We are considering taking a 20 year lease on a 5 are block of land in Penestanan
I have this for you
Listen up big time
There are 2 'things' when buying property in Bali (for regular housing)
The "
SERTIPIKAT" (certificate) and the "
IMB"
Do NOT, I repeat do NOT buy
anything here until you see the
originals of those two documents
You need to hold them in your hand and feel them
A photocopy is not enough
A promise is worth even less
You MUST see the originals (for my property I have the originals of both, safely stored)
By 'buy' I mean enter into a never-never lease agreement via a 'nameholder' or how you think you might do it
And 20 years sounds slim
Already I am thinking they are trying to 'do you over' which means sell to you at any condition
And that happens, to be sure
All they want is to sell the land
They sell for medical reasons or some family reason
Not, usually, for profit like a speculator does - but that does depend on the various circumstances
Sometimes, the waitress in the resto will confide her family needs to sell some land and 'are you interested'
Should be 25 + 25 years, or better
So, you get 50 years
Not 20
And, you will need a Notary (Indonesian word is NOTARIS)
That is a Property Conveyancer with a bit of extra oomph
If you find one then make sure reputable people give a thumbs up for that person
Don't just use someone's brother or cousin
Do NOT just happily go along with this transaction
Do not
Do not make that mistake
Now the second part
Building
You are going to buy land so you can build?
If so, how far from the nearest 'big' centre
If it's out in the hills then look forward to many disappointments from the workers
And, out there, once you get workers, if there are more than two, there will always be someone not working
I have fired the entire 'gang' for being slack on the job
They just don't work if more than enough to tote the rocks, cement, sand, dirt, etc
Earlier, I said SERTIPIKAT and IMB
The Certificate is for the 'ownership' of the land
If you are not an Indonesian then you cannot own land in Indonesia
Simple as that
Easy to understand
That was reaffirmed in the Press here in the last 2 days
Bali News: What Part Don’t You Understand?
The IMB is the 'permit' for the usage of the land
If you 'buy' land without an IMB, you are foolish
You must have the IMB, which is the permit for the usage and tells you how you can use that land
Maybe for house, or hotel, or for shop, or factory, or for office building, etcetera
The IMB tells you what you can do with the land
If you do not get an IMB then you are in 'no man's land' to get one and it will cost you more money, at the least
Be careful and do NOT believe all the friendly faces you see before you on this deal
However, after having said all that, if you go about it in the 'right way', it will be a fabulous experience and you will meld into the way of life here and you will probably love it
