All Forum Posts by: Kate Bolia

I’m relatively new to RE.  I built a house in Bali, Indonesia that I put on the short term rental market and it’s been going well.  It cash flows approx $2,500/month.  I had absolutely no idea what I was doing when I started.  I just had a feeling it would be a good investment and jumped thru a bunch of hoops to make it happen.  My research has lead me to a plan of holding onto it for approximately 5 years and then selling.  I may re-invest in Bali at that point, it really just depends on how well I’ve done and what’s going on in the Bali market. 

Now I'm looking to roll some money over from my IRA to a self directed Roth and start investing in some RE here in the states. I'm eager to learn, but want to get started right away, so I'm thinking of making a few investments with Spark Rental as a passive investor.

My boyfriend is a contractor and we have discussed doing a couple of flipping deals and/or doing long-term rentals here in the Atlanta area.  I want to learn as much as I can about deals before we pull the trigger on something, so we make the best decision.  I’m looking forward to connecting with some RE investors here in the Atlanta area, as well as the larger community, for knowledge and advice.  In and ideal world, I’d love to find a mentor that I could assist in exchange for learning the ropes! 

Thanks!

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.