Yes, a foreign buyer in Colombia should hire a real estate lawyer of their own before signing the promesa de compraventa, the purchase agreement. At Colombia Desk, we bring an independent lawyer onto every purchase we run in Medellín and Bogotá, and the title study is the first thing we ask that lawyer for.
The lawyer checks the property’s legal history, drafts or reviews the promesa, reviews the deed before you sign and confirms the registration afterwards. No official tariff exists for this work. For the title study alone, the banking association Asobancaria sets a benchmark of about 0.12% of the property value, as reported by the property portal Metrocuadrado. That is 480,000 Colombian pesos (COP) on a COP 400 million apartment.
Realtor, Lawyer and Notary Do Different Jobs
A realtor sells you the property, a lawyer protects you on the purchase, and a notary records the deed. Only the lawyer is paid to look for problems on your behalf. Neither the agent nor the notary is paid to check the title for you.
| Real estate agent | Your lawyer | Notary (notaría) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main job | Finds the property and negotiates the price | Checks the title, drafts or reviews the contracts, guards the payment terms | Authorizes the deed and collects the seller’s 1% withholding tax |
| Who pays | Usually the seller, around 3% of the price plus VAT (value-added tax) at many firms | You | Both sides, fee customarily split in half |
| License required | No | Yes, a lawyer’s professional card | Not applicable |
| Works for | Whoever signed the listing contract, usually the seller | You | Records the deed for both parties |
Colombia has no mandatory license or governing body for real estate brokers, according to the law firm Nexo Legal. Anyone can register as a merchant at a chamber of commerce and work as a broker. Proyecto de Ley 242 de 2025 would regulate brokers, and in mid-2026 it had passed its second debate in the Cámara de Representantes, but it is not law.
The commission figure comes from Bancolombia, which puts urban sales at around 3% and notes no law sets it. Our guide to Medellín real estate agents covers how to work with one.
What a Real Estate Lawyer Does on a Purchase
A Colombian real estate lawyer handles six jobs on a typical purchase, in this order:
- Pulls the certificado de tradición y libertad. This registry certificate lists every owner and every mortgage, lien and lawsuit recorded on the property. It must be dated within the last 30 days, and the buyer’s side should pull it directly instead of accepting a copy from the seller.
- Runs the title study (estudio de títulos). The lawyer reads the chain of ownership and the seller’s documents, then writes up any risk with a fix for each one.
- Drafts or reviews the promesa. The lawyer sets the conditions that protect your deposit, chooses the type of arras (deposit) and writes in who pays each closing cost.
- Checks the paz y salvos. These clearance certificates prove the seller owes no predial (property tax), valorización (betterment levy) or administración (building fees).
- Reviews the deed before the signing. The escritura pública must match the promesa on price, parties and property description.
- Confirms the registration. After the deed is filed at the Oficina de Registro de Instrumentos Públicos (ORIP), the lawyer pulls a new certificate showing you as the owner.
We most often see foreign buyers reverse steps two and three. They sign the promesa and pay the deposit, then order the title study. If the study finds a lien, the deposit is already at risk.
What a Title Study Checks
A title study checks that the seller can legally sell and that nothing recorded against the property will follow it to you. Metrocuadrado lists the documents a study reviews, including the seller’s ID, the marital-status certificate, the certificado de tradición and the prior deed. On a resale apartment, ask your lawyer to cover these points in writing:
- Ownership chain. Every transfer recorded on the property’s registry file, so a past sale or inheritance with a defect turns up before you pay.
- Mortgages and liens. Any open mortgage or embargo (court seizure) must be cancelled at or before the deed, and the promesa should say so.
- Lawsuits recorded on the property. A demanda inscrita is a lawsuit over the property noted on its registry file. If you buy with one open, you take on the dispute.
- Family-home protection. A property marked afectación a vivienda familiar under Ley 258 de 1996 can be sold only with both spouses’ signatures. The lawyer confirms both will sign, or that the protection is lifted first.
- The seller’s marital status. A married seller’s spouse may have rights in the property, so the lawyer checks the civil registry.
- Unpaid charges on the apartment. Building fees and betterment levies must be cleared, so the paz y salvos come before the deed.
- The building’s bylaws. A building must authorize stays under 30 days in its registered reglamento de propiedad horizontal under Decreto 2106 de 2019. If you plan short-term rentals, the bylaws decide whether that plan works.
- Cadastral value against price. The registration tax and registry fees use the higher of the two, so a big gap changes your closing bill.
The full list, with the documents to request for each check, is in our free buyer’s due-diligence checklist. Bring it to your first call with a lawyer.
What a Real Estate Lawyer Costs in Colombia
No official tariff sets what a Colombian real estate lawyer charges, so fees are quoted per job. For the title study, Metrocuadrado reports a benchmark from Asobancaria of about 0.12% of the property value. Metrocuadrado also says the figure varies by lawyer and bank.
| Property price (COP) | Title study at the 0.12% benchmark |
|---|---|
| 300,000,000 | COP 360,000 |
| 400,000,000 | COP 480,000 |
| 600,000,000 | COP 720,000 |
A lawyer who handles the whole purchase charges more than the study alone, because the promesa, the deed review and the registration follow-up take more hours. Ask for a written quote that lists each of the six jobs above, the language of the report and the turnaround time. The certificates themselves are small costs: COP 23,000 each online and COP 24,300 at an office in 2026, under the Superintendencia de Notariado y Registro tariff.
Put the lawyer’s fee next to the money it protects. On a COP 400 million purchase, a 30% deposit is COP 120 million, paid when you sign the promesa. The title study costs less than half of one percent of that deposit.
How to Choose a Real Estate Lawyer in Medellín or Bogotá
Choose a real estate lawyer who answers to you and has no tie to the agent or the seller on your deal. Five checks narrow the field fast:
- Verify the license. Search the lawyer’s cédula or professional card number in SIRNA, the national lawyer registry of the Rama Judicial. The check is free and shows whether the card is current.
- Ask who referred them. A lawyer recommended by the listing agent may depend on that agent for future work.
- Get the scope in writing. The quote should name the title study, the promesa, the deed review and the registration check.
- Ask for a sample report. A good title study names each risk and the fix, in plain language.
- Confirm the language. If you do not read Spanish, agree up front that the report and the promesa summary come in English.
A lawyer based in the same city as the property helps, because notaries and registry offices differ in their paperwork. For a Medellín apartment, a Medellín lawyer knows the Antioquia registration-tax office and the local notaries.
When a Bank or Developer Does Part of the Check
A bank or a developer can take on part of the title work, but you still need your own lawyer. The job changes in two situations:
- A bank mortgage. When a Colombian bank lends, it runs its own title study before approving the loan. That study protects the bank’s loan, so your lawyer still reviews the promesa.
- A new build bought off-plan. Your lawyer focuses on the developer’s promesa, the building license, the payment schedule and how your payments are held during construction.
Our answer would change if Colombia licensed real estate brokers through Proyecto de Ley 242 de 2025 and made them answerable for title checks. Until that happens, the buyer’s own lawyer is the only person on the deal paid to find problems.
If you would rather not pick a lawyer from a web search, our Medellín buyer’s concierge does it for you. We line up an independent real estate lawyer, order the title study before anyone signs and keep the lawyer, the notary and the money transfer moving in the right order. To start, download the buyer’s due-diligence checklist and send it to any real estate lawyer in Colombia you are considering.