Buying off-plan in Bali: deposits, payment schedules and handover

Good completed stock is thin. About one listing in three in our catalog is a finished home, and the rest are still under construction. Developers fund construction with buyers' payments, so they price the early stages lower and spread the schedule across the build.

Here's the trade: you pay for a house that doesn't exist yet. So your homework moves from the floor plan to the paperwork and the contract.

Source: Rise Real Bali catalog and deal practice, 2023–2026

Sellers use "the deposit" for three different payments, and each behaves differently if the deal falls through. A booking fee (tanda jadi) of 1–5% holds the unit. You pay a reservation deposit of about 10% under an MOU, and it counts toward the price. A first installment (uang muka) of 20–30% is the opening payment under the sale contract.

The booking fee is where buyers lose money most often. Unless the agreement says in writing that it's refundable and on what grounds, it stays with the developer if you walk away. Read the refund clause before you pay, not in the chat afterward.

Source: Bank Mega Syariah, education section, May 22, 2024; Excel Bali, 2026 edition, September 5, 2026

For houses and apartments sold under Indonesia's housing rules, PP 12/2021 sets the outcome. If a buyer cancels during marketing, before the presale agreement (PPJB), the developer may keep at least 20% of what it received. After the PPJB, a buyer who has paid 10% or less loses the whole amount, and a buyer who has paid more loses 10% of the price. If the developer is at fault, everything comes back.

The same regulation sets conditions for signing the PPJB itself, including land title, a building approval (PBG) and at least 20% construction progress. How far these rules reach a leasehold villa contract signed by a foreign buyer is a question for your notary. In practice, your contract governs, so the refund terms need to be in it.

Source: PP 12/2021 amending PP 14/2016, Articles 22H and 22L, via Industri Properti and Hukumonline

Each document answers one question. A missing one doesn't make the project bad, but it means the deal shouldn't close until the document exists.

The PBG must exist before construction starts. The SLF comes only after the building passes inspection, so on an off-plan deal the contract has to promise it. For the permits, read PBG and SLF in Bali. For the company behind the project, see how to check a Bali developer.

There are only a few schedules on the market. They differ in how much of your money leaves before work starts, and that share is your risk.

Most schedules carry no interest. The price carries the cost instead, which is why paying in full usually earns a discount. With a post-handover plan, compare two prices: the full-payment price and the plan price. The gap is what the plan costs you. If the villa's rental income over the plan period, on a cautious occupancy, covers that gap, the plan wins. If not, take the discount.

Source: Terms of projects in the Rise Real Bali catalog, 2023–2026

A calendar schedule keeps running whether or not the site moves. A stage schedule doesn't. Each stage has to be something you can see or measure: foundations poured, walls up, roof on, SLF issued. "Active construction phase" isn't a stage.

Payments go to the developer's company account named in the contract. A request to pay a representative's personal account is a reason to stop and ask questions.

Bali builds often run past the planned date, and a few weeks late is survivable. It hurts when the contract says nothing about it.

A workable contract says what happens: a fixed handover date, daily compensation after it, the right to pause payments until work resumes, and a refund route with a deadline if you terminate. Without those clauses you have no leverage, so we read for them before you sign anything.

• A fixed handover date in the contract text
• Compensation per day of delay
• The right to pause payments while work stands still
• Refund procedure and timing on termination

Inspect with a representative even if you're on the island. Record every defect in writing with a photo and a deadline for the fix, and sign the final report only once the fixes are done.

• Floor areas and layout match the contract
• Waterproofing in the pool and bathrooms, with falls toward every drain
• Electrical capacity, fuse board and grounding
• Air conditioning
• Joinery, glazing and insect screens
• Furniture package (FF&E) checked piece by piece against the specification
• SLF and the full document set

For a buyer living abroad, the developer's schedule is the financing. Indonesian banks lend to foreigners only in narrow cases, usually to KITAS or KITAP holders with local income, and expect a large down payment.

Budget the one-off costs separately from the installments. On a title transfer, BPHTB of up to 5% falls due when the right passes to you, not with the first payment. Notary fees are covered in our notary guide.

Our catalog lists off-plan villas and apartments with the payment schedule and handover date on each card. Start from properties or narrow it down by area. Before any booking fee, our lawyer checks the title, zoning and PBG on your pick at no cost, and we read the payment clauses with you. The full process is in how to buy property in Bali.

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