Building vs Buying - When we don't live in Bali yet!!

R

rasi

Member
Ok so we are looking at buying a house in Bali (as I keep saying.) I want to buy a house but my husband wants to build. As much as I would love to build my own there is no way I could see it going to plan while we are still living in Oz. My husband thinks it's a great plan and tells me there is some clause that the builders have to give a date when the house will be finished. If they are not they have to pay you a certain amount of money. I don't know if he has his info correct?

Would it be stupid to try to build a house when we don't live there? I think it is just an excuse for my husband to keep going over there to 'check' on the house haha!
 
"Would it be stupid to try to build a house when we don't live there?"
In a word, YES (in my humble opinion, of course)
:icon_rolleyes:
 
rasi said:
I LOVE your opinion :)
Click to expand...

Thank you kind fellow blogger :icon_lol:
There are many reaons for this comment, I suggest you search previous posts for the pro's and con's. I renovate old buildings, and would never attempt to do this, unless I was here, on the ground, watching everything and supervising all.....
Good luck..
 
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depends on your supervisor

it all depends on your project manager and builder, ours was fine but we did make frequent trips to inspect before paying the next payment, the money we saved by building rather than buying more than paid for the trips to check.

But on the whole no i wouldnt do it again, unless i was here. and thats just what we are going to do, sell and build again the reason being we now know exactly what we need for our lifestyle here, and its not what we thought.

all building seems to run late and unless you have a clause about finishing you can just wait until they are ready. we had our accomodation bills paid while waiting and so have some others here but one has been waiting 6 months with the builder still not hurrying much. mind they are living ina villa but not a good villa, no aircon and no hot water.

whynot rent a house and build when you get here.
 
Having just finished building here myself I can only whole heartedly agree with scout - if you hate your money then go ahead and do a long distance build - it will end in a disaster - I have seen several in the last 2 years that I have been here. DON'T DO IT!
 
I agree with everyone else that you just have to be here if you want to build a house. You need to be checking on things everyday. There are so many things that can go wrong. It's one thing to make plans complete with 3D computer walkthroughs but you will probably want to also make changes along the way.

If you have a lot of experience building and you know where to source cheap materials, you might save some money. I think it is cheaper to buy an an existing house and then making some renovations to it.
 
Thanks everyone, when I told my husband it was a stupid idea he tried to assure me it was fool proof, and then I thought he must know something I don't know as he's from there. But turns out wife knows best (once again)!! I can't wait to show him these replies!!!

I love the idea of building a house but don't think I have the patience to do it anywhere, let alone BALI!
 
So all of the above seems to say:
1. long distance builds always end in disaster
2. if you are here the disasters will be averted

I have seen both of these assertions fail. Some long distance builds work because the project manager (often the architect) knows what he/she is doing and does it well.

Some disasters like tile roofs that leak, woodwork from low quality timber that will warp, plumbing all connected up wrong, bathroom floors that slope in the wrong direction and so on, and so on - happen while the new owner is living nearby and watching.

So give another though to buying an existing property, and then doing modifications if needed.
 
Hey Adam, nice to hear from you. :icon_e_smile: I go with the crowd who wish to buy existing building and renovate to your standard. You can live there and renovate at your own pace, choosing materials, "craftsmen", and as funds are available. You can also do lots of the work yourself.
 
Hi Goldminer, nice to speak to you too. Hope you and the family are well.

I'm hearing ya, but the horror stories of property ownership far outway the benefits for this little black duck. I'm in the throes of building my own palace (and hopefully my early retirement to Bali) here in Oz which is a whole lotta fun, mostly.....:( , but at least I know I'm more or less protected 100% that nobody can take it away from me. Sure. we've got our house in the kampung, but that will, and should, always belong to the missus, I carry no risk with that one. Personally, and to each their own, I think (know?) I'd sleep more comfortably in Bali not having any major capital tied up in the place, especially when it is so cheap and easy to rent.
 
Oohhh you know some horror stories? I would love to hear some. I need to be prepared :) If you have time to tell them?
 
I bought a house about 4 years ago and have made changes over the years, the changes were agreed upon whilst on holiday in bali and a agreed time was given for the work, 6 months, i would visit and check on the work 8 months later to find a few jobs not done to my likeing, but nothing major that cant be fixed, they do ask for extra money if they screw it up but i just keep records of everything we agreed on in the pice and always hold a little money back so it persuades them to finish the house the way i want it, small job remainign and big payment due normally gets them to do it.

After my first builder missed a few things i was recommended to another member of his family by my father in law and he was a really nice guy and although a little more expensive i believed in his work more

Currently the guy is 6 weeks late and my wife has to stay at her aunts house because the toilet plumbing has a problem but im sure by the time my wife leaves bali to come home ,the toilets will be flushing like victoria falls or the builder will lying dead in the bathroom.
 
Why can't you have both? Toilets flushing like Victoria falls and the builder lying dead in the bathroom.
 
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