The checks that tell you whether a developer, an agent and a listing are what they say they are.
Before you pay a deposit on a Bali villa, three things should already be true. Your lawyer has reviewed the memorandum of understanding. The deposit will be held in escrow by a notary, not paid to the seller, the developer or the agent. And the deposit is refundable if due diligence on the title, zoning and permits comes back unsatisfactory.
Ours or anyone else's. We will tell you what to ask for before any money moves, and what your notary should check.
No email required. No mailing list.
If any of those three is missing, do not pay. Everything below is how to check the rest.
| What you see | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| "Freehold" offered to a foreigner | A company or a nominee holds the land. A nominee deal is void under Article 26 of the Basic Agrarian Law |
| "30 years" with no end date | The years may have started counting long before you sign |
| "Extension included" with no price | The extension is a conversation, not a right |
| A guaranteed rental income | A promise from the seller, not a fact about the villa |
| No zoning stated | The land may be green zone, where nothing can be built, or yellow, where it cannot be let daily |
| Deposit paid to the developer or the agent | Your money is not protected if the deal falls through |
| Pressure to pay this week | The deal is better for the seller than it is for you |
Ask for a finished project you can visit. Not renders, a building, with people living in it or letting it. Then ask the owners there how the build went and whether handover was on time.
Ask who holds the land. The developer should hold a lease or a right over the land in its own name, registered or notarised, for longer than the leases it is selling. Your notary can check this before you pay.
Ask for the building approval. A villa needs a PBG, the building approval, before construction and an SLF, the certificate that it is fit to use, at the end. A developer selling off plan without a PBG in hand is asking you to fund the permit as well as the villa.
Check the company. An Indonesian developer has an NIB, its business registration number, which you can ask for and your notary can verify.
Read the payment schedule against the build. Payments should follow finished stages that someone independent has seen, not dates on a calendar. Buying off plan in Bali covers the contract in detail.
Ask how they are paid and by whom, before you view anything. Ask whether they will put the lease end date in writing. Ask who holds the deposit. An agent who answers all three plainly is worth talking to. How to check an agent in Bali has the full list, starting with us.
We publish no rental figures on any listing, because nobody can honestly promise them. But you can test anyone else's before you rely on them.
Ask what the figure is based on. A real booking history for that villa, with the platform statements, is evidence. A spreadsheet of nightly rates and an assumed number of nights is not.
Ask whether it is gross or net. Management fees, cleaning, platform commission, utilities, maintenance, licences and tax all come out of the gross figure.
Ask whether the villa can legally be let to tourists. That depends on the zoning of the land and the licence the property holds today. If it cannot be let daily, a daily rental figure does not apply to it.
Ask who pays if the figure is not met. If the answer is nobody, it is an estimate, however it is presented.
Ask about the years left on the lease. Income only runs while the lease does. The lease calculator shows what each year left costs you.
At no stage should a buyer's money be held by an agent. The order that protects you:
Off plan purchases then follow the developer's payment schedule, which is why the schedule matters so much. How a purchase runs explains each step.
The land certificate (sertifikat) and its owner, checked at the land office. The zoning (KKPR). The PBG, and the SLF if the villa is built. The lease deed with its end date and extension clause. The developer's NIB, if it is off plan. The documents to ask for, in order covers each one.
Ask your notary: who will hold my deposit, when is it refundable, and what will you have checked before the binding agreement is signed?
This page describes publicly available law and practice and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Bali Property Sourcing is a real estate agency and buyer's agent, not a law firm. Instruct your own notary and lawyer before you commit money.
Ours or anyone else's. You get the questions to ask and the documents to ask for, before any money moves. Your notary checks the title before the sale goes ahead.
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