New Build or Resale in Medellín? Risks and Protections Compared

Walk through Medellín and you'll see two kinds of property for sale. One is the sales room (sala de ventas) for a tower that's still a hole in the ground, selling sobre planos (off-plan) with a payment schedule that runs through construction. The other is the resale apartment in a building with years of history, sold by an owner through an agent or a sign in the window. Both can be good buys. They fail in different ways, and Colombian law protects you differently in each. This guide compares the two side by side so you can match the risks to your situation.

The core trade-off

Put simply, new builds swap history risk for completion risk, and resales do the reverse.

• With an off-plan purchase, you can't inspect what you're buying. You're relying on a developer to finish a project, on time and to spec, while your money sits somewhere in the meantime. Once it's built, though, the title is fresh and the building has no maintenance backlog.
• With a resale, you can walk through the unit, read the building's minutes and talk to neighbors. But the property comes with decades of paperwork, past owners, possible debts and whatever maintenance the building has put off.

Neither is safer in the abstract. The question is which set of risks you can check, and which protections you'll actually use.

What can go wrong with a new build

• Delays. Projects can finish later than the sales brochure promised. If you're timing a move, a visa or a lease around delivery, a delay costs you more than patience.
• Changes in specifications. Finishes, layouts, amenities or common areas can differ from the renders. What counts as a permitted change depends on your contract.
• Area differences. The delivered unit's area should match what you bought. Check how the contract defines area and what happens if it differs.
• The project doesn't go ahead. If sales or financing fall short, a project can be delayed for a long time or cancelled. How your deposits were held decides how easily you get them back.
• Currency exposure across installments. Off-plan purchases are often paid in installments during construction. If you're converting from dollars or euros, each payment lands at a different exchange rate (see peso risk).
• Unknown neighbors and management. A new building has no track record, no assembly history and no established budget. The first years of administración are partly a guess.

How new builds protect you: fiducia, licenses and the 10-year amparo

The fiducia during pre-sales

In off-plan sales, buyers' deposits are commonly paid to a regulated fiduciary company (sociedad fiduciaria) rather than straight to the developer. They're typically released only if the conditions in the fiduciary contract are met. Those conditions matter far more than the word "fiducia" in a brochure. Our guide to what the fiducia actually protects goes through them. At a minimum, get the fiduciary contract itself and ask:

• Which fiduciary company holds the funds, and is the account in a structure tied to this specific project?
• What conditions must be met before the money goes to the developer?
• What happens to your money, and on what timeline, if those conditions aren't met?
• Once funds are released, what protects you between that point and delivery?

The construction license and technical supervision

Ask for the project's construction license (licencia de construcción) and check that what's being sold matches it. Colombia's safe-housing law, Ley 1796 de 2016, also brought in independent technical supervision: a professional independent of the builder checks that construction follows the structural designs and the license. At the end, the supervisor issues a Certificado Técnico de Ocupación (CTO), under oath, confirming that supervision happened and that the building matches the approved plans and license.

The 10-year amparo against ruin

This is the most important new-build protection many foreign buyers have never heard of. Under Article 8 of Ley 1796, regulated by Decreto 282 de 2019, the builder or seller of new housing must cover owners' financial losses if, within 10 years of the CTO, the building collapses or threatens total or partial ruin because of defects in materials, structural design, the geotechnical study or the construction of the foundation or structure. A guide published by the builders' association CAMACOL with the Superintendencia Financiera adds these details:

• It applies to new housing projects of five or more units sold to buyers, and it's mandatory for building licenses filed after December 31, 2021.
• The builder can back it with its own assets placed in a guarantee trust, with a bank guarantee, or with a 10-year (decenal) insurance policy.
• The mechanism must be set up within 10 business days after the CTO is issued.
• The sale deed must state the guarantor, the amount covered and the term, with proof attached. The registry office won't register the deed without it.
• It doesn't cover everything. Exclusions include poor maintenance, modifications made after the CTO, contents and external events such as fire or earthquake.

What can go wrong with a resale

• Title problems. A broken chain of ownership, an embargo, a mortgage, a family-housing restriction or an unfinished inheritance. Colombia has no title insurance to fall back on.
• Debts that follow the property. Medellín's tax statute treats predial as a charge on the property itself, and Ley 675 de 2001 makes old and new owners jointly liable for unpaid building fees. See predial and administración.
• Unpermitted changes. Enclosed balconies, merged units or added mezzanines that don't match the license or the registered area. Our renovation guide covers permits.
• Building age and deferred maintenance. Elevators, façades, waterproofing and pumps all wear out. If the building has put off repairs, owners pay through extraordinary assessments (cuotas extraordinarias) approved by the assembly.
• Seller authority. The person selling must be the registered owner, or properly authorized, and all co-owners must take part.
• Price opacity. Without public sale data, asking prices can drift far from reality. See negotiating with no public sale data.

How resales protect you: the paper trail

A resale's protections are mostly things you do rather than things the law hands you:

• The title study by an independent lawyer, built on a fresh certificado de tradición y libertad. Our annotated certificado guide shows what it reveals.
• Paz y salvos for predial and administración before the deed. Medellín requires proof of predial payment before a transfer deed is notarized, and the notary asks for the building's paz y salvo.
• The building's records: assembly minutes, the annual budget, the reserve fund, and any approved or proposed extraordinary fees.
• A physical inspection by someone qualified, with extra care on hillside sites (see slope and structural due diligence).
• A strong promesa de compraventa that ties your deposit to clear conditions. See promesa red flags.

If the building is recent enough, ask whether a 10-year amparo exists for it, and when its term started.

Side-by-side comparison

Getting the money route right, especially for installments

Whichever you choose, how your money enters Colombia matters. Banco de la República says that when foreign-investment funds are channeled through an authorized exchange intermediary and the investment details are reported, the exchange declaration serves as the registration. It also warns that its alternative registration route doesn't apply to funds that should have been channeled that way and weren't. Off-plan buyers face this decision with every installment, not just once. Read our guide to wiring money for a purchase before the first payment.

Questions to ask before you commit

For a developer

• Can I see the construction license and confirm it covers this unit as sold?
• Which fiduciary company holds deposits, and can I read the full fiduciary contract?
• What are the release conditions, and what happens to my money if they aren't met?
• What does the contract allow you to change in finishes, layout or area, and what are my remedies?
• What's the delivery date, and what does the contract say if you miss it?
• Who is the independent technical supervisor, and how will the 10-year amparo be provided?
• What's the estimated administración, and how was it calculated?

For a resale seller

• Can my lawyer pull a fresh certificado de tradición now, and again before the deed?
• Are predial and administración fully paid, with paz y salvos available?
• Can I see the last few years of assembly minutes and the current budget?
• Have any extraordinary fees been approved or proposed?
• Does the unit match the license and the registered area, including any balconies or additions?
• Are all owners signing, and is any power of attorney current and verifiable?

Our buying process overview shows where each step fits in the timeline.

Frequently asked questions

This article is general information for property buyers. It is not legal, tax or financial advice. Protections depend on the specific project, contract and dates involved, so have an independent Colombian lawyer review the documents before you pay anything. Affiliate disclosure: the Wise link above is an affiliate link, and we may earn a commission if you use it, at no extra cost to you.