Property purchase in Barranquilla, or in Colombia in general

[fathertime]

The ex and i  bought an apartment 5 years ago in Cali in estrada 5.  I love it,, she  loves it.....it is in her name she will get it in the end and that is fine. She and our son will always have a very nice and safe place to go to when she/they goes to colombia.   I have no regrets about purchasing the apt. at all.   


We also did not find it very tedious to move money to colombia for the down payment.  We also never intended to take the investment out of colombia. It was always intended to stay in colombia.  The apt has appreciated some since it was purchased.


 


estrada 5 is expensive. yes there are property taxes. yes servicios are very expensive, there are other monthly fees. 
but it  is a nice, safe, quiet, area and worth the estrada 5 expenses.

Thanks Stoney,


I'm curious, regarding property tax, are the different stratas taxed at different rates? Anybody know?

It's perfect for us.  I've spent a couple 6 week visits there when Nazly was still in Colombia, but now we just go back for a couple weeks around Christmas.  Total cost was less than $4.000.000 ($US 2,000).

Wow what a deal Whitey.  I don't think we could build a two headed outhouse here for that price here!


Fathertime!

[Elexpatriado]

Couldnt agree more...very intellegent..

my father in law is doing the same for us. I think it's the best way to go....

[stnmasn]

to move money to colombia the ex puts it in her bank of america account and then has it sent to her sisters account in colombia.  I am not sure exactly what she does but it seems simple.  The main reason she does it is through bank of america  is apparently it is  the  cheapest (or one of the cheaper) ways  to send money down there.

[buencamino]

You can go to this site and look up a property by it's catastral (tax code) or address.

http://roble.barranquilla.gov.co-8888/Predial/

The tax rate on my predial has run about 1.8% to 2.6% varying up and down over the years although for the last three years it has just gone up. Last year's rate was 2.5942%. For the last two years there's been no "estrato" box on the form. I'm not on the coast and everything could be different there.

[fathertime]

You can go to this site and look up a property by it's catastral (tax code) or address.

http://roble.barranquilla.gov.co-8888/Predial/

The tax rate on my predial has run about 1.8% to 2.6% varying up and down over the years although for the last three years it has just gone up. Last year's rate was 2.5942%. For the last two years there's been no "estrato" box on the form. I'm not on the coast and everything could be different there.

very helpful sir...thanks again for your imput.


Fathertime!

[buencamino]

Your welcome. I'm not sure you can open that link from the US. If not just go to Google Colombia and paste the link in the search box. The site should pop right up.

[fathertime]

Your welcome. I'm not sure you can open that link from the US. If not just go to Google Colombia and paste the link in the search box. The site should pop right up.

yup you are correct...it is a no go here in the states...but pops up in google colombia.


thanks again
Fathertime!

[Frank Rizzo]

If you're planing on retiring in any country...you probably want to own your home there. renting forever was fine when in university, it just doesnt make sense if you're going to really retire there.


south america is no worse than the usa (save argentina) for owning, yes property taxes yearly.. in general its very cheap to own ..i've got 2 places there.

[Hector_Lavoe]

If you're planing on retiring in any country...you probably want to own your home there. renting forever was fine when in university, it just doesnt make sense if you're going to really retire there.


south america is no worse than the usa (save argentina) for owning, yes property taxes yearly.. in general its very cheap to own ..i've got 2 places there.

Two places where? Colombia, somewhere else in So. America?  And are you living there permanently or just part time or hardly at all?

[Elexpatriado]

 
I've owned 5 houses and apartments in my life...the payout for an expat infor property in a third world country doesnt justify the headache..espescially if there are women involved...way less headache and a higher return to own a REIT than actual property,,, and if the relation ship goes "tits up" just try to "Get Dat Bitch outa yore house"...Colombiaas are very terca when it comesto material things..
Keep yore women in Colombia and Yore money Outta Colombia...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ftoe-5O7ngI

If you're planing on retiring in any country...you probably want to own your home there. renting forever was fine when in university, it just doesnt make sense if you're going to really retire there.


south america is no worse than the usa (save argentina) for owning, yes property taxes yearly.. in general its very cheap to own ..i've got 2 places there.

[Awesome]

You have to be very careful owning property in any country.  My mom and stepdad are buying their home in the US and somehow they now owe more money on their mortgage than the the property is even worth.  So if they sold the house now they would actually lose money.  I think my dad is in the same situation with his house.  He would have to PAY money to sell his own house.

[V_Man]

Isn't there a 30% capital gains tax in Colombia?


To transfer amounts less than $5,000 it is faster to get on a plane than do it electronically with a Colombian bank. I shudder at what is involved for 6 figure sums. I bet that getting money out is heart breaking work.

[fathertime]

You have to be very careful owning property in any country.  My mom and stepdad are buying their home in the US and somehow they now owe more money on their mortgage than the the property is even worth.  So if they sold the house now they would actually lose money.  I think my dad is in the same situation with his house.  He would have to PAY money to sell his own house.

Hi Awesome, many worthwhile things carry varying amounts of risks...Hopefully your folks aren't in a position where they HAVE to sell the house now for a loss.  It is hard to predict which direction housing is going nowadays...If the fed policy is to inflate, then housing inflates with the money...and that seems to be the general direction of monetary policy nowadays...although certain places will inflate more than others, and certain markets can still deflate in a generally rising overall market.


Fathertime! 

[Frank Rizzo]

hi hector... cali, medellin and  (not really colombia, via ley) san andres in colombia...  i only visit colombia... but hope to retire there someday if i can un hook from business mode... arthur brode knows the homes..they are all vacant...but love that country..hope to return soon..

fathertime brings up some very good points...you have to have the ability to absorb some punishment financially in colombia. panama city, however, is a different story... excellent economy that has not been impacted by the usa economy...

[benjio]

I can see some advantages to owning but at this point I agree with the guys that are considering the risks associated with being married or even just staying with a woman for a long time. I'm thinking losing your home to a woman it didn't work out with in Latin America would probably be a lot harder to recover from. Especially if you invested a significant amount of your retirement funds into a place. With all the research I did when I was interested in buying I discovered a few other downsides as well. At least with respect to Colombia. I don't plan on sitting in one place until I absolutely have to once I stop working. I'm 33 now. If I'm in the favor of the Investment Gods for just 15 of the next 20 years and I live to see it I'm done when I'm 55. I want to spend my retirement traveling. Maybe 3 or 4 months in a place to really get a feel for the culture, and then off to the next. 

[AndyLee]

I want to spend my retirement traveling. Maybe 3 or 4 months in a place to really get a feel for the culture, and then off to the next.

Well said and your thoughts are similar to mine. I've been fortunate to travel widely - my family thinks WILDLY - since I retired, and in the years just before retirement. Had I purchased a property I would have not been able to travel as much and I would certainly feel like it was a concrete block anchor weighing me down when I really wanted to be free. Especially in Colombia, the rents are a lot cheaper than the monthly payments on a mortgage. If I did have the wherewithal to pay cash for a property I sure as heck wouldn't do it. I would instead follow the advice in this thread and buy something in the US and rent it out so I could get the tax write offs and (hoped for) appreciation, to help finance my gadabout lifestyle here in Colombia.

[Researcher]

My wife owns property in Bogota and her Grandfather has a finca in a nearby city. I had thought about buying something in Colombia but I don't know the rules that well. Too much corruption in those places for me.

[buencamino]

A reminder to anyone thinking of buying property in Cali. There has been in place for several years an additional special tax in addition to the normal property tax or "predial". It is the "impuesto megaobras" and is being used for a series of  public works projects like the new tunnel for Avenida Colombia that exits in front of La Hermita. I don't know what the rate is since I don't have property in Cali but it must be based on the predial and estrato. A friend who let it go for a couple of years had to pay up about $3´000.000.

[Hector_Lavoe]

hi hector... cali, medellin and  (not really colombia, via ley) san andres in colombia...  i only visit colombia... but hope to retire there someday if i can un hook from business mode... arthur brode knows the homes..they are all vacant...but love that country..hope to return soon..

fathertime brings up some very good points...you have to have the ability to absorb some punishment financially in colombia. panama city, however, is a different story... excellent economy that has not been impacted by the usa economy...

Thanks for the info. Frank. Nice locations.

[fathertime]

hi hector... cali, medellin and  (not really colombia, via ley) san andres in colombia...  i only visit colombia... but hope to retire there someday if i can un hook from business mode... arthur brode knows the homes..they are all vacant...but love that country..hope to return soon..

fathertime brings up some very good points...you have to have the ability to absorb some punishment financially in colombia. panama city, however, is a different story... excellent economy that has not been impacted by the usa economy...

Hi Frank,  I know you aren't around too often, but if you see this post I'd like to hear a little more about your experiences in Panama.  In addition, did you purchase property there at one point?  Until you mentioned it, I didn't realize that Panama had a reasonably strong economy. 


On another note, I can't recall ever hearing about anybody here that married a Panamanian woman. 


Thanks,
Fathertime! 

[robert angel]

On another note, I can't recall ever hearing about anybody here that married a Panamanian woman. 

There's a lot of Military guys around where we live --grunts, pilots, officers, etc.,  and quite a few marry gals from Central and South America and bring their brides back here.
I have no scientific poll, but it appears to me that overall the USA-Panamanian marriages hold up better than those of some  other nations from that area and that the women aren't as, shall we say, 'temperamental'?

[raycjs]

In Panama you will be using US funds and you will have no problem moving money in out our of Panama, I have a good friend that purchased a house in Panama 3 years ago near one of the beaches he uses the house a few months out of the year. The house is 3 bedrooms 2 baths 8 rooms total with a built in pool and nice yard in a very safe small town he paid 86,500.00 us for the house. he told me the best way to look for homes is to go on vacation and go find a small local Realtor. they will take you to the locally owned homes where you will get your best deal. you do not want to buy from an investor form the US they went and purchased a dozen homes at a time, fixes them up and then sells them for 2 times the rate.. I visited the house twice and it is really nice..most of the web sites you will find on the internet will show you real nice home but the price will be 20% to 40 % higher then you can pay from a local.
 
Ray