My 1st RE Investment

[Kate Bolia]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $200,000
Cash invested: $210,000

This was my first real estate investment. I built a house in Bali, Indonesia for short-term rental purposes. It’s currently cash flowing approx $2,500/month. My plan is to hold onto it for approximately 5 years and sell it. I may re-invest in the Bali market at that time.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I had no idea what I was doing at the time, but I love Bali and the climate lends itself to year round tourism. The rental market is strong and the investment seemed minimal for new construction with strong rental potential. I also knew that if I decided to retire in Bali, at least I would have a really nice house that’s paid for.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I had to jump thru a few hoops to start a business in Bali, which allowed me to apply for an investor visa. The visa in turn allowed me to open a bank account. I found the deal thru a real estate company in Bali that caters to investors looking for this type of property.

How did you finance this deal?

No financing options in Bali, so it was self financed. It was basically a construction draw every few months based on milestones.

What was the outcome?

So far, it’s been relatively easy. I have a great management company that handles everything. I’ve hired a tax consulting firm that makes sure taxes are reported and paid on time and every month I get P&Ls, etc.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

The language barrier is perhaps the biggest challenge. Everyone speaks English, but there’s a lot of confusion and cultural differences in language that present a challenge. I also find there to be lack of efficiency that can be difficult. Everything requires a lot of patience.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Finding a management company that not only speaks English, but understands it fluently makes things so much easier. The real estate company, Propertia Bali, is also run by Europeans, so that helps. The Developer is also European. I used Bali Solve to help me set up my company, and my Visa. They were easy to work with (most of the time). The biggest issue was that the language barrier with Bali Solve.