My wife and I plan to retire to Colombia in 2017. She has dual citizenship, both Colombian and US. We agreed to purchase property in Colombia and opened a bank account with Bancolombia in my wife's name when we completed the negotiation for the property. When we attempted to transfer funds for the purchase we encountered all sorts of problems. Even with family members who know people in the bank, we have experienced ongoing problems. Apparently the concern (on Bancolombia's side) is proof that the money is not being laundered. First we were told we had to present ourselves to the Colombia Embassy in Florida to verify that the funds were earned by me at my job. Then, we could only transfer a maximum of $6900 every month. The initial down payment for the property was $30,000. so this posed a problem. We managed it with a series of wife transfers and money actually being couriered (legally) into the country. Then the monthly payments commenced ($5000 monthly until we reached a certain limit set by the bank and not discussed with us when we set up the account) so that we are now being told to open another account to send yet more funds. We have the money and want to make a legitimate investment in the property and construction of a retirement home. Despite its improving image in the business and tourist world, there seems to be no set method by which to transfer funds for legitimate purchase of retirement property and construction of a home in Colombia. Then I read in the blogs about fines if the purchase is not registered with the proper agency in Colombia. Our Wells Fargo banker in the USA don't seem to know how to go about solving this problem. We plan to visit the local Colombian embassy for advice. Any advice regarding expats who have successfully completed what we are attempting to do would be most appreciated.
