Accurmi wrote
Hi everyone,
My wife (Indonesian) and I are in the very beginnings of our journey towards what will hopefully be a small property for ourselves in Bali. Ideally, we would like to be somewhere around Canggu, Ubud, or Bukit, but are also open to other places if the property catches our eye. While this is all still about 2 years away for us, we would like to find a 2 bedroom place (hopefully with a small pool!) for around $180k (USD). We will have about 25-30k (USD) for a down payment. If possible, we would like to use it as a rental property to cover some of the costs and help pay off the mortgage.
Of course we would prefer Hak Milik (in her name), but are not opposed to Hak Pakai as my understanding is that often these properties are more affordable. What are peoples' experiences with one or the other?
We are also considering buying a piece of land and then building, as my wife has family members who are contractors and do some work in Bali and we may be able to make the process more affordable this way. Has anyone done this? Did it come out to be more affordable?
I went through this exercise almost 20 years ago, and it's fraught with danger.
If the property is in your wife's name, take the precaution of taking a mortgage over it, for more than it's worth, to secure your investment.
Things may be rosy now, but relationships can break down, and when that happens in Indonesia, you have no friends. Think of all the ways you could be screwed, and multiply it by 10.
I escaped with some profit, but a fraction of what I should have made. Even lawyers are into the scams, and you won't have the protections you have in the west.
If I made the move again, I'd rent.
