Free Checklists for Buying in Colombia

Both downloads are free printable PDFs for buying property in Colombia: a buyer’s due-diligence checklist and a closing cost worksheet. Use the checklist before you sign the promesa de compraventa, and the worksheet to add up every cost on top of the price.

Each one fits on a few A4 pages, so you can print it, write on it and take it to the lawyer’s office or the notary.

What the Due-Diligence Checklist Covers

The buyer’s due-diligence checklist lists every check to run on a Colombian property before you commit. It is set out in five groups, each a set of tick boxes:

1. The title (estudio de títulos). Pull the certificado de tradición y libertad yourself, dated within 30 days, and confirm the seller on it is the person signing. Read every annotation for mortgages, liens and family-home protection, and match the property details against the cadastral record and the listing.
2. Debts that follow the property. Get paid-up certificates (paz y salvos) for property tax, the betterment levy and building fees, and confirm utilities are paid.
3. The building and the unit. Read the building rules for pets, renovations and short-term rentals, ask for the latest assembly minutes, and check the construction license for a new build.
4. The money. Bring funds in through a Colombian bank or another authorised exchange intermediary so the purchase is registered as foreign investment with Banco de la República, and keep every exchange declaration.
5. The promesa de compraventa. Check that the price, schedule, deposit, penalty clause, notary and deed date are written down, along with who pays each closing cost.

The short-term rental check saves the most trouble for buyers who plan to rent out. Under Colombian law, stays of under 30 days need the building’s rules to authorize them. An apartment in a building that does not allow them cannot be rented by the night.

What the Closing Cost Worksheet Covers

The closing cost worksheet is a fill-in form with nine numbered lines. Lines 1 to 6 carry the 2026 rates in Colombian pesos (COP), with who usually pays each:

1. Notary fees.
2. The value-added tax (VAT) on the notary fees.
3. The registration tax.
4. Registry fees.
5. The stamp tax, which applies only above about COP 1,047 million.
6. The seller’s withholding.

Lines 7 to 9 are blanks for the lawyer’s quote, translations and apostilles, and bank and exchange costs.

At the bottom you total the buyer’s and the seller’s share. A second section covers what you pay every year after closing: property tax of roughly 0.5% to 1.6% of the cadastral value, and monthly building fees.

How to Use the Two Together

Use the checklist first and the worksheet second. Neither PDF replaces a Colombian lawyer, and each says so at the bottom. Run the checklist with your lawyer while the offer is on the table, and start the worksheet as soon as the price is agreed.

Fill in the worksheet with the deed price rather than the asking price, and replace the estimates with real quotes as they arrive. Closing costs and property taxes in Colombia explains each line, and how to buy property in Colombia shows where each check falls in the purchase.

If you would rather have someone run the checklist with the lawyer for you, our buyer’s concierge in Medellín and in Bogotá do exactly that.