Key takeaways
- Everything turns on whether your specific activity is permitted at that address.
- Annual property tax runs from 0.3 to 1.2 percent of cadastral value.
- Both end in a promesa de compraventa with conditions, the escritura, and registration, 30 to 45 days.
- Buyer closing costs run about 2 percent: notary at 0.27 percent, registry at 0.67 percent and beneficencia at 1 percent, plus your lawyer, either way.
- For an income asset with flexible location: in Guatapé and El Peñol an apartment starts at about US$86K with a typical ask of about US$154K, against about US$91K and about US$194K across Antioquia; lots start at about US$124K with a typical ask of about US$419K, against about US$114K and about US$257K.
A commercial unit bought for a business you run yourself and one bought to lease out are two different purchases with two checklists. The owner-occupier is buying permission: land use, reglamento, parking, signage. The investor is buying a tenant's payment history and the lease that governs it. Both close in 30 to 45 days and cost about 2 percent in buyer closing costs.
Checklist · Before you sign a promesa
The 12 documents I check on every deal
Tick them off as you collect them. Saved on this device.
Superintendencia de Notariado y Registro, online; valid 30 days
The notaría where it was signed; ask for a certified copy
The municipality's tesorería or hacienda office
The building's or gated community's administración
From the seller; the RUT downloads from the DIAN site
Granted at a notaría, or at a consulate if the seller is abroad
Printed on the predial bill, or from the municipal catastro
In the deed and on the cadastral record
Latest paid bills from EPM or the local operator
Declared before the notary in the deed itself
Drafted by your lawyer or agent; never sign the seller's version unread
Curaduría urbana or the municipal planning office
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Where each document comes from
- Certificado de tradición y libertad: Superintendencia de Notariado y Registro, online; valid 30 days
- Prior deed: The notaría where it was signed; ask for a certified copy
- Property-tax good standing: The municipality's tesorería or hacienda office
- HOA good standing, if applicable: The building's or gated community's administración
- Seller's ID / RUT: From the seller; the RUT downloads from the DIAN site
- Power of attorney, if the seller is represented: Granted at a notaría, or at a consulate if the seller is abroad
- Cadastral appraisal: Printed on the predial bill, or from the municipal catastro
- Survey and boundaries: In the deed and on the cadastral record
- Utilities up to date: Latest paid bills from EPM or the local operator
- Family-home protection certificate: Declared before the notary in the deed itself
- Promesa de compraventa draft: Drafted by your lawyer or agent; never sign the seller's version unread
- Building permit, if applicable: Curaduría urbana or the municipal planning office
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What changes when you plan to run your own business there?
Everything turns on whether your specific activity is permitted at that address. Land use is set by the municipality's territorial plan, and a unit that is "commercial" in general can still be closed to a restaurant, bar, clinic or workshop because of noise, ventilation, waste or parking. Verify, in this order:
- Your activity is allowed at that exact address under the plan, in writing, before signing.
- The reglamento de propiedad horizontal, which can prohibit what the municipality allows (food service, late hours, street signage).
- Parking assignment, often a separate registry entry.
- The certificate of tradition and freedom, requested with the registry number: registered owner, mortgages, liens, encumbrances.
- The fit-out price: grease traps, extraction, three-phase power and accessible bathrooms turn a cheap unit expensive.
If the first fails, walk.
What changes when you plan to lease it out?
You buy a contract. Establish who the tenant is, how long they have been there and whether rent was paid on time; the remaining term, renewal mechanics and indexation (commercial leases can carry renewal rights that bind you); the deposit and who holds it; who pays administration, property tax and insurance; and whether the tenant's activity matches the permitted land use. Annual property tax runs from 0.3 to 1.2 percent of cadastral value. For context, residential rentals have historically yielded 5 to 9 percent gross a year long-term and 8 to 15 percent short-term, before administration, tax and vacancy.
Does the price negotiation work differently?
The owner-occupier negotiates against a building: the strongest lever is a documented fit-out budget as a deduction. The investor negotiates against an income stream: a short remaining term, patchy payments or an absorbed administration charge justify a discount. Both end in a promesa de compraventa with conditions, the escritura, and registration, 30 to 45 days.
What do the costs look like on each side?
Buyer closing costs run about 2 percent: notary at 0.27 percent, registry at 0.67 percent and beneficencia at 1 percent, plus your lawyer, either way. The owner-occupier then carries fit-out, licensing and lost trading; the investor carries vacancy, administration in void periods and re-letting. Capital gains are 15 percent when held two years or more; appreciation has historically run 7 to 8 percent a year, history, not a forecast.
Should Medellín buyers be looking at Oriente instead?
Not if the business is location-dependent. For an income asset with flexible location: in Guatapé and El Peñol an apartment starts at about US$86K with a typical ask of about US$154K, against about US$91K and about US$194K across Antioquia; lots start at about US$124K with a typical ask of about US$419K, against about US$114K and about US$257K. The Devimed concession reverts on July 31, 2026, the financing trust is expected in 2027 and handover to Invías in 2028, so major works would not begin before late 2027. For the verification sequence, see the full guide.
What is the one mistake each buyer makes?
The owner-occupier signs the promesa and then asks the municipality whether the activity is allowed, with the deposit at risk. The investor reads the yield and not the lease: a 9 percent gross on paper changes once the landlord pays administration and the renewal clause lets the tenant stay at a rent you did not set.
How we knowFigures as of October 13, 2026. Prices: active listings we verified ourselves; USD rate: TRM 3,194.44 COP per US$1, valid October 10, 2026 (Banco de la República, via datos.gov.co).
Frequently asked questions
Can I run any business in a unit that is zoned commercial in Medellín?
No. The plan specifies which activities are permitted at an address. Confirm yours in writing before the promesa de compraventa.
Does the building's reglamento override the municipality?
They operate separately and both must allow your use.
What does it cost to close on a commercial unit in Medellín?
About 2 percent plus your lawyer's fee; 30 to 45 days. Fit-out and licensing are extra.
If I buy a unit that already has a tenant, am I bound by their lease?
Generally yes; commercial leases can carry renewal rights that bind a new owner.
How is a commercial property taxed in Colombia?
Annual property tax of 0.3 to 1.2 percent of the cadastral value; capital gains of 15 percent when held two years or more.
