Bali 13/2/2004
The next most important feature that tourists are looking for when they rent a villa is a private swimming pool.
Many of the top hotels in Bali recognized this trend a decade ago and added bungalows with small plunge pools.
Soon they became the top resort hotels in the world.
Although normally tourists do not specify what size or shape of pool they desire, experience that we have obtained after showing hundreds of villas with pools to perspective renters teaches us that “ size does matter”.
A plunge pool may look cute at first but tourists will soon realize that there’s no fun in simply doing one or two strokes and banging your head on the other side of a plunge pool.
We recommend that the pool should be a minimum of five meters long and seven to eight meters seems to satisfy most tourists.
A seven meter pool for example would allows a full-grown western man
to have six to eight strokes before turning around and coming back.
When investing in a villa give extra points to a Villa that has a non-square or rectangular pool. Kidney shaped, heart shaped are much sexier and may make the difference between them choosing your villa over others.
Pool construction although not initially considered by the renter is important. Pools that are in the ground and especially those that have infinity overflow
designs will receive “Wow’s” from renters and guests.
One of the newest trends is exotic Kidney shape pools with infinity design that appears to have flow from the living room via steps into the swimming pool.
This design has received rave reviews from most that have seen them.
If pool
pumps and pool lights are constantly breaking down your investment villa could turn into a investment nightmare”
Do not buy investment villas that have low quality, cheap equipment. This equipment usually cost half price and will last only pone third of the time.
Australian Davey pumps appear to last a long time and have great after service through CV Tropical Pools.
Be very careful to inspect the hardscape, which surrounds the swimming pool.
Slippery stones and finishes may be very dangerous and lead to huge lawsuits in the future.
Natural rough slabs of Indonesians stones such as Palimanan retain grip
even when soaked.
Make sure that the pool has a shallow end for children and at least 1.5 meters of depth in the deep end.
Pool cleanliness and maintenance is very important. Having a pool man that knows exactly the right balance of chemicals is may mean the difference between a repeat customer or not.
It is very easy to achieve a clean pool by throwing in abundant chemicals but if these chemicals, cause eye irritation and smell they will not be coming back and will not recommend their friends in the future.
Pool furniture is also very important. A two-bedroom villa pool should have at least three large lawn chairs. These lawn chairs must be in top condition and not show wear and tear from sun.
Pool chairs, should be inspected often to make sure that they are not in disrepair.
Bali 20/2/2004
The third most important feature tourist desire is that the villa be spacious.
The reason they are willing to take the chance on a private villa rental is that primarily they offer substantially more space than average hotel rooms.
Spaciousness begins the moment you enter the Villa’s front entrance.
If the villa and gardens are very small or nonexistent, it will give a boxed in feeling and prevent repeat business.
We have found that the minimum size for an investment Villa that will attract substantial rentals is 300 square meters (3229 sq. ft.) of land.
Under the roof there should be at least 150 square meters (1614 sq. ft.) square meters.
Bedrooms should be at least 16 square meters (172 sq. ft.) With bathrooms, at least six square meters (65 sq. ft.).
The living area should be adequate to accommodate eight adults so that not only can the tourist enjoy the villa but also several guests which they are bound to meet as soon as they tell friends they have a luxury villa.
The dining area should be adequate for at least six adults. The kitchen should be large enough to accommodate three persons at one time, therefore allowing room for your cook and two more.
Around the pool, there should be room for at least three large lawn chairs, which are situated such that they
will receive ample sunshine between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM. After all nobody wants to go home without a tan from Bali.
We have discovered that the walls around the villa will provide a “boxed in feeling” unless they are curved. Square walls with 90 degree angles should be avoided at all cost.
Adequate lighting in the perimeter walls and in the pool at night will provide a luxurious rich feeling prompting many daydreams for tourist who will want to return
the future.
Other features that turn on renters and owners are an area for a washer and dryer. A private small room for a maid to a relax in during her breaks and lunch is very important. A private toilet and shower for the maid is necessary so she will not have to use the main bathrooms.
Another feature we recommend is that there is a large room with only one solid door that can be utilized as an owner’s locker, or as one client said recently “a super large safety deposit box”. This is where the owner of the villa can store all their
little knickknacks that they will purchase while staying in Bali.
Features that are very attractive and important are that there is a full size bathtub in the bathroom and a shower stall. An outdoor shower with plants will provide an exotic feel of Bali that tourist will remember forever.
An outdoor shower next the pool will also prevent a lot of unnecessary traffic through the bedrooms.
Once the size is right you can
still have lots of space but poor quality workmanship and materials along with poor interior design and furnishings can turn a large villa into a huge nightmare.
Design starts from the moment you walk through the front door.
A picture is worth a thousand words. You can tell how successful your villa rentals will be by the first words that people state as they enter the front door.
If they are silent, you probably have a
loser.
If you receive comments such as “wow” or “magnificent” or “you could not have done it better” you know that you will be seeing plenty of income from renters in the future.
It all begins with the front door itself.
One of the many beautiful features of Balinese architecture is the hand carved solid teak entrance doors.
Unfortunately, most seem to be built to turn to the house into a fortress with a very small entrance.
We have found that Bule (foreigner) size doors are much more desired than the typical small Balinese doors, which were designed for little old women.
After you enter the large doors, the next item that catches your eye is the walkway to the villa and the pool.
There are two considerations here. One is safety, and
the other is beauty, in that order.
Slippery stones or ceramic tiles simply will not do, especially during the rainy season and may lead to major lawsuits from broken limbs caused by slipping on a poorly designed walkway. 
One of our favorite materials for walkways is the white Palimanan stone that is produced in Java. Not only does produce a rich feeling but is also is very anti slippery. Next week will we will continue on our tour of the
perfect Bali investment villa. We will discuss various materials that should and should not be used in building the perfect Bali investment villas.
Bali 27/2/2004
(5) Price is the next major consideration.
Many are under the impression that the lower the price the more successful the villa. Not true.
It is important to
understand that sophisticated travelers who are searching for luxury villas are less interested in price than they are in location and quality.
Why is a luxury villa complex in Sanur 100% occupied starting next week while most hotels and older lower quality villas are suffering?
When you build the highest quality Villas available in a great location with excellent services, price is not an obstacle to most renters.
A seasoned traveler will seek reasonable prices for quality villas.
Renting a one-bedroom villa for $150.00 per day is very prudent.
Knowing that, they can have a private pool and kitchen facilities they can cut down the cost of eating out.
It turns out to be a wise business decision.
It is even more prudent when you have a family or two couples traveling together and they rent a private two-bedroom villa for an average price of $250.00 per day or $200.00 per day for more than a week.
Especially if you throw in amenities such as a private full time maid who can shop at
grocery stores and supermarkets and help prepare meals that otherwise cost a small fortune at hotels.
She can also assist as a babysitter, thereby saving money and providing free time for romantic adventures for loving couples.
Three couples sharing a three-bedroom luxury villa for $250.00 per day save a substantial amount of money over a four or five star hotel.
Another important factor is that pricing of villas is flexible.
During the low tourist season, it is better to receive $100 to $200 per day rather than receive nothing. Staff and management still have to be paid.
And there’s a good chance that the tourist who takes advantage of the discounts during the off-season may very well be bringing
back friends and relatives in the future in the high season when they’re willing to pay substantially more.
The final feature that you should look for when purchasing a Bali investment villa is the cost of procuring and managing rentals.
There are many schemes available, including sharing all rental income with all Villas. Although this may work in the perfect world it, leaves open the opportunity for poor accounting and cheating.
We have determined that the best scenario for marketing and management costs is to have an agreement with the villa management whereby they only receive a commission if the villas rent.
The maximum to pay for procurement should be 20% of the net income.
In addition, you need to be sure that your villas are
maintained in top-notch condition.
This means house cleaners, gardener’s pool boys and maintenance staff need to be paid and managed.
It is very reasonable to pay a management company 10% of whatever is paid for labor and expenses to maintain your villas. This may only add $30 to $40 to your cost per month but you will have the peace of mind in knowing that your villa is maintained in five -star condition.
The final consideration is the cost of villas.
Purchase prices that appear to offer investors an attractive return are in the $100,000 to $250,000 price range for villas within ten minutes of a major beach.
Beachfront Villas cost more and demand the highest rental incomes. They start as low as $200,000 upwards to $500,000
Finally, you can have the best villas in the world with the best features, best quality, and best management, but if they are not marketed properly you will have a losing investment.
When looking at Bali investment villas for purchase make sure you ask the right questions about how your villa will be marketed in the future.
Villa marketers with huge sophisticated web sites that place in the first five positions on major search engines such as Google and Yahoo will have the most success with marketing your Villas in this modern high tech world.
In conclusion, as “Baby Boomers”, which represent almost 30% of the world’s population and 60% of the world’s wealth retire they are seeking to obtain their dream of a luxury villa in paradise.
As they discover they can earn a return of 20% to 30% per year why enjoying their luxury villas 3- 4 months per year investment villa demand will grow exponentially in the future.
Bali will benefit from this growth in that luxury villas require average 2-3 employees to maintain them in top condition. Therefore there will be substantial growth in employment for future generations of Balinese.
To locate Bali investment villas that offer the features that tourist’s desire the most you can surf the internet for “Bail investment villas” or go directly to http://www.baliemeraldvillas.com and
http://www.baligoldenvillas.com. For over 200 villas for sale click on http://www.balivillasforsale.com
