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11 thoughts on “Rent vs Buy: Downsides of Renting and Buying Property in Medellín”
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Jeff, excellent article. One of the reasons we are choosing to buy is because it helps us to be able to get a 5 year visa. We can also put the place on AirBnB when we travel for more than a month at a time. Not sure if renters have the same flexibility. Not sure, but I believe by renting the apartment, that opens up a bunch of potential tax write-offs back in the States. Lastly, although landlords are responsible for fixing things, to what standard and in what timeframe can vary dramatically.
– CDT (security deposit) is the way to go for foreigners. You’ll be asked a deposit from 3 to 10 months worth of rent, with an insurance company. That’s it. Save a lot of hassles otherwise. Nobody in Colombia wants to be a “fiador” (guarantor).
– As for buying, it’s a personal choice. Like someone told me once: for the same money, would you be able to buy something similar or better in a more stable country? So, yes, there are pros and cons.
Hi Jeff, good and informative reading as usual. With regard to the fiador requirement, if an individual chooses the CDT route, does the bank return these funds with interest at the end of the rental term?
Yes, the bank returns the funds with interest at the end of the rental term if no issues with the rental.
Hello. I am from the UK and house prices in Devon where I live are always on the rise. How does this compare now in Medillen ?
The prices continue to rise in Medellín in terms of pesos. New homes tend to increase in price each year by the inflation rate, if not more. I understand there hasn’t been a down year in Medellín for the real estate market in at least the past decade.
Thanks another good read Jeff.
It would be interesting to know the average number of days properties are available for sale until sold.
It would also be interesting to hear how successful tenants have been when taking their rent increase issues to their local municipality.
BC
Thanks. There was an article in the New York Times in 2015 that reported the average time to sell residential properties in Bogotá was 270 days – https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/09/realestate/real-estate-in-colombia.html. I also have talked to a few expats in El Poblado recently that have been trying to sell properties in El Poblado for over a year. And if you look on Espacio Urbano there is a HUGE number of properties for sale in El Poblado – 540 pages of properties in the El Poblado Zone – https://www.espaciourbano.com/Apartamentos_Venta_Zona2.asp?idciudad=10027&Ciudad=Medell%EDn%20Zona%202%20-%20El%20Poblado
Here’s an article (in Spanish last year) that said the time to sell new properties in Colombia had increased to 9 months – https://www.eltiempo.com/economia/sectores/tiempo-para-vender-vivienda-nueva-crece-en-colombia-227938
I will do some research and see what else I can find out about time to sell properties and possibly add to the article. I believe the long time to sell is likely another downside of buying. Clearly it takes much less time to buy than sell properties, which is something real estate agents are unlikely to tell you – https://medellinguru.com/real-estate-agents/
Nice post that should be required reading for foreigners moving to Medellin. We decided to rent as rents are so cheap and we also like the flexibility of renting.
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