Another curveball
Property hunting and its casualties
You would think that buying property would be as easy as finding land that fits your criteria, negotiating a price that is acceptable for both parties, and then determining that the land title is clean. Once those things are out of the way a notary or lawyer can prepare the paperwork and then off you go.
But in Bali it’s a different story.
A lovely 17 are parcel of land at a very good price.
My wife Shelly having a discussion with the owner’s son.
The access road to the property (nice and wide). Workers (most likely from Java) stacking bricks (and you think you have problems).
After discussing the property with our realtor and the land owner’s son, Shelly and I decided to take a small walk around the periphery of the land. We encountered a bunch of Balinese kids and asked them about a small, grassy hill next to the land. Turns out it is a cemetery. The Balinese go through elaborate cremation ceremonies before burying their dead. But the actual burial is a simple affair of placing the remains in the ground. No statues or signs are necessary.
Next we talked to a neighbor who said we cannot build next to the local cemetery. Nor would we want to. Turns out the excellent price was too good to be true.
We have our eyes on a new piece of land that seems ideal, except for the price. The difficulty we’re facing is that when a landowner knows that his neighbor sold land before the pandemic at a price of X, he should also get X, or close to it.
As there are no international flights coming to Bali until at least the end of the year (if not longer), and current hotel occupancy at 4%, we are in an unprecedented time where the future of travel is unknown.
If we cannot achieve deep discounts because of the risk we’d be facing in investing in land before we know when potential buyers are available, it will not be wise to move forward at this time.
This parcel is 15.75 are (.39 acre). It includes the first two rice fields that are currently flooded.
The property is on the left. Access to the property, off the main road, will require some work but its manageable.
We bumped into the land owner. He’s discussing the access road with Shelly.
The realtor has arranged for a government survey to determine whether residences can be built. With rice fields it’s tricky as the location needs to be close to residences in order to retire them. If not they become green zone land and must remain agricultural.
We will know soon whether this property is under residency status. If so it will become a question of pricing.
Until next time,
Neill