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Buying a House and Opening a Bank Account in Colombia: Cultural Differences
I opened a bank account in town about a month ago. I live in a small town of around 13k inhabitants, so everybody knows everybody. I should start by telling the story from the beginning.
*This post is not to tell you how to open an account or to buy a house; it is my experience in the process*
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In August, I decided to buy a house. Buying a home in Colombia can be either smooth or a complete disaster. There often is no in-between here. The people are kind, yet the system functions in an organized, chaotic mess. Realtors exist but do not function in the same capacity as someone from the US would expect, and there is no MLS.
Before finding this house, I was looking at others, all through word of mouth, because that is the most common, economical, and effective way to do anything here; however, it is not always the most straightforward. Yet, if I am frank, nothing is straightforward here.
During my search process, I reached out to ¨realtors¨ and even a law firm that deals with foreign investments in Colombia, one that had rave reviews and was even recommended…
