What I Wish I Knew Before Buying Real Estate in Medellín
Written by Ana Zapata, AIA
Maybe it starts with a walk through Provenza. You’re on your second visit to Medellín, drinking a perfectly balanced tinto at a sidewalk café, looking up at the mountains and thinking: What if I stayed?
Maybe you’re dreaming of a place to escape the winters. Or imagining an investment that could return a great ROI — where the cost of entry is lower, and the lifestyle is richer.
Whatever brings you here, something clicks. You find yourself browsing listings. Talking to expats. Thinking in square meters. You start picturing a deck with that view. A second home. A rental. A foothold in a city that feels like it’s on the edge of something big.
Medellín has that effect on people.
It’s beautiful. Energetic. Full of rhythm and possibility.
And the real estate? there are many properties with potential.
But the process? That’s where things start to shift.
You start with good intentions. You talk to an agent. You compare neighborhoods. You read blogs, ask around, run the numbers. Everything feels like it’s moving forward — until it doesn’t.
The systems don’t mirror the ones you know. The rules feel blurry. The answers you get are often vague or conflicting.
You start hearing “this is just how it’s done here” — and you’re left wondering if you’re the only one confused.
That was me.
I’m an architect. I’ve lived most of my life in the U.S., but I was born here, in Medellín. My partner and I have purchased property before. We thought we were prepared — familiar with timelines, contracts, expectations.
But buying property in Colombia humbled us.
Even with experience, even speaking the language, we were surprised by what we didn’t know. The structure we expected wasn’t there — and we had to learn how to navigate a process built more on relationships than regulations.
I wrote this guide to share what we learned — not from theory, but from lived experience.
To give you the clarity I wish I’d had.
To translate between systems, cultures, and expectations.
And to help you navigate this process with more confidence and far fewer surprises.
What’s Inside This Guide:
Our Story: The Moment Everything Shifted
What You Need to Know Before You Buy
Six Critical Lessons for Foreign Buyers
Renovating with ROI in Mind
Final Thoughts + How I Can Help
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