The promesa de compraventa in Colombia: which clauses decide the deal

The promesa de compraventa (a preliminary sale agreement) is the document that actually binds the deal, and it is almost always signed before the buyer has finished reviewing title. What it says about deadlines, arras and breach is what will govern if anything goes wrong.

The public deed is the end of the road; the promesa is where risk gets allocated. It sets who appears before the notary and on what date, what happens if the title review turns up an entry nobody mentioned, and how much money is held back while that is sorted out. It is also where the arras appear — a deposit that may be drafted as security for performance or as the price of walking away, which are not the same thing: one compels you to proceed, the other lets you exit by paying. For a buyer outside the country, the promesa is also the document that determines whether the power of attorney must exist before signing or can arrive later.

Cartagena is administered as a district rather than an ordinary municipality, and that determines whom you ask for what: the certificado de tradición y libertad, the registry history and encumbrance certificate, comes from the Oficina de Registro de Instrumentos Públicos, the public deeds registry; parcel identification from the cadastre; land-use certificates and building permits from the District and the curadurías urbanas, the private licensing offices; environmental matters from Cardique; anything touching the sea from DIMAR, the maritime authority; while the deed is executed before a notary and the registration tax is paid to the Gobernación de Bolívar, the department government. These are separate bodies with separate procedures, and a seller who folds them all into one office is simplifying. For a buyer abroad the practical consequence is that the file is assembled remotely and in pieces, with powers of attorney worth preparing before any purchase promise is signed, and that the city holds land realities that share no single procedure: the walled historic center under its protection regime, the built-out peninsula, and the northern shoreline still taking shape. So settle early on which authority answers which question, and request each document from its own source.

What is specific to Cartagena

What to verify, step by step

1. Ask for the draft promesa before transferring any money and read it alongside the certificado de tradición y libertad (the registry certificate of title and encumbrances), not separately.
2. Find how the arras are drafted and ask the lawyer assisting you what each wording does, because the clause heading does not always match its effect.
3. Check that the closing date and the notaría are stated precisely, and ask who bears the consequence if the appointment slips.
4. Confirm the promesa conditions signing on the title being in the state declared, and ask how that state is to be documented.
5. If you will not appear in person, ask the notaría what it requires of the power of attorney before you sign the promesa, not after.
6. Ask that the liens, attachments and restrictions the seller declares be listed in the document, and check them against the registry.

Mistakes that cost money

• Signing with the title review half done, trusting the breach clause to fix it. Recovering an agreed sum is litigation, not paperwork.
• Handing over the arras outside what the document describes, or into an account other than the one the promesa names.
• Assuming the promesa transfers something. It does not transfer ownership: it only obliges the parties to sign, and registration is what transfers ownership.

Frequently asked questions

Do I lose the arras if I walk away?

That depends entirely on how they were drafted. Ask your lawyer which form ended up in the document before signing, because afterwards it is no longer open to discussion.

Can I sign the promesa from abroad?

In practice it is done, by power of attorney or with a signature sent in, but the requirements are set by whoever will authorise the deed. Confirm with the notaría before committing to a date.

What if the seller does not show up to sign the deed?

Whatever the document provides for that case. Which is why the breach clause gets negotiated while you still hold the money, not after you have handed it over.

Where to check it

• Superintendencia de Notariado y Registro — the certificate of title and encumbrances, which is the property's full history
• Ventanilla Única de Registro (VUR) — checking the registry folio online and ordering the certificate without visiting the office
• Rama Judicial — whether there is pending litigation over the property or its owners
• UIAF — the anti-money-laundering obligations that apply to the real estate sector
• Cartagena de Indias — the rules of the municipality Cartagena belongs to

Official bodies. Specific figures are requested there, not copied from a listing.

Updated 2026-11-05