Withholdings and taxes at closing: what is settled when buying a serviced lot in Bocagrande

Closing is not a single payment: different taxes are settled with different authorities, and some are withheld by someone who is not a party to the deal. The nature of the property changes what gets settled, which is why the closing list for a lot is not the closing list for an unit under propiedad horizontal.

The question that really decides money is not how much, but who settles it and what happens if it was settled wrongly. The notaría withholds and declares in the deed whatever the law tells it to; the registry office charges its own fees to record the transfer; the District answers for the impuesto predial (annual property tax) and for any contribución de valorización (betterment levy) attached to the land; and the DIAN is the authority that states, according to the nature and the intended use of the property, which withholding applies to the transaction and who is obliged to apply it. When what you are buying is a serviced lot, that answer shifts: undeveloped land, an unit under propiedad horizontal and a property destined for a commercial activity are not settled the same way. And what was left unpaid in the past does not stay with the seller: the land arrives with its own history, which is why the paz y salvo (clearance certificate) is requested before signing and not after.

A serviced lot is bought differently because what you acquire is a capacity to build, not a built thing. The value sits in what the rules allow on that specific parcel and in the state of the surrounding development, not in what you see on a site visit, which looks much the same on every lot of the block. Three consequences follow. First, the folio tends to be young, since it was created by splitting a larger parent parcel, so the useful history lives in that parent folio and in how areas, roads and public land dedications were divided. Second, the developer does not vanish with the sale: if water, sewer, road or green- area works are still unbuilt, or obligaciones urbanísticas (duties owed to the city by the developer) are still outstanding, there remains a counterparty, and it is worth knowing who answers for them and against what security. Third, the asset produces nothing until it is built on, while still generating impuesto predial, development dues and the cost of watching over empty land. For a buyer abroad, a lot also means a permit process and a construction job run from Colombia, by someone authorized to sign.

Bocagrande works like a mature resale market, with consequences that do not repeat up north. The counterparty is almost never a builder: it is a long-standing owner or, very often, an unsettled sucesión, an estate proceeding, whose heirs live in different countries, so closing depends not on one power of attorney but on several, and on the partition among them. The registry record is old too: it was opened when the building was submitted to the condominium regime, it carries legacy entries such as cancelled mortgages, patrimonio de familia and afectación a vivienda familiar, both family-home protections, or lifted attachments, and the recorded area does not always match a current survey, so you compare the registry record against the deed and against the unit's floor plan. The peninsula is also land reclaimed from the sea under subdivisions the District authorized in their day, and the oldest deeds still carry references to those parcelaciones, the original platting. Day-to-day power sits with the owners' assembly and its manager, so in a tower with a long record of decisions the minutes and the status of the condominium's lawsuits matter more than the brochure.

What is specific to Bocagrande

What to verify, step by step

1. Ask the DIAN which withholdings and which taxes are settled on a sale like yours, who is obliged to apply them and at what point in the closing. The answer depends on the nature of the property and on the seller's status, not on what the parties agree.
2. What the nature of a serviced lot forces you to check before accepting the closing statement: whether the lot has been split out with its own matrícula inmobiliaria or still sits inside a larger undivided parcel; what the rules let you build on that specific lot —use, height, setbacks, ground coverage— and whether the licencia de urbanismo is current and which obligaciones urbanísticas (developer duties owed to the city) are still outstanding and whether they pass to the buyer, since they fall due before you can build.
3. Ask the District for the paz y salvo on the impuesto predial and for the status of any betterment levy on the property in Bocagrande, recently dated and issued against the registry folio rather than against the seller's name.
4. Order the certificado de tradición y libertad from the Superintendencia de Notariado y Registro and read whether any attachment, mortgage or encumbrance is still to be released, because that is cleared before the transfer can be recorded.
5. Ask the building manager for the paz y salvo on ordinary dues and on approved special assessments, and ask whether any has been approved but not yet billed.
6. Ask the notaría for the closing statement in writing before signing, with each item listed separately and with the authority each one goes to, and have your accountant review it before you transfer.

Mistakes that cost money

• Negotiating who pays what without knowing who is legally obliged to withhold. Splitting costs between the parties does not displace the statutory duty, and the shortfall shows up in the deed or at recording.
• Requesting the clearance certificate in the seller's name. It is the land that is charged: ask for it against the matrícula inmobiliaria (registry folio).
• Treating signature as the end of the closing. Until the deed is recorded, anything still unsettled keeps holding up registration.

Frequently asked questions

Why do you not publish what closing costs?

Because rates and taxable bases change, and because they depend on the nature of the property and on the seller's status. The actual statement comes from the notaría in writing and is confirmed by the DIAN.

Does anything change if I buy a serviced lot rather than something else?

What gets settled, and with whom. That is why the first step is to ask the DIAN about your specific transaction, with the property's intended use on the table.

Who do I ask for the clearance certificate?

Property tax and betterment levy, the District; dues, the condominium manager; and the state of encumbrances, the certificado de tradición y libertad.

Where to check it

• DIAN — the tax ID, withholding on sale and the capital gains tax
• Alcaldía Mayor de Cartagena de Indias — property tax, betterment levies and District procedures
• Superintendencia de Notariado y Registro — the certificate of title and encumbrances, which is the property's full history
• Cartagena de Indias — the rules of the municipality Bocagrande belongs to

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

Updated 2026-11-06