Buying a House in Bogotá as a Foreigner: Passport Is Enough

A foreign buyer in Bogotá needs a passport and nothing else: no residency, no Colombian partner, no minimum investment. The purchase is a public deed before a notary, then registration at the property registry, typically 30 to 45 days from agreed deal to registered title. Buyer closing costs run about 2 percent of the price plus your lawyer.

That is the easy part, and it is where most articles stop. The harder question, the one that actually decides whether your money works, is a Bogotá-specific one: you are buying in a city where the building's legal paperwork and the neighborhood's zoning carry more risk than the price negotiation ever will.

What do I actually have to do to buy in Bogotá?

The sequence is the same anywhere in Colombia, and the order matters.

1. Pull the certificate of tradition and freedom (certificado de tradición y libertad) using the property's registry number. It names the registered owner and lists mortgages, liens, embargoes and encumbrances. Read it before any money moves, including the deposit.
2. Check land use against the municipality's territorial plan. In Bogotá this governs whether a unit can legally be used commercially, run as short-term accommodation, or extended.
3. Confirm the propiedad horizontal paperwork if it is an apartment: the reglamento, the monthly administration fee, and whether the building's assembly has restricted short-term rental.
4. Sign a promesa de compraventa that names the deed date, the price in Colombian pesos, and what happens if either side walks.
5. Sign the escritura at a notary, then register. Until registration is complete you are not the owner against third parties, whatever the deed says.
6. Document the inflow of funds through the exchange market so the capital is registered in your name. Skipping this is the mistake that surfaces years later, when you sell and want to take the money out.

What does it cost beyond the asking price?

Closing costs for the buyer are roughly 2 percent: notary 0.27 percent, registry 0.67 percent, and beneficencia 1 percent, plus your lawyer's fee, which is separate and worth paying for. Budget those as cash, not as something folded into a loan, because financing for non-residents is rarely available.

After you own it, annual property tax runs from 0.3 to 1.2 percent of the cadastral value, the rate set by the municipality. The cadastral value is not the market price, so ask the seller for the latest tax statement rather than estimating. For an apartment, add the monthly administration fee, which in a Bogotá building with lifts, security and amenities is a real recurring number, not a rounding error.

On exit, capital gains are taxed at 15 percent when the property was held for two years or more. Hold under two years and the gain is treated differently and more expensively, which alone is an argument against buying Bogotá property you intend to flip.

The decision nobody frames for you: Bogotá, or Antioquia?

Here is the angle. Most foreigners arrive assuming the capital is the default. It is 2,600 metres above sea level, it is cold and grey much of the year, and it is a working city rather than a lifestyle one. Buyers who intend to actually live in Colombia, rather than hold an asset in it, very often end up looking at Medellín and Oriente Antioqueño instead, and the price picture there is public.

In Antioquia, an apartment starts at about US$98,000 with a typical asking price near US$201,000. In Guatapé and El Peñol, an apartment starts around US$91,000, typical asking about US$161,000. A finca in Guatapé and El Peñol starts near US$237,000, typical asking about US$491,000, against about US$275,000 starting and US$602,000 typical across Antioquia. A country house near the lake starts around US$190,000, typical US$340,000; across Antioquia the same category starts near US$313,000 with a typical ask of about US$902,000. Lots near the lake start around US$130,000.

All dollar figures here are approximations at the day's market rate (TRM). Colombian pesos are the source of truth on every contract, and your deed will say pesos.

Yield behaves differently too. Long-term rentals have historically yielded 5 to 9 percent gross a year and short-term rentals 8 to 15 percent gross. Appreciation in the area has historically run 7 to 8 percent a year. Those are historic figures, not forecasts, and they belong to Oriente, not to Bogotá.

The practical move: if your reason for Colombia is weather, space and a lake or mountain property, do not default to the capital because it has the biggest airport. See Colombia real estate outside Bogotá before you commit, and read the buying property in Colombia process once more, since it is identical in both places.

What about visas and residency?

Buying does not grant residency and residency is not required to buy. Colombia has several visa categories for people who own property or live in the country, with requirements set by the foreign ministry, and the thresholds change. Check the current rules directly before you structure a purchase around a visa outcome, and never let a seller or agent tell you what the threshold is. If relocation is the real goal, start with moving to Colombia and treat the property as a separate decision.

How we knowFigures as of November 5, 2026. Prices: active listings we verified ourselves; USD rate: TRM 3,221.19 COP per US$1, valid November 5, 2026 (Banco de la República, via datos.gov.co).

Frequently asked questions

Can a foreigner buy a house in Bogotá without residency?

Yes. Foreigners can own property in Colombia outright with a passport. No residency, visa or Colombian partner is required to buy, and ownership itself does not grant residency.

How long does it take to close on a house in Bogotá?

Normally 30 to 45 days once the deal is agreed. That covers the promesa de compraventa, the public deed before a notary, and registration at the property registry, which is the step that makes you owner against third parties.

What are the closing costs for a buyer in Colombia?

About 2 percent of the price: notary 0.27 percent, registry 0.67 percent and beneficencia 1 percent, plus your lawyer's fee, which is charged separately and should be budgeted as cash.

What tax will I pay when I sell?

Capital gains are taxed at 15 percent when the property was held for two years or more. While you own it, annual property tax runs from 0.3 to 1.2 percent of the cadastral value, depending on the municipality.

What document proves who owns a Colombian property?

The certificate of tradition and freedom (certificado de tradición y libertad), requested with the property's registry number. It shows the registered owner, the chain of owners, mortgages, liens and encumbrances. Read it before any money moves.

Mike Zapata

Real Estate Broker, Mike Zapata Real Estate · Real estate broker, Guatapé and eastern Antioquia. Specializing in Guatapé and El Peñol, Antioquia, Colombia. Founder of Mike Zapata Real Estate and the guide behind the Guatapé Properties and Guatapé Finca Raíz portals.

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