KEY FACTS OF REAL ESTATE ACQUISITIONS UNDER COLOMBIAN LAW -

1. Standard Forms of Agreements to buy and sell Real Estate:

Despite the existence of different type of agreements to make real estate transactions in Colombia, the most common forms of agreements used to acquire real estate properties are the promise to sale and purchase agreement and the sale and purchase agreement.

1.1 Promise to Sale and Purchase Agreement (Promesa de Compraventa) -

Considering that there are some formalities to acquire real estate properties in Colombia and the need of the parties to be bound by a legal document, regularly the parties enter first into the promise to sale and purchase agreement. Under this agreement, the parties set the terms and conditions agreed by them to do the transaction of purchase and sale of the property, and the buyer paid a percentage of the price agreed as a down payment of the transaction. Under the promise to sale and purchase agreement, the seller promise to sell, and the buyer promise to purchase the property when some conditions are fulfilled, normally when a specific date arrived, depending on the complexity of the transaction.