The short version
- Most problems are delays, defects and unwritten promises, not crimes. The same checks protect you from all of them.
- Verify the people, the documents and the work. Do not rely on one of the three.
- Link every payment to a stage that an independent person has verified.
- If a document is missing or a visit is refused, stop and ask before you pay again.
This guide is general technical information and not legal advice. Contracts, title and any legal claim must be handled by a licensed attorney in Colombia.
What the official figures show
Colombia’s consumer authority, the Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio (SIC), published figures for new housing. Between January 2024 and October 2025 it received 2,818 complaints and 3,255 consumer lawsuits. It sanctioned 38 developers for more than COP 5,777 million and issued 302 rulings in favour of buyers.
These figures do not measure fraud. They show that problems between buyers and builders are frequent enough to be a real risk, and that buyers who document their case can win.
Why foreign buyers are more exposed
Most foreign buyers pay cash, because they rarely qualify for a local mortgage. When a bank finances a purchase, it normally reviews the project before it lends. A cash buyer has no bank doing that review. If you also live abroad, nobody on your side sees the site.
The solution is not to distrust everyone. It is to put back the review that is missing.
Step 1: Verify who you are dealing with
- Ask for the legal documents of the company and of the person who signs for it. Your attorney reviews them.
- Ask which projects the company has finished, and visit one or have it visited.
- Ask who the designers and the site engineer are. Design and construction in Colombia must be signed by licensed professionals.
- Search for public information about sanctions or claims. Your attorney knows where to look.
Step 2: Verify the documents of the project
- Title of the land. Who owns it and whether it has liens or disputes. See our guide to buying property in Colombia.
- Building permit. The permit must exist, be valid and match what is being built. See building permits in Colombia.
- Designs. Architectural, structural and electrical drawings signed by the responsible professionals.
- Budget and schedule. A budget with quantities and unit prices, and a schedule with dates. Our guide to APU in Colombia explains how unit prices work.
- Contract. Scope, price, payment stages, dates, penalties and warranties in writing.
If a document “is coming soon”, wait for it before you pay.
Step 3: Link payments to verified progress
This is the control that matters most. Agree, in the contract, that each payment follows a stage of work, and that the stage is verified before you pay. A short written note from an independent engineer, with photos, is enough: what was built, whether it matches the drawings, and what is pending.
Avoid large advance payments without a clear use. If an advance is needed to buy materials, ask what it will buy and verify that it arrived on site.
Step 4: Have someone independent on site
Photos sent by the builder show what the builder wants to show. An independent visit checks what a photo cannot: dimensions, reinforcement before the concrete is poured, the quality of materials, and whether the work matches the approved drawings and the codes that apply, such as NSR-10 and RETIE.
Independent means paid by you and with no commission from the builder, the seller or a supplier.
Step 5: Keep a written record
Keep contracts, receipts, messages, visit reports and photos with dates. If there is a dispute, the record is what lets your attorney act. A decision that was only spoken is hard to prove.
What to do if something is already wrong
- Stop further payments until you understand the situation, and check what your contract says about it.
- Get an independent technical report of the current state of the work.
- Take the report and the contract to your attorney, who will tell you which route applies, including the consumer protection route before the SIC.
Where to go next
Read the construction red flags and, if you are buying before the building exists, the off-plan property risks. To have a project verified, see construction oversight.