I Moved to Bali. I rent AND I own (the same place)

In Indonesia you can own property one of two ways: by being an Indonesian, or by setting up a foreign company and having the company own the land.

Another option, and an easier one, is to buy the villa but lease the land that the villa sits on. Since the villa I fell in love with (and purchased) already had a 30 year lease, I purchased the lease as well as the villa and have 29 years left before one of two things happen: I give up or sell the villa before my lease expires, or renew the lease in 20 or 25 years.

The overall price is lower because I didn’t pay full price for the land. But renewing the lease will be another large chunk of change down the road. But since the road is long and I don’t know how I’ll feel about living in Bali in 2 or 12 years, I’m ok with my decision.

Photo of the landowner, Made, at my villa teaching me how to grill chicken satay (Satay Ayam in Indonesian). (The used grill was purchased yesterday via a Facebook post in the Bali community.)

Each month I have to pay local community fees of 100,000 rupiah (around $7.40) to the Banjar. They oversee the neighborhood and protect the citizens as a local council.

I enjoy interacting with Made. It seems like the equivalent of leasing land from Native Americans in the USA. The Balinese can choose to convert land from rice fields to leased property if they can profit more from a lease than by farming. If the land is in a desirable area from the point of view of expats and developers, then the choice gives those lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time a nest egg. They also maintain pieces of land for their extended family, and so I consider the arrangement a win/win.

BTW the satays were delicious (Lezat in Indonesian).