Please help ...

[SamD]

Not sure what your family situation is but if you have children that are Indonesian citizens, I recommend buying a property using Hak Pakai. You can transfer it to their name when you die and they can transfer it to Hak Milik meaning they own it outright. Hak Pakai is the closest thing a bule can get to owning a property since it doesn't involve a lease agreement or the need for a local nominee.

Leasing property from a local essentially means they take your cash and let the property fall apart unless you want to fork up the money to fix it yourself. So if you are going to spend 20 years paying money to someone else and investing in the house you live in, it may as well go towards a house you own and can then sell later for profit.

I have leased here for 3 years and that hasn't been my experience. The owner has fixed all the issues that I have had (mainly plumbing) and I have not paid anything other than to tip the tukang. In fact, when I moved in there was a problem with leaking pipes which meant all 3 bathrooms had to have the tiled walls destroyed to expose the pipes and then retiled. It took a month and the owner gave me a month credit on my lease. These sort of things are written in to the lease, you have rights as a tenant. It is not the Wild West here.

 

[JackStraw]

I have leased here for 3 years and that hasn't been my experience. The owner has fixed all the issues that I have had (mainly plumbing) and I have not paid anything other than to tip the tukang. In fact, when I moved in there was a problem with leaking pipes which meant all 3 bathrooms had to have the tiled walls destroyed to expose the pipes and then retiled. It took a month and the owner gave me a month credit on my lease. These sort of things are written in to the lease, you have rights as a tenant. It is not the Wild West here.

Happy things worked out for you mate but that's hardly been my experience renting several properties on this island nor have I heard anything close to your story from any of my foreign acquaintances either.

For example, my friend paid 3 years up front for a villa in Jimbaran. Over the rainy season, some major leaks were exposed leading to an indoor waterfall every time it rained. This eventually translated into moldy walls and ceilings. He called the owner thousands of times to come fix it but the owner simply refuse. Said if he doesn't like it, he can move out.

So he brought the contract to a lawyer and said the owner is responsible for home repairs that are not being done. The lawyer basically laughed in my friends face and said there is nothing I can do for you sorry. And yes, the contract was in Indonesian with the proper stamps and signatures.

That's just one example from one friend. I have many many more like it. Again, you are right. Not all owners are like that and I am just sharing my personal experiences. It's not the wild west, but the wild east.

 

[tel522]

Happy things worked out for you mate but that's hardly been my experience renting several properties on this island nor have I heard anything close to your story from any of my foreign acquaintances either.

For example, my friend paid 3 years up front for a villa in Jimbaran. Over the rainy season, some major leaks were exposed leading to an indoor waterfall every time it rained. This eventually translated into moldy walls and ceilings. He called the owner thousands of times to come fix it but the owner simply refuse. Said if he doesn't like it, he can move out.

So he brought the contract to a lawyer and said the owner is responsible for home repairs that are not being done. The lawyer basically laughed in my friends face and said there is nothing I can do for you sorry. And yes, the contract was in Indonesian with the proper stamps and signatures.

That's just one example from one friend. I have many many more like it. Again, you are right. Not all owners are like that and I am just sharing my personal experiences. It's not the wild west, but the wild east.

I think you have to be lucky to have a good owner here, contract or not , I have heard many horror stories with foreign and local with their land lord .
Thankfully I have been fortunate with mine .

 

[AuroraB]

For my first villa here in Bali I was handing over cash for 15 months rental up-front to entice the owner into a better deal. Big mistake as after a few months a noisy nightclub open for business. No chance the villa owner would refund for early move-out.

As a side note: I also had ongoing issue with the pool pump at this villa (maintenance by villa owner). Pool man told me he needed spare parts. I overheard (as I understand a some Bahasa) the pool man complaining to the maid there was no money for spare parts. After back and forth over a few weeks between me and the local staff and no resolution; I one morning found some tiny woven baskets beautifully decorated with flowers strategically located above the pool pump. I don’t know what eventually was done but the pool pump started to work fine thereafter...

For my current rental villa; the owner (as usual) asked for 1-year cash up-front. This time I insisted on 6m rental period w/option for a 6m extension if all good with the villa and the neighbourhood. Owner eventually agreed to this.

Lessons learned:
1) The longer rental period (the more cash you hand over) -- the smaller leverage you have.
2) Inspect short listed villas in detail and send owner a list of all issues to be resolved -- before you agree to move-in and pay rent in full. After you hand over all the cash; Leverage is basically zero.

 

[Markit]

For my first villa here in Bali I was handing over cash for 15 months rental up-front to entice the owner into a better deal. Big mistake as after a few months a noisy nightclub open for business. No chance the villa owner would refund for early move-out.
You got the deal you were after though so why is that the owners problem if you didn't ask around about nightclubs in the area?

As a side note: I also had ongoing issue with the pool pump at this villa (maintenance by villa owner). Pool man told me he needed spare parts. I overheard (as I understand a some Bahasa) the pool man complaining to the maid there was no money for spare parts. After back and forth over a few weeks between me and the local staff and no resolution; I one morning found some tiny woven baskets beautifully decorated with flowers strategically located above the pool pump. I don’t know what eventually was done but the pool pump started to work fine thereafter...
Again your owner seems to have solved the problem why is this an issue? Pools anywhere are an ongoing headache and people that don't know that have no experiece (first hand) of owning/servicing/keeping a pool. Pools all want to turn into swamps, always.

For my current rental villa; the owner (as usual) asked for 1-year cash up-front. This time I insisted on 6m rental period w/option for a 6m extension if all good with the villa and the neighbourhood. Owner eventually agreed to this.
If the owner finds a better renter after 6 months and throws you out I'm guessing it will be because he's an asshole?

Lessons learned:
1) The longer rental period (the more cash you hand over) -- the smaller leverage you have.
2) Inspect short listed villas in detail and send owner a list of all issues to be resolved -- before you agree to move-in and pay rent in full. After you hand over all the cash; Leverage is basically zero. What kind of relationship do you actually have with your renters?

What are "short listed villas"?

 

[AuroraB]

What are "short listed villas"?

See below. Villas on the short list have been found acceptable based on search criteria and inspections. However, final negotiations pending.