Live out your dreams on an island paradise
After being posted to Hong Kong nearly 15 years ago, Frenchman Mathias Echene promised his wife Gaelle that after 10 years in finance he would switch careers to something less stressful. It was their mutual dream to build a house on the beach in Bali. In the end, they built five.
Three of the homes have been sold and leased back to Pantai Lima Estate, which Echene heads. Two are on the market with US$3.4 million and US$3.7 million price tags. All can be rented by the day, week or month when their owners are not in residence.
Pantai Lima is located in the fishing village of Perenenan, just north of trendy Seminyak. With four to five bedrooms, each property has two to three spacious villas, beautifully landscaped gardens, stunning ocean views and infinity pools that are large enough to comfortably do laps in. Common areas include a tennis court with night lighting and a fitness centre. There is also a seminar room.
'We made our first trip to Bali after we had been living in Hong Kong for two years,' Echene said. 'In 2006, we were on the beach, and I said, 'I don't want to return to Hong Kong'.'
Bill van Eck, proprietor of the Madrigal Guest House in Ubud, had been visiting Bali once or twice a year for 30 years when he decided to lease a plot of land in the middle of rice paddies and build two structures on it. He inhabits one and runs the other as a two-unit guesthouse. The revenue provides what he calls 'pocket money'.
Van Eck warned that costs have a way of escalating, adding that all kinds of things can unexpectedly go wrong. As a result, people having houses built often end up spending double what they had originally planned.
'Realistically, you should figure on between US$100,000 and US$2.5 million,' he said. 'Make sure you have a good builder, someone that is trustworthy. More often than not, you have to send money over. So you have to find people you can trust. Otherwise, your money might just disappear.'
A teacher of English and drama in Hong Kong, William Henderson has been vacationing in Bali twice a year for the past few years. Frustration at the difficulty of finding reasonably priced accommodation during school holidays prompted him to lease land and build the house of his dreams on it.
Henderson leased the lot for 23 years for US$9,000. He expects it will cost him about US$90,000 to develop the property. That works out to just over US$4,300 per year. He believes it is a worthwhile investment.
'It's all about lifestyle. I figure that if I can rent it out three to four months of the year, it will be revenue neutral. Anything beyond that will be surplus.'
