Anyone have good news stories

[Calmlee]

Hi, I am new here but I have read a lot of the forum in the last few days. Interesting, informative and enlightening. Here is my story, I am thinking of buying in Ubud, a piece of land with an existing house on it which I would like to rent out at a latter stage after doing some renovations to it. It really is not a very nice house and needs considerable work. I am also thinking of building a separate house on the land for myself, with swimming pool of course. The purchase cost of the land is 2,300,000,000 R. The property is walking distance to Ubud, right there as a matter of fact.

What I would like to know is:

[*]Do you think that is a good price, I know it is like guessing the length of a piece of string, but some of you must have an idea if I am paying too much.

[*]I will be using a nominee to buy the property, someone I have known only 4 months

[*]Any trustworthy builders / architects

[*]Any pitfalls I should be aware of

I would also like to hear some good stories on the buying / building in Ubud if there are any out there. I have searched the net and what I have found has sort of made me very wary of the whole idea. I am a single female and am feeling a bit vulnerable as I will be sinking my life's savings into this project. I plan on moving to Bali till the ol' reaper comes a knocking for me.

Thanks in advance for your time and thoughts regarding any points in my post. Actually, I would also be interested in bad experiences around buying and building in Ubud...may as well take the rose colored glasses off for awhile!!

 

[Jesse]

Sorry but I can only give you a warning about scams in real estate properties including the conspiracy some could do to unsuspecting investors so better research about information about your buyers and their past transactions with other investors if there's any.

 

[spicyayam]

You didn't mention the size of the land.

 

[Jimbo]

You will be very foolish to spend that amount of money on a trust you have only known for 4 months.

 

[sakumabali]

Hi Calmlee,

my partner architect in my company is as well one of the leader of Ubud (klian), if you tell me which part of ubud your future property is I might help you with more info (we design & build as well by the way)

Regards

Marc

 

[toucan]

Calmlee I think you are right to be wary, don't be in a great rush to spend your life's savings. Why not rent, at least for a while before you make such a major decision. If you rent in the area you like then you will be in a much better position to decide if you really want to stay there. Don't be rushed into buying something, there will always be other options and you can rent somewhere very nice for a very long time without risking your entire savings in one deal.

 

[jimibaran]

buyer beware

[*]I will be using a nominee to buy the property, someone I have known only 4 months

Hi Calmlee

dont know about ubud, we werent interested in that area and we wanted a more local area, but anywhere in bali its the same rule Beware!! then check double check and triple check!
I have heard of nominees refusing to sign it over to you. I would be wary of someone you have only know for 4 months, our first nominee we had known for many years and got worried when he started talking about his villa, we changed to a developer lease, and cut him out, he got the message and we havent seen him for ages. We have actually changed our minds about freehold land (ha ha ha) no such thing for foreigners. And are seriously considering lease hold for our next property. At least its in your name only. But having said that do what you feel comftable with if you think its risky dont do it. Same here as every other country. After all even Hilary clinton got taken on propery deal!!

Plenty of good builders and good agents here just look around and research research. Dont puy all your money in if you cant afford to lose it, make sure you have funds to fall back on, especially if nearing retirement.

Good luck, We love it in bali, but just be careful like anywhere.

 

[pollyanna]

Calmlee, you've asked about good stories and you've asked about pitfalls. I'm in complete agreement with previous responses. As Spicy said, it would be helpful to know tha amount of land, especially since you're talking about walking distance to the centre of Ubud. But unless the land size is huge the price sounds too high.
The major possible pitfall, though, is buying through a nominee you've known only four months. You're talking about spending a lot of money on a property that your nominee will own. There are many people who have done this successfully and there are many people who've done it with catastrophic results. Don't proceed until you've spoken with a good English speaking notaris and perhaps also a lawyer and you absolutely must have a side agreement in place with your nominee.
Those are my warnings and here's my good story (so far). We are working with our nominee to build our house in a small village south of Ubud and everything is going smoothly. We have been welcomed into our village and all the fees, even though they seem to keep coming, have been reasonable. But we are living in Ubud and spend a few hours every day on site. This is critical. If you aren't on site very strange renovations will start happening at your house.
We start Bahasa Indonesia classes tomorrow. We love living in Bali and find we are more relaxed and happier here than we were in Oz.

 

[Calmlee]

Thanks for all the replies so far. Yes, I forgot to mention the size of the land, it is approx 10are's. I have managed to get the price down to 1,920,000,000 R and am reconsidering building a separate house on the land, just renovating what is already there, like adding a pool. The property is not far from Honeymoon Lane off Jalan Bisma.

Thanks for the nominee advice, I have taken it on board and will be very careful. Has anyone here used Highway legal at all?

 

[pollyanna]

Thanks for the nominee advice, I have taken it on board and will be very careful. Has anyone here used Highway legal at all?

Hi Calmlee, we've used Highway to get our KITAS but haven't used their legal services. We were very happy with their efficiency during the whole KITAS process.

 

[scout]

Buying and the whole box and dice

Hi Calmlee, we've used Highway to get our KITAS but haven't used their legal services. We were very happy with their efficiency during the whole KITAS process.

Hi Calmlee, I will send you a DM giving you the name and details of an excellent woman, who is like a "para legal" I have used her many times, and have been most impressed with her integrity and also, her fees are low, she does all the leg work, and then takes the finalised paperwork to a Notaris.

I personally wouldn't use Highway, but as I said that is a personal opinion. I originally did my Kitas with them and the fees, just went up and up from the first quotation.

Also personally, I would play it cool with your 4 mth "friend",be business like, and also let them know you are getting 2nd 3rd opinions on the deal (even if you aren't) the difference in their attitude will surprise you. I have renovated 3 houses in Ubud and now onto a 4th, just a bit further east. The first house was with a balinese I had known for 25 years, and he was a total con!!! so as everyone else has said; carefuly, carefully.

On a happier note, this renovating experience, can be fun and totally rewarding. Enjoy :icon_razz:

 

[Calmlee]

Hi Calmlee, I will send you a DM giving you the name and details of an excellent woman, who is like a "para legal"

Thanks Scout, that's the sort of advice and contacts I need. Would I use her for the buying process? Pollyanna has used Highway but just for their KITAS, she had nothing untoward to say about them, but for some reason I am feeling a bit nervous about them, as I am about my local 'friend'. I do know I will indeed have to be 'careful, careful' after the excellent advice I have received from the folks here.

Cheers

Calmlee

 

[PeteD]

I will comment on the nominee situation. Firstly, I don't care how long you have know someone, 25 years or 4 months, everyone is capable of either being honest or being a con person. The major obstacle of owning land in Indonesia for foreigners is there is no real legal way for them to have freehold title in their name.

There are so many temptations for local people when foreigners are involved as they are easy targets, and when you add unclear legal agreements to the scenario you are just asking for trouble.

Now... What foreigners have been doing lately is the "hak pakai atas hak milik", which means right of use on top of freehold. You would structure the freehold nominee agreement as usual, this includes a power of attorney and mortgage agreement with the Indonesian nominee, and then also a "hak pakai" right of use for 25 years plus extensions which is issued in the name of the foreigner. That gives you another layer of protection.

If your property papers are made this way, you are entitled to borrow money against it or bequeath it to your next of kin. I believe a foreigner can only hold one (1) "hak pakai" property in their name and it should be less than 50 are (5,000 m2) in size.

Google it, I'm sure there'll be much clearer info on the internet somewhere.