).

I do not offer realtor services. But I assist foreigners in real estate negotiations and contractual and legal issues related to real estate.

Many of them get trapped in unfavorable arrangements (mainly when signing promise to purchase agreements).

So, asking for neutral and professional advice before negotiating with anyone in Colombia is always a good investment.

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