Buying off-plan through a fiducia: which account receives the money and what the break-even point is

In Colombian pre-sales the buyer's money should not go into the developer's own till but into a patrimonio autónomo (an autonomous trust estate) run by a sociedad fiduciaria, a licensed trust company. Who receives the transfer, and on what condition it is released, is the difference between a deposit and a loss.

Real estate fiducia exists so that money raised during pre-sales stays separate from the developer's own assets and is applied to the works only once the contract's conditions are met. The main one is the punto de equilibrio (break-even point): the set of facts the trust defines as sufficient to begin, typically a sales level, the building permit and the financing in place. Until it is reached the project does not start and the money stays in the trust estate. What happens if it is never reached, and on what terms what you paid comes back, is stated in the contract you sign on joining — not by the sales office.

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 exact name of the patrimonio autónomo and of the sociedad fiduciaria administering it, and confirm the trust company is supervised by the Superintendencia Financiera before you transfer anything.
2. Match the account number you were given against the one in the trust subscription document. If they differ, do not transfer.
3. Ask for the contract or regulation that defines the punto de equilibrio and read exactly which facts make it up.
4. Ask what becomes of your money if the break-even point is never reached: who orders the refund, in which currency and with what deductions.
5. Check with the curaduría whether the building permit has been issued and is current, and check the folio for who owns the contributed land.
6. If transferring from abroad, confirm with the Banco de la República which channel the funds must use for the investment to be registered.

Mistakes that cost money

• Transferring to an account in the name of the developer, a sales agent or an individual. Outside the trust estate the money stops being segregated.
• Treating the break-even point as a date. It is a condition, and it may never be met without anyone having breached anything.
• Trusting that refunds are automatic. The procedure and its terms are in the document, and you read them before the first transfer.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know the trust company is real?

Sociedades fiduciarias are supervised by the Superintendencia Financiera and appear in its register of entities. Look the name up there, not in the sales material.

What happens to my money if the project never starts?

Whatever the trust subscription contract provides. That is the clause to read before paying a reservation.

Does the fiducia guarantee I get the apartment?

No. It segregates the money and conditions its use, which is not the same as guaranteeing delivery. Completion of the works answers to a different set of obligations.

Can I join the trust from outside Colombia?

Usually yes, but the trust company runs its own onboarding due diligence and will ask for identity and source-of-funds documents. Ask it directly what it requires in your case.

Where to check it

• Superintendencia de Notariado y Registro — the certificate of title and encumbrances, which is the property's full history
• Curadurías Urbanas de Cartagena — whether a current building or subdivision permit exists and exactly what it authorises
• Banco de la República — registration of foreign investment and the official exchange rate
• UIAF — the anti-money-laundering obligations that apply to the real estate sector
• Ventanilla Única de Registro (VUR) — checking the registry folio online and ordering the certificate without visiting the office
• 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