Retiring to Bali! Opinions/Education welcomed!

[mariaandrobert]

Hi,

We, Robert and Maria, are a mixed couple in US and have been working long distance with our realtor in North Bali for many months and are in long-distance negotiations with another mixed couple (woman in Bali, man in Europe) regarding a propety near Lovina. We have an Indonesian nominee (family member in JKT) who will ultimately hold Hak Malik title sertifikat though we may pursue Hak Pakai from the family member to ease building and living. Make sense so far? As the bule I'm not concerned about my non-existent property rights as we want what we build to flow down her side in Indonesia anyway. If we should divorce sobeit. When is it best to do Hak Pakai and how much might it cost for 25 years given family connection? Is it better to avoid Hak Pakai and rent from family member for Retiree Visa reasons?

The property we are hoping to close on sooner than later has limited listrik quota (1.3KW) though the listrik towers are in our distant view of the Bali Sea. We would hope to increase the PLN?? as we erect a larger home. I understand this can be problematic. How much do we need to worry or do I just grease the right skids? Is the new line being added in the South yet and will that free up some electricity quota or is Bali growing to fast?

As property prices are all over the map, may I ask what is a fair price in Lovina? I've seen 6-30 Jt/are.How readily available are contractors/laborers/building materials in North Bali, say jobsite is 5km from Singaraja? We ask because we might like to sub-divide and build more villas if we can build and unload them fairly easily and inexpensively.

We have about 4 years before we can be there permanently but are trying to prepare for the longer term since we know how slow things can move over there. We also need to diversify our holdings some more. So why not property in Bali?

Having been to Indonesia and Bali many times we think we have a fair idea about the treat we are in for. Do you expats have any regrets we should be aware of, we mean beyond the obvious korupsi, politics and crime?

Will the airport ever be constructed in the north? We hope to travel and don't look forward to the commute from Lovina to Denpasar each time but we suppose that comes with rural living. We expect we'll be dead before the new airport is completed.

Well, thanks for the opportunity to introduce ourselves and we look forward to reading your inputs. Thanks for sharing!

Warm Regards,

Robert and Maria

 

[spicyayam]

Welcome to the forum!

Is it better to avoid Hak Pakai and rent from family member for Retiree Visa reasons?

I don't think there is any relation to this and your visa.

We would hope to increase the PLN?? as we erect a larger home.

It shouldn't be a problem, but it can sometimes be expensive if your house is in a remote location.

As property prices are all over the map, may I ask what is a fair price in Lovina? I've seen 6-30 Jt/are.

It's a difficult question. I have seen different agents offering the same piece of land for the price range you have quoted. It pays to shop around!

Do you expats have any regrets we should be aware of, we mean beyond the obvious korupsi, politics and crime?

Not for me personally. I think it pays to take things slow here. Why not rent for 6 months to a year first and then decide if you want to buy property or build a house? Rushing into something is probably the worst mistake you could make.Get to know as many people as you can. Watch other projects and get to know the people involved. Learn from other people's mistakes!

How readily available are contractors/laborers/building materials in North Bali, say jobsite is 5km from Singaraja?

Many contractors and laborers in need of work and more than likely living in the village you will be building.

Will the airport ever be constructed in the north? We hope to travel and don't look forward to the commute from Lovina to Denpasar each time but we suppose that comes with rural living. We expect we'll be dead before the new airport is completed.

Don't hold your breath on this one.

 

[mariaandrobert]

Thanks Spicy for the warm welcome and info

Appreciate the information SpicyAyam! We agree with taking it slowly but land and labor prices are not going down either. We likely will purchase a property as a longterm investment regardless of where we ultimately decide to live. Our main concern now is making the best, yet still affordable, investment in North Bali. If it happens that we live out our old age there then great. Any issue with trying to make a monetary investment grow in value in those parts? The agents all claim exhorbitant ROI. Do you think it is really true that we can make 10-20% per year?

 

[spicyayam]

Any issue with trying to make a monetary investment grow in value in those parts? The agents all claim exhorbitant ROI. Do you think it is really true that we can make 10-20% per year?

Do you need someone to tell you to be sceptical about what an agent is telling you? When something sounds too good to be true...

land and labor prices are not going down either

That sounds like another line from your agent It's true, but it's not a reason to rush into something that you might regret later.

You mentioned in your first post that you are trying to do this "long distance" which is probably not a good idea either.

The problem is trying to guage some kind of true market value.

If you take an inner city suburb in Australia for example, you have sales every week. The prices property is sold for is public information and it is pretty easy to get an idea of what a property is really "worth".

The situation in the north of Bali is completely the opposite. Other than spending a long time in an area and continually looking at properties, there is no easy way to get an idea of whether you are over-paying or getting a bargain.

I know a foreigner who bought land for 35 million per are, when the going price is around 5-7 million for the area. How long will it take for him to get a return?

In the end a property is only worth what the seller is prepared to pay for it. If you develop land that is appealing to someone and you can find a buyer for it, you might be able make money. Generally speaking a local is not going to be buying an expensive villa, so your only potential buyer is a foreigner and since foreigners can't buy property in Indonesia, what hope have you got.

If you are looking for "ROI" you are probably better off checking what kind of returns a bank will give you.

P.S. I think the reason why you didn't get much response with your first post is that it contained too many questions. I would suggest making separate posts for each question.

 

[gilbert de jong]

P.S. I think the reason why you didn't get much response with your first post is that it contained too many questions. I would suggest making separate posts for each question.

yep, sound advice.

 

[gilbert de jong]

10-20% per year....
depending on too many things wich are beyond controlable...
personal situation my house---first foreigner in this area (up a mountain) bought for around 10jt per are 4 years ago(44are), can now sell 34 are for 30jt per are because more and more foreigners coming up this way. Road gets widened and local trafo upgraded. house was finished 3 years ago and costed me around 900jt to build, a russian guy offered me last week 1.8M for the house including the 10are it's build on. Didnt take it cuz the view is amazing and it really has become my home.
So possible yes, but like spicy says don't trust everything an agent tells you...If you want to buy land do your own research...get to see a copy or original of the certificate and write down the numbers, then go to a notaris PPAT and ask him to take a looksy at planned government development in that area.
goodluck, fr.gr. gilbert.