Hey folks, just sharing my crazy experience renting an apartment in Medellín that turned into a nightmare. So, I’m a US citizen who snagged a furnished place at Edificio San Peter in Laureles through Urban Realtor, run by a dude named Jose A. Restrepo. **He’s the guy behind all the chaos.**
Imagine this: I moved in all excited, signed the lease at 3.5M COP/month, then boom! The owner suddenly claims I trashed the place and demands 3 million pesos from me. When I refused, Jose threatened to have me deported for years. The nerve, right? His sidekick Lina even sent me a voice note with all these threats — classy move, guys. And it gets worse. Jose called the cops on me and had me locked up for over 30 hours without even a proper hearing. They wouldn’t let me contact the US Embassy, saying it didn’t exist (like, what?!). I was made to sign papers in Spanish, which I couldn’t understand. One of those sneaky docs jacked up the demand to 10 million pesos, owed to Jose’s own pal. Shady much?
As if that wasn’t enough, while I was stuck in a cell, my cash went missing, my credit card was maxed out with bogus charges, and my work phone disappeared, all conveniently traced back to the building while I was detained. **Seriously sketchy stuff.**
After I finally got out, guess what? They kept everything I owned — PS5, laptop with all my work files, phone, art, tickets, meds, clothes. You name it, they swiped it. Oh, and they still have my US passport. That’s a big no-no under Colombian law and international conventions. These guys even broke into my place after sealing it off by the cops to grab my stuff. Total mess.
But hey, I didn’t just sit back and take it. I’ve filed complaints with the authorities, got evidence backing me up, and named those involved. **I’m not letting them off easy.**
So, if you’re ever looking at apartments in Medellín, be sure to dig into the company and the building’s rep before committing. And hey, if you’ve dealt with Urban Realtor or Jose Restrepo too, hit me up. Let’s watch each other’s backs out there. Stay vigilant, folks.