Key takeaways
- Annual predial runs from 0.3 to 1.2 percent of cadastral value depending on the municipality, and the rate and the exact amount owed are published by that municipality's treasury.
- The seller pays: all paz y salvos listed above, any outstanding mortgage cancellation, the beneficencia stamp in practice split by local custom, and the capital gains tax, charged at 15 percent when the property was held for two years or more.
- Use the cadastral number for anything municipal and the registry number for anything registry-related.
- About 2 percent of the price: notary 0.27 percent, registry 0.67 percent and beneficencia 1 percent, plus the lawyer's fee.
Four clearances are normally collected before the escritura is signed: the property tax paz y salvo from the municipality, the valorización paz y salvo (where the municipality levies it), the administración paz y salvo from the building or condominium, and the utilities paz y salvo. The seller pays all of them.
A paz y salvo is a one-line statement from whoever can claim money against the property, saying nothing is owed up to a stated date. The notary will not draft a deed without the tax ones, and the registry will not be kind to you later if an unpaid charge surfaces. The rule that governs who pays is simple: debts attached to the property belong to the seller up to the date of the deed, and to the buyer from that date forward.
Which clearances are collected before the deed
Impuesto predial (property tax). Issued by the municipality where the property sits, Guatapé or El Peñol, from the treasury or hacienda office, using the cadastral number. This is the one the notary demands. Note that El Marial and La Cristalina are in El Peñol, not Guatapé, even though they sit on the Guatapé side of the water, so you request from the correct municipality. Annual predial runs from 0.3 to 1.2 percent of cadastral value depending on the municipality, and the rate and the exact amount owed are published by that municipality's treasury.
Valorización. A contribution charged against properties benefiting from public works. Not every municipality has an open valorización on every parcel, but you ask the same treasury office whether one is registered against the cadastral number, and if so, get the paz y salvo or written confirmation that none applies.
Administración. Applies to apartments, condominiums, parcelaciones and any property inside a horizontal property regime. The administrator issues it. Read the date carefully: it must cover up to the month of closing, and you should also ask in writing whether an extraordinary assessment (cuota extraordinaria) has been voted but not yet billed. Those are not debts yet, so they will not show on the paz y salvo, and they can still land on you.
Utilities. Electricity, water and, where billed, gas and internet. In rural parcels the water may come from an acueducto veredal, a community water board with its own quotas and its own clearance. Ask who bills the water before you assume it is a utility company.
Two more documents belong in the same pile even though they are not paz y salvos: the certificate of tradition and freedom, requested with the registry number, which shows the registered owner, mortgages, liens and encumbrances, and the land-use certificate from the municipality's territorial plan. A clean title does not by itself mean a house can be built. If the property involved tree felling, a dock, a septic system or water capture, ask for the CORNARE permits and for confirmation that no sanction process is open against the parcel.
Who pays what
The seller pays: all paz y salvos listed above, any outstanding mortgage cancellation, the beneficencia stamp in practice split by local custom, and the capital gains tax, charged at 15 percent when the property was held for two years or more.
The buyer pays: closing costs of roughly 2 percent of the price, made up of notary 0.27 percent, registry 0.67 percent and beneficencia 1 percent, plus the lawyer's fee. Notary fees are commonly split between the parties by agreement, but the registry cost follows the buyer because the buyer is the one being registered.
Whoever's name is on the bill from the deed date forward pays the utilities, so transfer the accounts the week of closing rather than the month after.
Get it in writing in the promesa de compraventa. The promesa should name each clearance, say the seller delivers them current to the date of the escritura, and say what happens if one is missing. Closing normally takes 30 to 45 days once the deal is agreed, which is enough time to collect all of them without rushing.
How to check each one yourself
Use the cadastral number for anything municipal and the registry number for anything registry-related. You can request the certificate of tradition and freedom yourself rather than relying on the seller's copy, and you should: a copy dated three months ago tells you nothing about last week.
For the municipal items, go to the treasury office of the correct municipality with the cadastral number and ask for the estado de cuenta, not just the paz y salvo. The estado de cuenta shows the history; the paz y salvo shows one date. For the administración, ask for the last three months of minutes along with the clearance.
Dates matter more than anything else here. A paz y salvo issued in March is worthless at a June closing. Set the rule in the promesa that every clearance must be dated within the days immediately before signing, and have your lawyer confirm each one at the notary table before you sign anything. Until the deed is registered, you are not the owner against third parties, so the gap between signing and registration is exactly when an unpaid charge becomes your problem.
Frequently asked questions
Who pays the paz y salvo debts, buyer or seller?
The seller. Any charge attached to the property up to the date of the escritura is the seller's: property tax, valorización, administración fees and utilities. From the deed date forward, those same charges belong to the buyer.
What does the buyer pay at closing in Guatapé?
About 2 percent of the price: notary 0.27 percent, registry 0.67 percent and beneficencia 1 percent, plus the lawyer's fee. Notary costs are often split by agreement between the parties, but registry follows the buyer.
How recent must a paz y salvo be?
Dated within the days immediately before signing. A clearance from three months ago proves nothing about today. Write the freshness requirement into the promesa de compraventa and have each document confirmed at the notary table before you sign.
Does a paz y salvo mean the title is clean?
No. A paz y salvo only shows that a specific creditor is owed nothing. Mortgages, liens and encumbrances appear on the certificate of tradition and freedom, requested with the registry number. You need both documents.
Which municipality issues the predial paz y salvo for a lakeside property?
Whichever municipality the parcel legally sits in. El Marial and La Cristalina are in El Peñol, not Guatapé, despite sitting on the Guatapé side of the water. Confirm the municipality from the cadastral record, not from directions.
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.