Apartment buildings in Sabaneta
Last year I covered my experience in renting three different unfurnished apartments in Medellín in a popular four-part series. Read the first part here, the second part here, the third part here and the fourth part here.
After living in the same apartment in Belén for past two years I thought I would be able to renew my lease for another year. But, unfortunately, the owner of the apartment wanted his apartment back as he wanted to live in it.
So I found myself searching for an apartment in Medellín last month with my soon to be Colombian wife. We fortunately found the perfect apartment for us in Sabaneta.
Medellín has a variety of options for apartments available in a broad range of prices (from less than $200 to well over $2,000 per month) to meet the needs of renters.
In many neighborhoods, you can also find two-story attached row housing. You won’t however find in Medellín many single-family detached homes that are common in the U.S. You have to get outside of the city to find these.
I have already lived in Medellín for four years, and I know the city very well, so I know what type of apartment would be perfect for us.
I also have researched the unfurnished apartment market in Medellín, which was covered in two articles on this website (Apartment Rental Costs in Medellín and 4 Inexpensive Neighborhoods for Apartment Rentals in Medellín), so I know the neighborhoods in the city well.
We wanted an apartment in a high-rise with 24×7 security on a higher up floor with a balcony with an excellent view. In addition, we wished to find an apartment within walking distance to a grocery store and close to the metro.
We also wanted to find an apartment in a building that is not close to a major street to avoid noise from traffic. We also wanted to be in an Estrato 4 or 5 neighborhood.
Also, we wanted the apartment to have Claro Internet/TV/phone service available and for it to have a kitchen with an oven.
We also wanted to find an apartment that was larger than the 78 square meter apartment we were moving out of. We were looking for an apartment with at least 90 square meters of space.
We used a combination of methods to find an apartment in Medellín. We found some apartments ourselves by walking around and finding rental signs in windows and using the Espacio Ubano website.
We also used my real estate agent in Medellín, who I have rented from over the past three-plus years.
Since I already know the market in Medellín very well, we limited our search to just a few neighborhoods. We did not want to look in popular neighborhoods for foreigners like El Poblado or Envigado as we want to live in a less expensive area.
There were two apartments available in our existing building in Belén, which we looked at but decided they didn’t meet our needs, as we wanted to move to a larger apartment. We looked at a few other apartments nearby in Belén, but we didn’t find one large enough that we liked.
We also looked at a few apartments in Bello in the Niquia barrio near the Puerta del Norte mall. We like this area, which is convenient to the metro and a large shopping mall as well as Exito and Euro grocery stores.
Niquia has several inexpensive apartments, but we didn’t find any larger apartments that we liked.
We also like the Sabaneta area. Sabaneta has many new apartment buildings that have been built over the past few years, so it has many apartments available to rent. We looked at seven apartments in Sabaneta with my real estate agent and found one we liked.
We signed a lease for this apartment, but, unfortunately, the owner changed his mind and was unsure about renting it, and we didn’t have time to wait on this owner to make up his mind, so we looked at more places in Sabaneta.
My real estate agent said he wanted to show us an apartment in Sabaneta that he thought we would really like based on our comments about other apartments, and he was right. We signed a year-long lease the next day.
The apartment we found is located in a building that is less than a 10-minute walk to Parque Sabaneta and less than a 10-minute walk to the Aves Maria mall with a large Exito grocery store.
The Sabaneta metro station is located about a 20-minute walk away, and an inexpensive bus route (1,700 pesos) to the metro station runs right in front of our apartment building.
We also have found that three grocery stores in Sabaneta offer domicilio (delivery) services: Euro, Supermercado Sabaneta and Merkepaisa.
We have some big pieces of furniture, plus a fridge and wash machine to move, so we wanted to use professional movers.
My real estate agent recommended a moving company, which we called. This mover showed up as scheduled with a crew of three, and they took about three and a half hours to pack up, drive to the new apartment and unload.
The move was painless, nothing was damaged, and the cost was only 300,000 pesos ($112).
My fourth apartment specifications:
My real estate agent has offered to rent the apartment for another year, so we plan to sign another lease to lock in the price for the apartment another year.
With the recently improved exchange rate our new apartment in Sabeneta costs less in terms of USD than the rent we paid over the past two years for a 41 percent smaller apartment in Belén.
I fortunately have exchanged sufficient funds at an average exchange rate of 2,685 pesos to the USD to enable paying another year of rent to lock in $503 per month in rent for two years.
A similar sized (110 square meters) and similar quality unfurnished three-bedroom apartment in El Poblado would likely rent for at least 1,800,000 pesos ($668) per month based on my earlier research and confirmed by my real estate agent.
In El Poblado, a similar apartment would be at least 33 percent more expensive. The bottom line is if you want to save money on apartments in Medellín, you can save substantially by looking outside of El Poblado.
My other living costs will also be less expensive than if I lived in El Poblado. Groceries are less expensive in Sabaneta and utilities are less expensive compared to the mostly Estrato 6 neighborhoods in El Poblado.
Plus pretty much everything else in Sabaneta we have discovered is less expensive than in El Poblado, including restaurants, items in the drugstores, and clothing and other items found in nearby stores.
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Jeff,
Thank you for your insightful and well written descriptive articles about living in Medellin. I plan to move to Medellin on July 27th. I had previously spend about two months there in March and April of this year. I told myself that if I could be away for a few months and miss being there, then it might be for me. And I do miss it.
During the Flower Festival I have a low cost boutique hotel reserved in Laurelis, but after that I would like to find a two bedroom one bath apartment in an area like Sabeneta.. I have stayed in Poblado and Laurelis and have visited Envigado. But I'd rather not pay the rental prices in Poblado and Envigado.
Do you know if there are any two bedroom apartments available in your new building or nearby and what the monthly rental range might be. Any direction you can provide would be helpful.
My intention is to apply for a pensioner's visa once I'm in Medellin, so being there long term is my goal.
Thanks for any advice you can provide.
Hi Richard,
Thanks. We only looked at 3-bedroom apartments but I know there are many unfurnished 2-bedroom apartments available in Sabaneta, which you can find on the Espacio Urbano website - https://www.espaciourbano.com/. I suggest looking for apartments in Sabaneta that are in the Aves Maria area or the Parque Sabaneta area.
When I last surveyed unfurnished apartments in Sabaneta, 2-bedroom apartments that averaged 73 meters in size rented for an average price of 1,044,815 pesos per month. I am pretty sure you could find a nice unfurnished 2-bedroom apartment the rents for between 1 to 1.3 million pesos per month, I know there are several available in that price range.
I will also send you my real estate agent contact information and he could help you find an apartment.
Hi there -
Firstly, this information is invaluable as i'm literally sitting in medellin trying to find a unfurnished apartment that is almost identical to your criteria. My spanish is still not great and I would tend to want to stay in a zone 5-6 - Having said that, your realtor seems to be quite helpful and speaking english is a huge bonus.
Would you be kind enough to email me the contact details.
Very much appreciated and thanks for the information
Hi Brian,
I just sent you contact information for my real estate agent via email. But unfortunately he doesn't speak much English. Good luck.
Hi Jeff,
Like so many others before me I'd like to have your realtor's contact info. I've patiently read up on relocating to Medellin from my present home in Mexico and must say that the very high quality of your blog is a cut above others I've read including those about other cities and subjects.
Best,
geoffrey
Hi Geoffrey,
I just sent you my real estate agent contact info via email. I am aware that my agent recently helped another foreigner find an apartment in Medellín. Good luck!
Hi Jeff,
I have been reading your newsletters as well as visiting Medellin for almost 4 years. I have just moved here now and would like to rent and unfurnished apt similar to yours, obtain a retired persons visa. I have been renting vacation apts each time from First American Realy but they do not represent unfurnished except for sales. I am not quite ready to invest permanently at this time. Can you give me the name of an attorney ( I do not speak fluent spanish) and also some good real estate contacts. I do have some bilingual friends who can help me if need. I am from North Carolina.
Thanks,
Gene
Hi Gene,
I just sent you contact information for my real estate agent via email. I don't have an attorney contact in Medellín as I haven't found the need for one in renting apartments. My real estate agent has fairly standard lease contracts (in Spanish) that I can read.
Good luck.
Jeff,
Nice blog post. Also considering moving to Medellin. My requirements are not dissimilar to yours. Interested in your real estate contact info. as well.
Best,
Rob
Hi Rob,
Thanks. I sent you my real estate agent contact info via email. Good luck!
Jeff: I just moved to Sabaneta 2 weeks ago after experiencing a very similar situation like you. Don't know anyone here yet. We should hang out sometime.
Hi Felipe,
Sure we could meet for a drink in Parque Sabaneta sometime next week. This week my schedule is crazy busy. I'll send you an email.
Sounds like a plan!
Hey Jeff,
Can you please send me the number for the movers you used? I'm moving to another building here in Sabaneta and the last movers I used scratched up my fridge. Also, we still need to meet up for a drink at el parque!
I just sent you an email. Good luck with your move.
Jeff,
I have read all of your past posting, and the most current is very timely as I am thinking about relocating from Costa Rica to Medellin. In your bio it states that you are currently studying Spanish. When you have a minute please email me some more information on where you are studying, and what the costs is. Also, the contact information for your real estate agent. (*I am assuming that your real estate agent is fluent in English.)
Hi John,
Thanks. I have been studying Spanish at Univeridad EAFIT, which I wrote about previously - http://www.medellinliving.com/spanish-classes-universidad-eafit/. Spanish classes there now cost 950,000 pesos ($352) each. There is a discount if you pay for classes in advance - 3% discount for paying in advance for more than two or 7% for more than six.
I will send you my real estate agent contact info via email but unfortunately he doesn't speak much English.
Fantastic and informative article about sabaneta. I am currently living in Poblado. Sabaneta seems to be the place for me. I like everything about it.
What are the chances of finding a small one bedroom or a studio that is furnished for around 400$ plus utilities without a fiador. I am retired on a pension so I have plenty of time to explore on foot looking for signs, talking to people etc...talked to a lady who owned a restaraunt in the food court at the mall. She had an apt in a hi rise for 400$ but it was unfurnished.
I have medium spanish skills but always seem to be able to communicate without much of a problem.
Thanks for posting such great info.
Ron
Hi Ron,
Thanks! I'm not really aware of the furnished apartments in Sabaneta as that wasn't what I was looking for since I have furniture that I moved from my old apartment. Most of the furnished apartments in Medellín I am aware of are located in El Poblado, Envigado, Laureles and Belén and a few in El Centro. There are a few listed in Sabaneta on Airbnb but they are more expensive than your budget. Cheapest I saw on Airbnb in Sabaneta is $600 per month for a 1 bedroom place that is 5 blocks from the Metro and 2 blocks from Parque Sabaneta (https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/4735340).
But that's not to say that you can't find one around your budget by exploring on foot looking for signs, talking to people etc. There are rental signs on many apartment buildings in Sabaneta. Sabaneta is also very walkable with many nice apartment buildings within walking distance from Parque Sabaneta. You could also consider renting an unfurnished place and furnishing it fairly cheaply.
By the way, it's now two weeks since I moved and I am loving living in Sabaneta with my new Colombian wife. The weather is perfect (somewhat cooler than Belén where I moved from), people are respectful and it's easy to go anywhere. Plus everything in nearby stores is cheaper than in Belén or El Poblado.
I appreciate the information you have posted here. I am looking for an unfurnished apartment and the area you describe seems that it would fit my needs. I am moving from Pereira asap (hopefully by the end of the month). Please send your realtors info as I could use someone that is recommended. Thanks in advance!
Hi Avonne,
Thanks. I just sent you my real estate agent contact information via email. Good luck!
Hello, Jeff. Thank you you for sharing all this information with us. I'm moving to Medellin very soon and will need to rent an apartment for sure as I plan to stay for a long time. My Spanish isn't there yet, but I have some friends in the city who can help me. I would appreciate if you could send me your real estate agent contacts.
Cheers,
Ilya
Hi Ilya,
I just sent you my real estate agent contact info via email. Good luck!
hi jeff
could you send me your real estate agent's contact info? we are looking at renting a 3 bedroom
apartment in sept in laureles, belen or poblado. we would like an estrato 5 or 6. my girlfriend and
her two kids live in Villa Hermosa and i want to upgrade as i have done a year there and it's time to
move on. my budget is pretty high so i am looking for someplace nice. hopefully next year i will buy
us a place in El Poblado. thanks, kirby
Hi Kirby,
I just sent you my Medellín real estate agent contact info via email.
Laureles, Belén or El Poblado will be a nice upgrade from Villa Hermosa. Good luck!
Hi Jeff,
I am considering moving to Medellin and would like to know your Realtors name and phone. Does he speak English?
Thanks
Hi Steve,
I just sent you my real estate agent contact info via email. Unfortunately he doesn't speak much English. Good luck!
Hi I am in an electric wheelchair retired from the military an I am moving to medellin an I would like your realtor information please.
Thanks,
Dan
Hi Daniel,
I just sent you my real estate agent's contact information. Good luck!
I think this is important: the laws about how much you should pay for renting a flat, increases, etc. In Spanish. http://www.elcolombiano.com/multimedia/videos/arriende-propiedades-de-sin-enganos-IM2691039
Thanks. That fast talking Spanish in the video is difficult to understand for some.
Here's a link with details about the rental system in Colombia in English - http://www.globalpropertyguide.com/Latin-America/colombia/Landlord-and-Tenant. Note that monthly rent is limited to 1% of the property value. There can be an increase in rent every 12 months of leasing but I have never experienced a rent increase when renewing. The increase is limited to the increase in the Consumer Price Index for the immediately preceding calendar year. Also deposits are reportedly prohibited in Colombia but I know some foreigners that have been asked for deposits.