Bali luxury property: telling the real from the spiel

Endless warm weather, hundreds of places to eat and drink, perhaps closing off the day with a stroll along the beach as the sun sets over the Indian Ocean in a panoramic fresco of colours, all within one of Asia’s best preserved cultures on one of the world’s most idyllic islands. Also, never having to wash a dish or make a bed again. Private spa and infinity pool? That, too.

Such are the dreams of thousands of holidaymakers in Bali wanting to extend their stays indefinitely. The long-term rental market for villas is robust, but leases must usually be paid a year or two in advance and the cost of fixing dodgy plumbing, faulty wiring and leaky ceilings is left entirely in the hands of tenants.

In some cases, foreigners have paid tens of thousands of US dollars in advance only to learn the day they try to move in that they’ve been scammed and the villa is already occupied.

Building your own villa takes unscrupulous land­lords and dodgy property agents out of the equation, but it introduces a whole new gamut of risks and scams, from builders who abscond with down payments to neighbours who blackmail new buyers by starting piggeries next door and then demanding huge sums of money to move the animals elsewhere.

And because foreigners are not allowed to buy land or free-standing houses in Bali, villas can only be built on leased land that reverts to the landowner, along with everything built on it, 30 years down the track.

But in November 2020, when Indonesia was in the throes of the coronavirus recession, its pro-business president, Joko Widodo, introduced the Omnibus Law for job creation to stimulate the economy and cut red tape, particularly in regards to business permits and investment. Among the many changes, foreigners are now allowed to buy self-contained units freehold and enjoy permanent ownership and resale rights.