Deal checklist: paper your loan right
You’ve been introduced. Before any money moves, this is the paper kit an executed Colombian private property loan uses — take it to your abogado. Borrower and lender each check their column.
The documents
Contrato de mutuo naming both parties with ID/NIT and legal representation, the amount, rate, payment structure, and term.
Pagaré signed by the borrower with carta de instrucciones — the executive collection instrument.
Hipoteca (open, uncapped is the market standard) by escritura pública over the property’s matrícula inmobiliaria, registered at the Oficina de Registro.
Independent avalúo of the property by a certified appraiser — the number behind the LTV.
Default terms in writing: cure period, cláusula aceleratoria, cláusula penal, moratory interest at the SFC-certified maximum.
Dispute clause: conciliación at the Cámara de Comercio, then arbitration in law.
Notarial reconocimiento de firma y contenido for both signatures, two counterparts.
Disbursement through traceable channels — ideally a fiduciaria — only AFTER the hipoteca appears on a fresh certificado de tradición y libertad.
Borrower typically provides & pays for
The guarantees and their costs: notary, registration, avalúo.
A fresh certificado de tradición y libertad (under 30 days) for the property.
Identity and company papers: cédula or cédula de extranjería, and certificate from the Cámara de Comercio if borrowing through a company.
Lender verifies before disbursing
The registered lien in their favor on the certificado — not a promise of one.
The avalúo is independent and survives a forced-sale stress test.
Who signs has authority to sign (legal representative matches the certificate).