We provide a guide to finding unfurnished apartments in Medellín as well as casas (houses) for rent. Also, we look at how to find a 3-bedroom place that rents for less than $350 USD per month.

There are multiple ways to find unfurnished apartments and houses in Medellín including:

  • Websites
  • Real estate agencies
  • Newspaper ads
  • Bulletin boards in grocery stores and other places
  • Walking around neighborhoods

In this article we will look at each of these in more detail and also look at my experience renting unfurnished apartments and a house in Medellín for over eight years. We have received many questions from readers recently about this topic.

The Espacio Urbano website

The Espacio Urbano website

Finding Unfurnished Apartments and Houses – Websites

There are several websites that list unfurnished apartments and houses in Medellín. The best of these in my opinion is the popular website Espacio Urbano, which is used by many real estate agencies to list properties for sale or rent.

Also, there are several other websites with unfurnished rentals including Fincaraíz, Icasas, Metro Cuadrado and OLX.

In addition, there are many local real estate agency websites with unfurnished apartments and houses listed.

Apartment buildings in the Medellín metro area

Apartment buildings in the Medellín metro area

Finding Unfurnished Apartments and Houses – Real Estate Agencies

There are literally hundreds of real estate agencies in Medellín. You can find many of these agencies listing properties on websites like Espacio Urbano. And you can find real estate agency offices in many parts of the city. But some real estate agencies won’t have much experience working with foreigners.

The benefit of using a real estate agent is that there are few exclusive listings with real estate agents in Colombia. So, real estate agents can represent most properties.

I rented several apartments and a house from real estate agents. And a big benefit is that real estate agents can show you many properties. But a downside is the fiador (cosigner) requirement. However, we provided a guide to overcoming the fiador requirement.

Also, if you use real estate agents, make sure to read our article about 11 things that real estate agents in Colombia may not tell you.

Finding Unfurnished Apartments and Houses – Newspaper Ads

You can also find apartment and house rental listings from real estate agencies and from owners in local newspapers like El Colombiano.

Also, I have seen apartment rental ads posted in bulletin boards in some grocery stores and other places in the city.

Multiple Real Estate Agents tying to rent the same apartment

Multiple Real Estate Agents tying to rent the same apartment

Finding Unfurnished Apartments and Houses – Walking Around

Finally, one of the best ways to find unfurnished apartment rentals is to walk around neighborhoods you are interested in.

Available unfurnished rental apartments will normally have signs on the windows saying “Arrienda” with numbers to call. Most of these signs have real estate agent phone numbers but a few will have owner phone numbers. Also, don’t be surprised to see signs from multiple agents on the same apartment.

By walking around, it is possible to find owner contact information from porterias (doorman) in high-rise apartment buildings so you can bypass the real estate agencies.

The first unfurnished apartment I rented in Medellín I found by walking around and calling numbers posted on windows.

In addition, keep in mind that Spanish is needed when looking for apartments. Most owners and real estate agents won’t speak much English. I have a Colombian wife and I speak sufficient Spanish to look for apartments.

So, if you don’t speak much Spanish it’s recommend to find someone bilingual to help when looking for unfurnished apartments.

My Experience Renting Apartments in Medellín (and a Casa)

I previously provided my story – discovering Colombia and moving to Medellín where I looked at my rental history. I have rented four different unfurnished apartments and recently rented an unfurnished casa (house).

Inside my first unfurnished apartment in Estadio that I furnished

Inside my first unfurnished apartment in Estadio that I furnished

My first rental apartment I rented over eight years ago was in Estadio with the following specifications:

  • 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, about 70 square meters (753 square feet)
  • Kitchen with gas cook-top and granite counters, plus a gas water heater (tankless)
  • 4th floor with vaulted ceilings
  • No elevator and no porteria (doorman)
  • Estrato 5 neighborhood
  • Rent: 1,200,000 peso per month

This unfurnished apartment I found by walking around and rented from a real estate agency by paying rent in advance. And I avoided the fiador requirement by paying rent in advance.

I lived in this apartment for one year and liked living in Estadio. But after one year, I decided I was tired of walking up stairs so started looking for a new place to live.

View from my second unfurnished apartment in Belén

View from my second unfurnished apartment in Belén

My Second Apartment

My second apartment was in the Loma de los Bernal barrio in Belén. This apartment was an upgrade compared to the one in Estadio. Apartment specifications were:

  • 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, about 75 square meters (807 square feet)
  • Kitchen with gas cook-top and granite counters, plus a gas water heater (tankless)
  • 15th floor with balcony in a high-rise
  • 24×7 porteria
  • Pool and small gym in building
  • Estrato 5 neighborhood
  • Rent: 1,200,000 peso per month

This apartment I found using the services of a real estate agent. And I avoided the fiador requirement by paying rent in advance.

I lived in this apartment for two years. But the owner contacted my agent before renewing for a third year and said he was moving back from Bogotá to live in the apartment. So, I needed to find another place quickly.

View from my third unfurnished apartment in Belén

View from my third unfurnished apartment in Belén

My Third Apartment

My real estate agent knew my requirements by then and quickly found an apartment he said I would like. And he was right.  What really sold me was the apartment had two balconies with an incredible view of the city. The two balconies offered a 225-degree unobstructed view of Medellín.

  • 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, about 72 square meters (775 square feet)
  • Kitchen with oven and gas cook-top, plus a gas water heater (tankless)
  • 14th floor in a high-rise building, with two balconies
  • Pool and small gym in building
  • 24×7 porteria
  • Estrato 4 neighborhood
  • Rent: 1,150,000 pesos per month

Also, this apartment was in a good location, only a few blocks from the Los Molinos mall and the Los Alpes Metroplús station. Soon after living in this apartment I starting dating a Colombian that a couple years later became my wife.

We lived in this apartment for two years but decided it was too small and decided to move.

Kitchen in our current unfurnished apartment in Sabaneta, we added the microwave and refrigerator

Kitchen in our current unfurnished apartment in Sabaneta, we added the microwave and refrigerator

My Fourth Apartment

  • Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, 100 square meters (1,076 square feet)
  • Kitchen with granite countertops, oven, gas cook-top, plus a gas water heater (tankless)
  • 10th floor in a high-rise building, with two large balconies
  • Pool, sauna and small gym in building
  • 24×7 porteria
  • Estrato 4 neighborhood
  • Rent: 1,280,000 pesos per month (three years ago and net after renting the parking space for 70,000 pesos per month). If we renewed, rent would be about 1,420,000 pesos per month net after renting the parking space.

We have lived in this apartment, which is located up a hill in Sabaneta for the past three years. And we avoided the fiador requirement by paying rent in advance with a real estate agent for the first year and renting from the owner the last two years.

We have really enjoyed living here. But instead of renewing our lease we decided we wanted to move down the hill in Sabaneta to be closer to Parque Sabaneta and within easier walking distance to a metro station.

Looking for Apartments in Sabaneta

We started looking for apartments in Sabaneta about three weeks ago. We started by walking around and calling numbers we saw on rental signs in windows. Also, we looked on the Espacio Urbano website.

In addition, we were able to get the contact information of a few owners by talking to porterias. But we found this was challenging and had more success talking with real estate agents. We found agents from numbers on windows or on the Espacio Urbano website.

Using real estate agents was efficient. For example, in one day, one real estate agent showed us six apartments and another agent showed us two houses (casas). So, we saw eight properties in one day with two agents.

We looked at about 20 different properties in Sabaneta – all were 3-bedroom with rents ranging from 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 pesos per month.

We decided location was most important for us and we wanted to be within a 10-minute walk from Parque Sabaneta and within a 10-minute walk from a metro station.

Finding a Casa for Under $340 Per Month

While looking, one real estate agent showed us a casa (house) that was in great location, near Parque Sabaneta and near the Sabaneta metro station.

The house is only a 5-minute walk to Parque Sabaneta

The house is only a 5-minute walk to Parque Sabaneta

This house is well-located, a five-minute walk to Parque Sabaneta, a 10-minute walk to the Sabaneta metro station and an 18-minute walk to the large Mayorca mall. Also, there are over 50 restaurants within about a 10-minute walk from this house. And here are the house specifications:

  • Two story house with a small balcony and vaulted ceilings
  • Three bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms, 85 square meters (915 square feet)
  • Kitchen with gas cook-top, plus a gas water heater (tankless)
  • Estrato 3 neighborhood
  • Rent: 1,050,000 pesos per month (this is only $336 per month)
Inside the casa we rented with vaulted ceilings

Inside the casa we rented with vaulted ceilings

We decided to rent this house that had just been placed on the market. And we had to move quickly because our real estate agent said there were up to five others who were interested in this house due to the low price and good location.

No fiador was required with the real estate agency. But I needed to get a 5-month CDT to avoid the fiador requirement. The process to get the CDT and rent the apartment took less than a week and we received the keys only two days ago. We plan to move in the next few weeks.

Finding a 3-bedroom Place for Under $350 Per Month

It is possible to find a 3-bedrom unfurnished apartment or house in the Medellín area that rents for under $350 per month (under 1.1 million pesos per month). But it will be very difficult and perhaps impossible to find that price in El Poblado or Envigado.

We surveyed over 250 3-bedroom unfurnished apartments in El Poblado and Envigado and didn’t find any at the 3-bedroom size that rented for cheaper than 1.2 million pesos per month.

We surveyed a total of 1,000 unfurnished apartments in December 2018 and found a wide range of prices. But to find 3-bedroom unfurnished apartments for under $350 per month you should look in neighborhoods like Sabaneta, Belén or Laureles-Estadio.

The average is higher for 3-bedroom apartments in all three neighborhoods (Sabaneta, Belén or Laureles-Estadio) but it’s possible to find for less than $350 per month as we did. In addition, we previously looked at 5 inexpensive neighborhoods in Medellín where it is possible to find 3-bedroom rentals for less than $350 per month.

Medellin Guru’s Guide to Renting Apartments

On the Medellin Guru website, we have a comprehensive and up-to-date guide to renting apartments in Medellín found in several articles, including:

The Bottom Line: Finding Unfurnished Apartments in Medellín (and Casas)

It has become much easier to rent unfurnished apartments and houses in Medellín then when I started renting over eight years ago. Every real estate agency we talked to when looking for apartments recently said we could rent without a fiador if we got a CDT security deposit.

Also, we found that walking around, using real estate agencies and using the Espacio Urbano website were the three best ways to find apartments.

In addition, we found the most efficient way to find and see many apartments that met our needs in a short time was with the help of real estate agents. We worked with four different real estate agencies to see about 20 properties in a week. And we saw several nice 3-bedroom apartments in Sabaneta that rented for under 1,300,000 per month.

Finally, beware of relocation services in Medellín and Colombia that provide services for finding unfurnished apartments in Medellín. These relocation services charge for this service but real estate agencies will show you apartments for free. So, these relocation services are exploiting foreigners in my opinion. It is easy to use real estate agencies for free to find many apartments and homes for rent.

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