Why invest in Colombian Property

Once you dig in more into the topic of Colombian Real Estate you will observe a massive price difference in comparison to real estate in other countries e.g. if you compare for example a purchasing a penthouse apartment in Cali, Colombia, or one in Europe. In some cases, the prices are even underselling the construction cost which would be unimaginable in countries like France, Italy, or Hong Kong.

With the right management and work, both short-term and long-term rentals can yield profitable returns for investors. One of the great benefits of becoming a real estate investor in Colombia is that your purchase can qualify you for a Colombian residency visa. It is worth noting that if you are aiming to make a simple investment in Colombia, buying real estate in your own name is the best way to go for. Incorporating a company to help with management is worth considering if you are interested in buying a few properties to rent out. Again, you can only achieve a Colombian residency visa with property purchased in your name.

Hiring a good lawyer is the most important step for foreign real estate buyers in Colombia. Don't forget that there is no Title Insurance or Escrow in Colombia. Make sure you find a Colombian lawyer that has a concrete and clear idea of real estate law and holds this process to rigorous standards.

Who we are

Premier Casa Colombia specializes in sales and rentals of residential properties throughout Colombia. We provide the highest standards of quality and integrity in all transactions related to property sales, management, and advisory services. Our reputation for uncompromising professionalism in everything we do is earned day to day by serving our clients and earning their trust.

Premier Casa Colombia has an extensive and growing inventory of properties available for sale throughout the country including:

• Beach properties
• Vacation rentals
• Luxury apartments

Real Estate Sales

Purchasing real estate in Colombia is relatively straightforward.When buying real estate in Colombia here are four basic points to remember:

• There are no restrictions on foreign buyers, whether or not they are residents;

• Real Estate gains and earnings from Colombia can be repatriated to your home country.

• A Colombian corporation can be set up fairly easily for buying and holding real estate if that fits your needs.

• Colombia's processes tracking property titles, recording liens, and encumbrances against property titles have a solid legal structure.

Where to buy real estate in Colombia

Cartagena

Cartagena offers excellent opportunities for buying or renting property for a vacation or extended stays.

Located on the northern Caribbean coast of Colombia, Cartagena is one of Colombia's top tourist attractions for both national and international tourists. The Old Spanish colonial walled city has been beautifully restored. Cartagena was once one of Spain's most important South American outposts and seaports and still is a major seaport today.

The Cartagena real estate and vacation rental market has been growing significantly with new condominium projects, hotels, and malls. Cartagena is one of Colombia's premier property markets for investing along with the Medellin real estate market.

Cartagena's historic city center remains an architectural gem full of history, culture, and art, along with great restaurants and nightlife. Cartagena is a multicolored jewel with a population that reflects its colorful Caribbean roots rich in art, music, history, and great food.

Since no new constructions are allowed in the old city, it is a prime tourist attraction and there is high demand for the limited supply of rentals and real estate in Cartagena's old city.

Cartagena is also being mentioned in many international publications that have taken notice of the city as a leading destination for tourists and as a retirement and ex-pat destination. With a steady increase of international visitors per year coming to Colombia, it is a great time to look at Cartagena real estate for investment.

Historic homes in the charming city center are a major tourist attraction and an excellent option for Real Estate investors or those looking for a rich cultural lifestyle in a historic setting.

The white sand Caribbean beaches are another great allure of Cartagena. The Bocagrande neighborhood offers a dream retirement lifestyle or real estate investment opportunities with the modern beachfront and ocean-view condominiums on Cartagena's tropical beaches. Bocagrande is built on a narrow peninsula stretching into the Caribbean and is home to many modern hotels and condos, which offer investment opportunities for short-term rental income with vacation rentals.

Cartagena enjoys a tropical climate, with average daytime temperatures in the low 30sC (mid-80sF) and nighttime lows in the mid-20sC (mid-70sF). Humidity averages 90%, but Caribbean breezes help moderate the humidity and temperatures. December through March are the driest and coolest months.

Cartagena Neighborhoods for Real Estate rentals and purchases

Cartagena's Old City: Also called Centro Historico, a walled city center steeped in colonial history and charm. Picturesque plazas and parks, shady streets, Spanish colonial architecture, boutique cafes, restaurants, and cultural sites are everywhere in these two barrios of San Diego and Centro. The historic center of Cartagena becomes absolutely magical with the horse-drawn carriages which fill the old city streets as the sun sets and the city lights up the night sky.

The Old City offers some beautiful houses in need of renovation for sale, as well as a nice offering of fully renovated turnkey apartments and condominiums available for purchase.

Bocagrande is the neighborhood with the most modern tourist facilities, beach access, and ocean views all along the Malecon (embankment) and bay. Bocagrande occupies a long narrow peninsula between El Laguito and the historic old city with the Caribbean on one side and Cartagena Bay on the residential side. High-rise condo apartment buildings and hotels with ocean and bay view balconies are a big draw, both for tourists seeking vacation rentals and real estate investors. Recently new shopping malls have opened at each end of the beachfront. Five major hotels are have recently opened (Intercontinental; Sheraton; Hyatt Regency; Estelar; and the Iberostar bringing more tourists to Cartagena.

El Laguito (or "Little Lake") is a smaller popular tourist and residential area. home to the Cartagena Hilton Hotel and the Hotel Caribe El Laguito. This area also offers lower apartment rental and purchase prices than Bocagrande. El Laguito has some new apartment buildings and vacation rentals, which offer excellent value. El Laguito, with its older water-front and bay-front buildings with excellent views, offers opportunities to buy apartments for affordable prices that only need some remodeling and renovation resulting in very nice short-term and vacation rental properties. This small district has good restaurants, nightlife, and shopping, and it's only a 10-15 minute taxi ride to the Old City.

Castillogrande and Manga are the top upscale residential neighborhoods, with many impressive new high-rise apartment complexes along both the bayfront side of Castillogrande and the beachfront side of this long narrow peninsula which is 12 blocks long and only 2-3 blocks wide.

Just across Cartagena Bay is Manga, lined with marinas all the way to the cruise ship and container port, with new high-rise apartment buildings along the bayfront, offering unbelievable views across the bay to Bocagrande / Castillogrande.

The North Zone is located to the north of Cartagena's historic city is a very popular area for a vacation beach home for many Colombian owners from colder Medellin and Bogota who love their beach holidays. Going north of Cartagena's historic Old City toward the airport town of Crespo, along the oceanfront you pass Cabrero and Marbella all three are affordable residential neighborhoods. The rapidly developing beachfront area of La Boquilla has dozens of new residential high-rise apartment complexes, plus the new Radisson Hotel, the Holiday Inn, the Sonesta Hotel, and the large Las Americas Beach Resort with new tower and convention center, La Boquilla is only about 10-15 minutes by taxi to the Old City and about 20 minutes to Bocagrande.

Real estate rentals

Vacation Rentals in Cartagena, Colombia

Cartagena, Colombia is becoming an increasingly popular tourist destination for Europeans and North Americans, and vacation rental property is in high demand throughout the year. Take a quick look at some of Cartagena, Colombia's vacation rental properties available to book through our website, and contact us to make your reservation today or for more information. Also, take a look at our real estate sales listings for turnkey vacation rental property investment opportunities.

History of Colombia

History of Cartagena

Cartagena de Indias (the full name of old the historic city) was founded on an area that had been inhabited by indigenous peoples since 4000 B.C., with tombs left filled with gold artifacts, which were plundered by Spanish settlers. It was founded by Spain on June 1, 1533, and the area of Cartagena became a major trade center for gold and silver from South America and African slaves.

Cartagena's wealth made it an attractive target for pirates, and its position made it vulnerable to attack. The English pirate Sir Francis Drake took the city in 1586 and the Spanish governor had to pay ransom to get it back. After that, the Spanish crown began to invest heavily in protecting it and fortifying the city. In the late 17thi Century, Cartagena was captured twice more, prompting the Spanish to spend the next 200 years building the fortifications that remain visible and prominent today.

Cartagena became wealthy under Spanish rule, through the trade in gold and silver mined in South America. Cartagena also had an active slave trade. Cartagena was one of the most prominent cities in the Spanish empire as the home to royalty and viceroys charged with administering the colonial empire. Cartagena suffered years of war, blockades, and sieges after declaring independence in 1811. Without the subsidies of the Spanish crown to help it rebuild, the city declined dramatically in wealth and population. In the 1880s, the city began a slow recovery. Colonial Cartagena was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984.

Premier Casa has a real estate buyer's agent in Cartagena who can help you find the best property to suit your needs. Contact us if you have a property for sale or rent in Cartagena or Colombia we can offer full-service rental management or real estate sales service.

Feel free to browse through our Cartagena and Colombia real estate listings.

Bogota, the Capital city of Colombia

Bogota sits at an elevation of about 8,650 feet in the high sierra, on a mountain-rimmed plateau. The 6.7-million residents of Bogota enjoy spring-like weather, with a seasonal temperature variation of less than 1° F.

Bogota has a broad appeal; the best areas lie to the north and east of Central. You'll find an exciting mix of small, quasi-independent municipalities with their own town centers, as well as zones of gleaming high rises surrounded by towering eucalyptus trees.

There is plenty of fine dining in renowned restaurants, chic cafes, shopping districts, and expansive parks. Usaquén, Rosales, and El Chico are some of the other popular zones surrounding Bogota.

There are real estate opportunities in all sectors of the property markets in Bogota.

Medellin

Medellin sits at 5,000 feet above sea level, with an ideal climate. The days that are pleasantly warm, and nights are agreeably cool.

Medellin is a modern, bustling city that has everything from mom-and-pop stores to large shopping malls. Modern high-rises lookout between towering eucalyptus trees, in lush green neighborhoods, but Medellin also offers clean, residential neighborhoods as wells the colonial-style historic center each with its own Lifestyle and ambiance.

Santa Marta

Colombia's oldest city is Santa Marta, located where the Caribbean meets the desert. The area referred to as "Santa Marta" usually refers to the region bounded by Taganga, which is five minutes north of the city to El Rodadero, which is about 10 minutes south. Santa Marta's coastline is actually facing westward, which treat you to treated to a dazzling nightly spectacle as the sun sinks into the sea, even though you're on the Atlantic.

Facts about Colombia

Figures & Facts About Cartagena:

• •Population of Cartagena: 895,400 (2007)
• •Metro Area Population: 1.24 million
• •Altitude: 2 meters (7 ft.)
• •International Airport: Rafael Núñez International Airport (CTG)
• •Currency: Colombian peso (COP)
• •Department (state): Capital city of Bolivar
• •Time Zone: UTC-5 hours (equivalent to EST in North America)
• •Average Temperature: 82F (28C)
• •Driest Months: Oct.–Nov
• •Rainiest Months: May–June
• Colombia's largest city: Bogota
• Bogota I soften referred to as the „Athens of South America" , has 58 museums, more than 150 art galleries, over 150 national monuments, 75 sports and attraction parks, 45 stage theaters and 33 library networks, and more than 500 hotels
• The church Zipaquira Salt Cathedral which is located near the town of Zipaquira ( about 30 miles from Bogota), is an alluring Roman Catholic church built underground within the tunnels of a salt mine that is about 650 feet underground
• Bogota has a museum, the so-called „Museo de Oro", the Spanish term for the " Gold Museum", which is home to a large selection of Pre-Hispanic goldwork, reportedly the largest collection in the world. With a collection of over 55,000 pieces, it has about 6,000 pieces on display

Doing Business in Colombia

One of Latin America's oldest democracies, Colombia has become an excellent example of a country reclaimed from conflict by dedication to the criminal justice system reforms and the rule of law.

Colombia has created stability and a much better business environment due to the desire of successive governments since the late 1990s to promote foreign investment and improve security. Law and order is a key element of society that has improved significantly making it a safer country to do business.

Economically, Colombia has seen a fivefold increase in direct foreign investment. Colombia is considered the leader of CIVET states, comprised of Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, and Turkey, considered the five most promising emerging economies in the world.

Since 1998, beginning with Plan Colombia, Colombia has entered into successive foreign aid partnerships with the United States, an alliance that has been instrumental in reforming Colombia into a safe and economically prosperous country.

Colombia's dramatic emergence as a thriving, democratic leader in Latin America is currently leading the way to significant security gains and capitalist-friendly investment rules. This is leading to an unprecedented oil and mining boom in Colombia. Colombia is now a leading pro-business country in Latin America. President Juan Manuel Santos, elected by a landslide in Aug 2010 as Colombia's president, has ushered a new chapter of continued economic growth for Colombia.

Today, Colombia has an excellent business environment and is a leading growth country in Latin America, according to the World Bank.

Colombia's stock market has been performing well. The country has taken its place as the "C" in the high-growth CIVETS states.

Increased stability politically and economically and significant growth in tourism has been taking place as many overseas visitors have come to Colombia and see how beautiful the country is without the fear of drug trafficking or crime that once held it back.

More quick facts about the country of Colombia:

• Major Cities: Bogota (capital), Cartagena (Tourist center), Medellin, Cali and Barranquilla.

• Language: Spanish, but English widely spoken in city tourist centers

• Currency: Colombian Peso (COP)

• Driving: Right-hand side of the road

• Calling Code: +57

• Time: GMT -5 (Eastern Standard Time in the USA)

• Main Industries: agriculture including export of fruits and flowers, Textiles, and natural gas and oil, chemicals, mining (coal, gold, and emeralds), and tourism.

For more information on investment property or real estate for sale and rent please contact us.