How to buy land in Bali for living & investment

Is buying land a good investment strategy in Bali?

Yes. Buying land to build your dream home or to resell it is a well established trade in Bali, However, especially if you are just getting started the acquisition process can look confusing and possibly result in a loss.

Luckily for you in this article we will go through the whole process so you won't be caught off guard when the time comes. In addition to some knowledge, always make sure to be assisted by an experienced agent who can protect your interests and overcome complex situations.

Finding the right land

Regardless of the fact that your intent is to buy land with the sole purpose of flipping it with a quick trade, generate income by creating your rental business  or building your dream home because you are moving to Bali there is a common denominator and its location.

Location is everything

The land searching process is more of an art rather than a scientific practice. We, as a real estate company, heavily rely on market data  and our own experience to help our clients make informed decisions when they ask us to help them invest in Bali.

Finding land will take time, be patient and make sure that when you find it be ready.

Bali land choice guidelines:

Each person is different and choosing the perfect land in Bali is strongly correlated with your ultimate goal.

• Home for yourself? Whatever you like and makes sense with the money you have available.
• Villa(s) to sell? Weigh the benefits for your buyers to get the best possible location within budget.
• Land flip? Look for areas currently in active development or up and coming with enough demand (have a plan B for this one)

Land for investment

When it comes to buying land in Bali it is very important that you take your time to research, usually by physically getting on location and scout the areas you are most interested in and investigate them properly.

You can start by asking yourself some simple questions like:

• How many developments are happening at the moment in that area?
• How far is it from the main roads? 
• What points of interest are to be found nearby?
• Where’s the closest supermarket, restaurant, pharmacy, etc
• Distance from schools?
• What are rent prices like in the area?
• Who is living in the area?
• What’s the view and natural features?
• And so on and so forth..

Sometimes, just a little bit of networking with fellow investors and agency can be beneficial. They might drop some good or bad insight that you can always verify and use to your advantage.

About that, feel free to book our free 30 min discovery call to get a feel of how it is to invest in Bali.

Steps to buying  land in Bali

Assuming you have found your new land for sale in Bali, these are the key steps and to-do’s in order to finalise the purchase:

1. On site visit and negotiation

It's always a good idea to directly go visit the land you are considering, meet the owner and build a relationship with him before going through the purchasing process.

The on-site visit is your occasion to negotiate the price and actually touch and feel the land as well as the surrounding area. 

Do not worry if Indonesian isn't your second language, your  real estate agent will make sure the conversation and the negotiations with the owner will be smooth and not awkward at all.

Au contraire.

Usually you will end up sipping Bali coffee with the whole family and sharing the moment together. It’s a one of a kind experience.

Although, if you are not in Bali it’s possible to do the whole process remotely. Make sure you work with a trusted party or a licensed real estate agency in Bali to avoid surprises.

2.Start the buying process and stay safe

Turns out, you like the land, the price is reasonable and the neighbourhood fits your expectations. 

What happens next if you want to move forward in the buying process?

You have to reserve the land to make sure no one else can buy it before you! This get settled in a notary office, not with the owner of the land, here's why:

To reserve your land you have to sign a pre-contract agreement managed by your agent and deposit 10% of the total value of the land. 

If you do so through a notary you can rest assured that if something is "off" from the seller side, example: the owner  does not fully own the land is trying to sell you for example (yes, it happens), during the due diligence process, you can get your money back and walk away from the deal with no loss.

3.Due diligence process

This is the most important step to you as a buyer. 

During the due diligence process you will need to gather intelligence from reputable sources, such as the government or entities tied to it. This is done in order to verify that everything is in order so you as an investor can finish the purchase without any trouble. This process takes approximately between two weeks and up to one month.

This is in short what you or your agent will have to go through:

• Check the ownership certificate of the seller to make sure he's entitled to sell his land to you.
• Topographic measurements of the land to make sure you are getting sold the correct land size.
• Zoning check (ITR) to make sure you are buying a piece of land on which you can build upon.
• Request IMB, which is the building permit and you have to verify if the land you are considering can obtain this permit.

For reference the categorisation of the land in a nutshell is as follows:

• Green: agricultural land (cannot issue IMB and can only host only non-permanent structures such as bamboo houses or joglos and can build up to 10% of the land),‍
• Yellow: Residential. You can build, obtain construction permits and apply for SLF and operate rental businesses.‍
• Orange: commercial & residential. You can can build, get IMB, can request pondok wisata (license to operate rental businesses)‍
• Red:  Commercial (can do pretty much anything from building houses, rentals and shops)‍
• Pink: accommodation (where you can build resorts and hotels. Pink zones are usually located near the beach)
  

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If everything checks out and is exactly as you would have expected, you are ready for the last and final step.

4. Sign the agreement and make the final payment

In this phase you will have to finalize your buying intent with the owner. This is done in the notary office where you will be signing your contract with the seller and he will receive the full payment of his land.

You now own a piece of paradise! Congratulations!

How to start now

Some buyers like to try everything on their own, and that’s totally understandable since they can save on agency fees, but sometimes by trying to save a little money they end up wasting a lot of time, fail negotiation and in the worst possible case, get scammed. First timer you are advised.

Now that you know the steps involved in land investment in Bali it's time to take action. 

If you're interested in investing in land in Bali and developing your project, be sure to do your research and see what land listings are available today. We only hold around 15% of our land database online, so feel free to inquire at any time via WhatsApp or via email.