A consideration in investing in a property is time. However, the question is how much time can you afford with this effort? In general, you will need flights, accommodations, meals, possible car rental, and time away from work or other activities. For the local population, their clock is not the same as your clock! Your clock is ticking away faster, including expenses, and eventually may reach a point of personal frustration. The primary reason for Guardian is to buy back time for a foreign investor. The two major time constraints are finding a property and the paperwork. Thus, a system is designed to find a property based on a client’s needs and then provide information to secure a great property. Following that, working with an experienced team that has dealt with every imaginable roadblock to complete the paperwork for visa application or other needs. The final details include: EPM, PSE, banks, money transfer, medical, shopping, etc., that tidies everything, learning the ropes in Colombia. Our goal is to reduce the time traps by months to bring peace of mind and happiness! 

Have no fear, you can pull this off even if your Spanish is learned from Duolingo. Key is expecting that for every three trips, one will be successful. The key to these visits there will be other people outside waiting whom you can strike up a conversation with to exchange visa stories. Also, people from all over the world at immigrations and most likely your own country.  

Must have all your visa online completed and approved before visiting immigration.  Essentially, a visit to immigration is to procure the wallet identification, which you will use for banking, travel, etc., within Colombia. 

Must have an appointment and proof of documents to enter immigration. Once inside, it's a process where you first show your requirements to a clerk, and then they will direct you to a seating position.  The normal visa process includes fingerprinting, a photo, and a signature. Of course, don't forget your passport and any other letters or visa requirements.  

Clients who decide to fly by the seat of their pants are the best lessons learned.  This has included issues with money legalization involving Banco de República, and statements that only lawyers have the skills to navigate this banking system (not true). Money transfer involving multiple legal firms to gain a piece of the client's funds. Being told on contracts to reduce the selling price for the seller to reduce tax burden (this is illegal).  The contract money is being distributed to unknown third parties, which is not suggested for any visa applications (single payment to the seller).  Multiple realtors pitching properties (sort of randomly) that are nowhere near the client's needs or interests.  Different realtors knowing a foreign investor and raise the asking price with the seller's involvement.  Dealing with realtors who have no English skills and guessing what is being communicated, and an excessive amount of time-wasters. 

WHY WE ARE NAMED GUARDIAN TO ELIMINATE THE ABOVE!

To be upfront, in Colombia, there is no realtor licensing training and certification, no Multiple Listing (MLS), no title companies.  Anyone can be a realtor, and many use WASI, a CRM system to manage their listings. Real estate agents will also hang banners with their phone numbers on apartments to attract a sale. There is no listing priority for realtors, and multiple individuals can list the same property. Why you may view multiple banners on a property with phone numbers. Since no title companies, legal transactions are handled at the notary (special location) to close the deal for payment of taxes, administration fees (essentially property home owners association), and issue the deed. The realtor normally will handle the contract and help with the closing at the notary's office. During the closing, the owner of the property and the buyer are both present to sign off papers. The good news, the final payment can be made by a credit card (make sure he monetary value does not get flagged by your bank). Now comes the money transfer and the lawyers. This process, the money must be registered as legitimate funds with the Banco de República. Lawyers or money transfer agents can handle this process, and the paperwork is expensive and can take several weeks.  The difficulty is starting the money transfer, one must consider the budget (normally a percentage to transfer the money and the cost of the property). During the money transfer, the seller, depending on the contract, can sell the home with given clauses, and the deal is lost. Normally, there is no security deposit, so if the seller were to sign a contract, but they have an exit clause, they may bail out with no penalties.  One needs the sales contract to set up an international money transfer, and thus, plan early, have all the paperwork is filled out, waiting for a property contract. Key is don't panic why Guardian Properties was created to support all the above!

The following are for consideration as engaging with the real estate market and realtors.

Colombian realtors are not licensed or trained per se. Most of the learning is on the job or tribal knowledge gained over time.  Some international companies do offer in-house training for realtors.

The typical commission for a realtor is 3%, and the seller pays it. Why often the realtor will align with the seller on terms, negotiation, or property price. 

The realtor will review prior ownership, deeds, and generate the sales contract.  In addition, the realtor will provide support with notary transactions and in-person signing of all documents. 

Contracts are normally in Spanish, but Guardian provides alternate languages to support the client. 

A listing of a property can show up with multiple realtors as the seller increases their options to sell their property. As noted, from realtor to realtor, the price may vary. 

There is no Multiple Listing System (MLS) used by all realtors, but there are web pages realtors use to represent their properties. 

Realtors will use shotgun selling to push as many properties to a buyer and, for sure, represent their properties first for the higher commission. 

No home inspection per se, and most properties are sold as is with no warranties. Attempting to have an owner make repairs or upgrades is possible, but don't expect much flexibility.

Properties are many times stripped of curtains, appliances, etc., before being sold. Anything that is desired must be communicated early and written into the contract. No verbals for sure. 

In general, the homes are shown as is or lived in.  No staging is normal, so consider whether what will be viewed or shown in the pictures is an accurate representation of the property. 

The owner is at the showing of the property and may or may not provide input on the property.  The realtor will rarely be provided the keys to the property. The timing of seeing a property must be firm; your flexibility is on your schedule, not the seller's.   

Finding comparable property prices for sales negotiation is difficult and must include a review of online listings, or have the realtor provide evidence, not verbal estimates, if this is an important aspect of the transaction. 

Some properties are under a rental contract, but owners have been known to ask the renters to vacate to sell the home even though a rental agreement is in place. Some owners who plan on moving will consider moving during a given period, but that needs to be written into contract terms and penalties. 

Many rules of tribal knowledge or culture may be introduced into a real estate transaction, and Guardian will provide advice to accept or question.

EWith any international transfer, the question of whether it's worth it has to be the key question.  From folks who have made the transition, the answer is yes. The weather living in the high altitudes all year round is beautiful. Rain keeps the air clean, and for traffic, it's nowhere near the megacities in other parts of the world. There are big box stores for anything one could need, from groceries to home repair supplies. In addition, the shopping mall is a center of culture and very modern, with anything from food to cars being sold. For access to online shipping, there are Amazon, TEMU, and SHIEN that offer free shipping to fill in the gaps on anything that may be needed. Also, Colombia has Mercado Libre, an online system where people sell just about anything you can imagine. For banking, many choices and normally will need a property deed and passport. For safe money exchange, there is PSE, which is a firewall to the bank for transactions paying bills online or other items.  Once all the systems are learned, and with the low cost of living, yes, enjoy your paradise!

Soccer preempt most priorities and the number one sport for everyone. This includes people meeting up to watch the game, and of course, loud shouting when a goal is scored. Colombia is a very religious-centric country with many beautiful plazas with the church as the centerpiece. Many holidays and plan accordingly, because many times shops and businesses are closed. The fun part of Colombia is that the community businesses are in most neighborhoods, ranging from small grocery shops, hair cutting, nail salons, paper shops for copying and scanning, fruit/vegetables, home hardware, etc. The plus, most are within walking distance. Now for eating, unlimited and just about any cuisine you can imagine. People like to relax and not be rushed in Colombia, so you will see friends, families congregating and not your normal fast food type of places to eat and run.  For travel, airplane trips are very economical and plenty of flights within the country, internationally, and especially to the beach locations.  For transportation, there are unlimited taxis, Uber, and metro trains, which make point-to-point travel easy and very economical. 

The wonderful-looking overhead ceiling is attractive to the eye. However, the consideration is that this Colombian ceiling has no insulation to the roof, which may be tile or metal coverings. During the cool months, it's not much of an issue, but during the summer, the interior can become unbearably hot. In that case, air conditioning will be needed, which can add to the electric bill. Most of the homes or apartments are on the upper floor, which has this type of wooden ceiling.  If you're absolutely in love with the home, there are options to insulate the ceiling beams, but plan ahead who will do the construction and the overall expense.