Title studies, purchase contracts, notarisation, closing representation and registration, for foreign buyers and sellers of Colombian property.
This is the single most important thing for a foreign buyer to understand. In the United States, a title insurer stands behind your ownership and pays if something was missed. Colombia has no equivalent product. The estudio de titulos your attorney performs is the entire protection you get.
That study runs on the certificado de tradicion y libertad, the public record of who has owned the property and what is attached to it. An attorney reads the anotaciones in sequence looking for liens, embargoes, uncancelled mortgages, inheritance proceedings and breaks in the ownership chain. Skipping this to save a fee is the worst trade available in a Colombian purchase.
For foreign buyers there is a second layer. Money should enter through the regulated exchange channel and be registered as foreign investment. That registration is what supports a property-based visa application and what lets you take sale proceeds out of the country cleanly years later.
The ownership and encumbrance record. Pull a current one rather than accepting a copy from the seller, and have the anotaciones read in order by someone who knows what a problem looks like.
The promise contract, where the deal is actually decided: price, payment schedule, closing date and the arras penalty. Check that the penalty is symmetric. Buyers routinely sign contracts where their exposure for a delay is larger than the seller's.
The deed is signed at a notaria and registered at the Oficina de Registro de Instrumentos Publicos. The value declared on the deed governs your visa eligibility, your future capital gains basis and your registered investment. Under-declaring causes problems in all three.
Ganancia ocasional applies at 15 percent under Ley 2277 of 2022 for assets held two years or more. Registered foreign investment is what makes repatriation of the proceeds straightforward.
Property matters handled by attorneys who close these transactions for foreign buyers regularly.
Full title study on the certificado de tradicion, including the ownership chain, encumbrances, and the propiedad horizontal constitution where the property is in a building.
Review of the promise contract before you sign, with particular attention to the arras penalty, timeline traps and payment schedule risk.
Attendance at the notaria, review of the escritura before signature, and confirmation that registration completed and the certificado now shows your name.
Drafting, apostille and consular coordination so a purchase can complete while you are outside Colombia. Who holds the power matters, and it should never be the seller's side.
Coordinating the exchange channel entry and the investment registration that a property-based visa application and a future repatriation both depend on.
Lease drafting and review for landlords and tenants, including the propiedad horizontal rules that govern minimum stays in a building.
Fees are set by the attorney, not by us. You receive a written scope and quote before any work begins, and you are free to walk away at that point.
Tell us about the property and where you are in the process. We will connect you with a property attorney.
Get Your Free Consultation →Buying at the investor visa threshold? The visa page covers the thresholds and the order the steps have to happen in. Visa & Immigration