The Australians building homes in Bali, and what you should know about the process

For some, it’s about escaping the rat race and enjoying a tropical climate. For others, it’s a way to make their money go further.

Whatever the reason, moving to Bali ticks a lot of boxes for Australians seeking a different way of life.

For Sophie Bell and her family, it was a chance to live more adventurously while also being close to the manufacturing site of her interior design products. 

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“We lived in a beautiful part of Australia in northern NSW, but during COVID, we had lots of big conversations, and I think we just had a realisation that this is what our life is going to look like and ‘Is this what we want?’” she says. 

“We were craving more adventure and more quality time with our kids while they are still young and want to hang out with us. We wanted to do something different on the weekend and explore, we wanted our kids to meet and see people and be inspired to do different things.”

Bell, the founder of the lifestyle brand Peppa Hart, moved to Bali with her young family in 2022.

They had planned to buy land and build a home from scratch, but instead, they decided to take over the construction of two villas in Seseh, a beachside town north of Canggu. The build was about 80 per cent complete, so the family could move into one of the villas and begin using the other for short-term leases three months later. 

While it was somewhat of a shortcut, Bell says she still learned a lot about the building process in Bali. 

“You need to tackle language barriers, and different building materials, different tools or the lack thereof and the rules are very relaxed, but the beauty of building in Bali is you can design up anything your heart desires and bring it to life,” she says. 

“For me, someone who was already doing that as much as I could in Australia, being able to do it without so many limitations here in Bali has been an absolute dream.”

The seaside villages of Canggu, Pererenan and Uluwatu are the most popular locations for new home construction, says Bali realty agent Nathan Ryan.

Building rules in Bali are vastly different to those in Australia, so he says it pays to do thorough research before committing. 

“Make sure to engage the services of a professional notary or lawyer to complete thorough due diligence on both the land purchase and the building contractor you are looking to use,” he says. 

“Try to speak with previous clients the builder has worked with and for first-hand knowledge of their experience working with that builder.”

Sasha and Sheila, who asked Domain not to publish their surnames, moved to Bali with their two children and began building there just days before COVID struck. They built a five-bedroom home with a pool overlooking neighbouring rice fields – a dramatic upgrade from their two-bedroom unit in Sydney.

However, the build was stressful at times and took longer than expected.

“Our builder told us it would take nine months!” Sasha says. “We guessed it would take longer, around 12 months. It ended up taking two years! We moved in after 12 months and lived on the building site as they built around us. It was a dusty and dirty experience, but it forged strong connections with our small team of builders. 

“Sadly, our builder disappeared towards the end of the build, which is a common story in Bali, but thankfully our team stayed on to help us finish the build.”

Those who prefer to sidestep the building process can buy an off-the-plan villa. At the luxury development OXO The Residences in Nyanyi, purchase prices start at $750,000 for villas ranging between 184 and 280 square metres. 

The architect-designed villas are ideal for people moving to Bali permanently and also for those who wish to live there only part-time, says OXO Living Founder and chief executive Johannes Weissenbaeck.

“It’s fully managed, so that means when investors live there, they can live there as they would in any place, but they can leave at any time, and we will take over the management, and then they will immediately start generating revenue for them,” he says. 

“So, a lot of people say, ‘Look, I can rent my property in a western country, and I can earn $5000 to $6000 a month for that, and I can live like an absolute king in Bali.’”