Key takeaways
- Request the certificate with the registry number (matrícula inmobiliaria) and read the whole chain.
- Three siblings holding 75 percent can sell you 75 percent, which is almost useless: you would be a co-owner beside a stranger, with no exclusive right to any part of the land and no ability to build or mortgage without agreement.
- Closing normally takes 30 to 45 days, so start the poder the day the promesa de compraventa is signed.
- The others can pursue a división material or, where the land cannot sensibly be split, a court-ordered sale by public auction.
- Once you own 100 percent, annual property tax runs 0.3 to 1.2 percent of cadastral value and capital gains are 15 percent after two years or more.
If the finca you are buying is held by two or more people, every co-owner must sign the escritura, in person or through a notarised power of attorney, and one refusal stops the sale. Check the certificate of tradition and freedom first: it lists each registered owner and the share each one holds.
This is the most common reason a Guatapé or El Peñol finca deal collapses after the deposit is paid. There is no mortgage, no embargo, no unresolved sucesión. The title simply belongs to four siblings, three want to sell, and the fourth lives abroad and does not answer messages.
Spotting co-ownership
Request the certificate with the registry number (matrícula inmobiliaria) and read the whole chain. Co-ownership shows up as:
- a single deed to several buyers, each with a percentage (often "en común y proindiviso");
- an inheritance adjudication splitting the property among heirs;
- partial transfers, such as a 25 percent interest sold to somebody else;
- a marital property liquidation that left both former spouses on title.
Fractions, percentages or "derechos y acciones" mean you are assembling signatures.
Why a majority cannot sell
Colombian law treats undivided co-ownership as individual ownership of a share, not a company where a majority binds everyone. Three siblings holding 75 percent can sell you 75 percent, which is almost useless: you would be a co-owner beside a stranger, with no exclusive right to any part of the land and no ability to build or mortgage without agreement. They cannot transfer the whole. The notary will not authorise it and the registry will reject it.
"Derechos y acciones" listings are cheaper for a reason. A finca in Guatapé and El Peñol typically asks around US$460,000, and a low price on a 30 hectare parcel is a minority stake in a dispute. It makes sense only if you already own the rest or hold commitments from every other co-owner to sell at the same closing.
A co-owner abroad
This is fixable. The owner signs a poder especial at the nearest Colombian consulate, naming someone in Colombia to sign. It must identify the property, state the minimum price and the act authorised; a generic power will be rejected. Closing normally takes 30 to 45 days, so start the poder the day the promesa de compraventa is signed. A poder signed before a foreign notary needs an apostille and an official translation, adding weeks. Powers can be revoked at any moment, so verify validity the same day.
A co-owner who refuses
The others can pursue a división material or, where the land cannot sensibly be split, a court-ordered sale by public auction. It takes years and ends in an auction. Do not fund it: no deposit against a promise to sort out the holdout, and no arras structure where your money waits while someone persuades a relative. Walk, or wait until every signature is secured.
Structuring the promesa
- Name every co-owner as a seller, with cédula and share. Someone missing from the promesa is not bound by it.
- Each signs personally or through an executed poder.
- Annex a certificate issued within the last 30 days.
- Make the deposit fully refundable, not forfeit arras, if any seller fails to appear.
- Fix the notary, date and hour.
- Have your own lawyer review it. Closing costs are about 2 percent of the price (notary 0.27 percent, registry 0.67 percent, beneficencia 1 percent) plus the legal fee.
Taxes after transfer
Once you own 100 percent, annual property tax runs 0.3 to 1.2 percent of cadastral value and capital gains are 15 percent after two years or more. In a fractional purchase, an unpaid share of the predial attaches to the property, not the person who failed to pay. See the legal guide buying property colombia.
A finca in Guatapé and El Peñol starts around US$171,000. None of that money should move until the signature count is complete.
How we knowFigures as of October 13, 2026. Prices: active listings we verified ourselves; USD rate: TRM 3,181.74 COP per US$1, valid October 14, 2026 (Banco de la República, via datos.gov.co).
Frequently asked questions
Can three of four co-owners sell me the property?
They can sell their 75 percent share but not the property. To acquire the whole, every registered co-owner must sign the escritura.
Can a co-owner abroad sign?
Yes, through a poder especial at a Colombian consulate, identifying the property, the minimum price and the act authorised.
How do I find out how many owners there are?
Request the certificate of tradition and freedom with the registry number and read the full chain of entries.
What does "derechos y acciones" mean?
The seller is offering a fractional interest, not the property. It only makes sense if you control the remaining shares.
What if one co-owner refuses?
The others can seek a court-ordered división or auction, which takes years. Do not pay a deposit against that risk.
Who wrote this
Real estate broker · writes for the network · Real estate broker, Guatapé and eastern Antioquia. Specializing in Guatapé and El Peñol, Antioquia, Colombia. Founder of Mike Zapata Real Estate and the guide behind the Guatapé Properties and Guatapé Finca Raíz portals.