Bali's investment beat: Serena Villas Uluwatu story

Hey, everyone,

As promised, I'm back with the next post about our joint project with my husband, Serena Villas Uluwatu, and overall investment opportunities in Bali.

Serena Villas Uluwatu

By the way, I forgot to introduce my husband to you last time. His name is Santiago, and close friends call him Santi. Our story deserves a separate post, I'll definitely tell it later.

But let's continue talking about our project and investment opportunities in Bali. I don't want to bore you with dry facts about why investments here are so profitable, ROI, a constantly growing real estate market, etc. You can find all this information on the internet by entering search terms like:

Bali real estate investments, Property investment Bali, Investment opportunities in Bali, Bali investment properties, Real estate market Bali, Bali property market, Best areas for investment in Bali, Bali property development, Foreign investment in Bali real estate, ROI in Bali real estate, etc.

You'll get comprehensive information and market offers from various companies.

Tourism in Bali is continuously growing. I mentioned earlier that I won't overload you with statistical data, but I must show you one graph illustrating the increasing number of tourists. There was a decline during the 2-year lockdown, but since the beginning of 2022, the figures have been rapidly rising again.

Numbers of tourists in Bali since 2014

Even during the pandemic, many people invested here, building villas, hotels. It was a "golden time" for those not afraid to take risks and seize opportunities. After the pandemic, global prices for everything went up, and Bali was no exception. However, even with the increasing prices and the abundance of options in the market, investing in Bali remains advantageous.

I spent 9 months on the island in 2020, returned at the beginning of 2022, and saw striking changes. So much new had been built during that period: restaurants, cafes, villas, hotels, gyms, yoga studios.

Starting in 2022, the Bali government began gradually easing entry conditions to the island, and a real boom began. "New" developers from various countries started arriving, promising "incredible incomes" if you invest in Bali real estate.

What were Santiago and I doing during that time? I had my online consulting projects, and he was working on his architectural projects. We calmly observed the development boom, scandals related to development projects, and the activity around us.

At the same time, Santiago began receiving inquiries from friends and acquaintances about land prices here, how to buy it, how to build a villa, and what collaboration options are available. People approached him with all sorts of questions, not just as an architect.

I was genuinely surprised when some of my acquaintances from my country asked me about investment opportunities in Bali because they saw advertisements on social media. In Ukraine, too, people began hearing about Bali investments. This is because in 2022, there was a "great influx" of developers from former Soviet countries, including Ukraine, who actively started selling real estate in Bali in their countries.

We started delving into understanding all the processes. We consulted with lawyers, visited various land offers, and talked to landowners. Eventually, we realized that we were ready for our own project—we can offer a quality product to clients.

We live in Uluwatu on the Bukit Peninsula, a picturesque place with white beaches and cliffs, which is now dynamically developing. Here, we plan to implement our first project, Serena Villas Uluwatu www.serenavillasuluwatu.com.

Working on our own project, advising friends, and acquaintances, we saw, as often happens when something develops quickly, there are pros and cons, and people have many questions.

On the positive side, there is indeed a wide choice of successful companies with experience in the market that offer projects for every taste in terms of design, location, pricing. Practically all of them offer installment payment options. On the downside, again, there is a wide choice of companies, and choosing the one that will be a reliable partner is challenging.

Questions that people have:

How to pick the right company?

What's their Bali portfolio?

Tips on choosing a project for 3D visuals?

Is the company newly established, are the owners foreigners, do they know the market specifics?

Who is the architect?

Is that 26% ROI for real?

Can the developer's forecasted 90% occupancy for the year be accurate?

Based on what data are these figures provided?

How are ROI calculations made?

Why is a villa priced at $100,000 when something similar elsewhere costs $300,000?

Beach, restaurants, cafes—how far?

Who are the neighbors around?

what is planned to be built nearby?

Best Bali spots for investments?

If I'm not on the island, who's watching the construction?

Paying from abroad—how?

Can I pay by cryptocurrency?

Why am I leasing land, not owning?

Villa's ready—now what?

Yes, there are many questions. I will try to answer them soon.

And now, let me tell you what the next post will be about: I promised to share stories about interesting people we meet, work with, and befriend. So, the next story is about our friend. His name is Tony; he has been coming to Bali since the '90s, investing here since the early 2000s, and has been living here permanently with his family since 2018. He has a lot to tell.

See you soon!

Olya.