Medellín property — the hunt
Investment hunt: 2BR in El Poblado core, Laureles core, or Envigado centro. Live in it 2–3 months, then rent 30+ days to nomads. The bar: ~8% gross yield at long-term rent, in a building with a gym (headline amenity) and pool where possible. Every listing on this page was re-opened and checked by rendered content on Tue Oct 27 — a price on a results page proves nothing here.
🎧 Listen — the property walkthrough · 4:11
Press play and scroll the page: how a property ranks against your other uses of the money, the live shortlist in act-on order, and what to do this week. Recorded Tue Oct 27.
At a glance
Status6 candidates live-checked Oct 27 · front-runner identified · nobody contacted yet
Front-runnerAlcalá, Envigado centro — $475M COP (~$148,670), gym + pool, ~11.9% gross at an assumed 4.5M/mo rent
UnknownAlcalá's monthly admin fee is not published — it is the one answer that makes or kills the deal
Next stepSend the WhatsApp below to the Alcalá agent, then walk Castropol and the Nogal edge yourself this week
☎️ Message first — Alcalá, Envigado centro
The cheapest amenity-building qualifier under the soft line, and the only Envigado centro qualifier with gym + pool. 66 m², 2bd/2ba, ground floor, 1 parking + cuarto útil. Listing: Espacio Urbano 1813079. The draft below asks the four things that decide it: availability, the admin fee, the 30+ day rental policy, and price flexibility.
Number: +57 320 725 0987
Hola, buenos días. Vi el apartamento en Alcalá, Envigado (Espacio Urbano, 475 millones), y quisiera confirmar unas cosas antes de agendar una visita. ¿El apartamento sigue disponible? ¿Cuál es la cuota de administración mensual? No la vi publicada. ¿El edificio permite arriendos de mediano plazo, de 30 días o más? ¿El precio es negociable? Estoy en Medellín esta semana y podría visitarlo. Muchas gracias.
🏠 The live shortlist — checked Tue Oct 27
1 · Alcalá, Envigado centro — $475M COP (~$148,670)66 m², 2bd/2ba, gym ✓ pool ✓ portería 24/7. Yield ~11.9% gross at an assumed 4.5M/mo rent (not comp-verified). Admin fee NOT published — the trap to clear first. Contact: +57 320 725 0987 (message above). Ground floor is the livability ding.
2 · Castropol — $425M COP (~$133k) ✅ LIVE55 m², 2bd/2ba, estrato 6, gym ✓ pool ✓ sauna/turco, portería 24h. Admin confirmed on the live page: $393k/mo. No rent comp in the files yet, so no honest yield — ask the agency (Prointegral, via the listing) for comparable rents in the building first. Fincaraíz 191624991
3 · Laureles Nogal — $382M COP (~$119.6k) ✅ LIVE73 m², 2bd/2ba, piso 3, ascensor, no parking. Highest paper yield: 15.4% at an assumed 4.75M/mo rent — but the admin is $427k/mo (fat for a no-amenity building) and the location is Laureles' south edge. Decided by an in-person pin test, not a spreadsheet. Fincaraíz 191513165
4 · Envigado Centro, Parque Principal — $660M COP ($206,573) ✅ LIVE65 m², 2bd/2ba, 2 balcones, gym ✓ pool climatizada ✓ rooftop, portería 24/7. Admin $345k/mo. ~8.56% at 4.5M/mo — over the soft line, but the legitimate amenity-flex case that still clears the bar. Contact Murillo Propiedades via the listing; confirm the 30+ day rental policy (not stated). Murillo 13945
5 · Segundo Parque, Laureles — $535M COP (~$167k) ✅ LIVE88 m² (biggest on the list), 2bd/2ba, 2 parkings, admin only $200k/mo. No gym/pool, no yield in the files, and it has been listed since Mar 2024 — re-verified live today, but confirm it is genuinely still available before visiting. Fincaraíz 10663580
6 · Castropol — $680M COP (~$212.8k) ⚠️ UNVERIFIED today86 m², 2bd/2ba, gym ✓ pool ✓ portería 24h, ~9.63% at 5.5M/mo. The listing's bot wall blocked today's re-check; the deal watch's live-browser pass had it live at $680M. Treat as unconfirmed until it renders clean. Slideprop 3013849
Dead — do not chaseThe three cheaper Castropol Ciencuadras units are all banner-confirmed dead: 3496638 ($470M furnished), 3246774 ($455M), 3348566 ($430M).
🧭 Where a property ranks in your money
The engineVTI stays the wealth-creation engine: liquid, diversified, zero management. A Medellín unit does not beat it on pure return, and is not asked to.
What it addsDiversification out of USD and US markets, COP rent matched to COP spending while you are here, and a physical fallback base in a city you live in part of the year.
SequenceYour order stands: emergency fund → 401(k) rebalance / QQQ trim → exceptional property → financing only after the deal. Property is third, not first.
Gross ≠ netEvery yield on this page is gross, at assumed rents, before admin fees, vacancy, and upkeep. Net lands meaningfully lower — which is why the admin fee is asked first, every time.
Tripwire183 days in Colombia changes tax residency. The property decision and the travel calendar are the same conversation.