Bali - as it used to be

Bali, the island of love, Part 1

Bali, the island of love, Part 2

Bali, the island of love, Part 3

Bali, the island of love, Final Part

Travelogue (Part 1)

Travelogue (Part 2)

Heaven can wait

Yours truly. Why buy when you can rent?

 

If you have visited Bali and discovered its amazing natural beauty and low cost of living, and then considered buying real estate on the island, you are far from alone. The departure lounge at the Denpasar Airport is always filled with people trying to sort out how they’ll one day exchange their current hectic life for one of bliss and simplicity in this magical place.

Unfortunately, moving to or investing in Bali can be a complicated process. Indonesian laws strictly prohibit foreigners from owning land in the country, although this situation morphs a bit each year.

Bali is loaded with foreigners who love living on the island, but there are also many tales of people who fell victim to fraud, so this isn’t something anyone should consider doing on a whim. And certainly not in a hurry, as a certain German couple did when they signed up for a lease and purchase option on my favourite little hotel in North Bali, all in a couple of days - click here.

Apart from what can be quite a nasty expat community, there are real estate frauds and more real estate frauds aplenty, so, before you sign anything or hand over any money, read about real estate agents and follow some of the forum discussions and read some of the countless newspaper articles here and here.

There are plenty of true stories here and here and elsewhere, so my advice to you is: don't trust anyone!.

Don't even trust me; GOOGLE for it yourself:

 

They came, they saw, they leased

 

My favourite hide-away in the cool hills of northern Bali now has a resident lessee from Oldenburg in Germany!

Ralf Pelzner and Anke Sawalies came to Bali for the very first time two months ago. They came to stay at Banjar Hills and ask the obvious question "How much?"

It must have been infatuation at first sight because what they really wanted to know was how much it would cost to buy the place!

As it turned out, the asking price was rather more than they could afford, so they leased it instead - initially for two years, with an option to extend the lease or buy the property outright ("investing" in Indonesian real estate is fraught with danger for non-citizens - see here - so the next two years will give them enough time to check it all out before they buy - if they ever do!)

They've just been back to sign the lease and will take up permanent residence in mid-June. Will there be a new menu? ☺