2 billion times! This is your potential and most important capital.
It is what an average life is made up of.

Or looking at the life span like this: Let’s say a good friend of you is 40 years of age –
Let’s assume, he or she lives in decent health until his/her departing the world at the age of 95.
That would be a total of 55 years, right?
55 years x 365 days = 20.000 days, give or take a month or two.

If I send you now 20.000 Rupiah – does this make you a rich person?

Another one, to hammer it right in: You start on a seemingly long walk of 20.000 steps.
You would reach the finish line after just 7 km walking. Oooops.

You may have heard the funny saying: “I have learned so much from making mistakes, I am planning to make some more”.
Funny indeed. But there may be not enough time for fooling around.
Get the best out of life from now on and make sure it is not only a short-term solution.

• You may ask: ‘What does all this have to do with Ubud – Property?’
Patience, a little patience please. -

Your personal solution should lead to living in paradise whilst still breathing. Enjoying an affordable life in the best climate, among peaceful friendly people, in an environment which offers mountains and the sea, and oodles of entertaining options. Doesn’t sound bad, really.

As a smart person with a grasp of life’s realities, you owe it to yourself, your family and dear ones to take sometimes stock of your situation – and really do something with this new achieved awareness.
You certainly can. Others have done it too.
I do not know how many of us chose Bali as home or for future retirement, but of those who did, rarely has anyone gone back, at least, not that I know of. They have given up positions, left comfortable surroundings, but if you ask at the coffee tables in Ubud’s streets, they say they are going to stay here.
That tells us, planning towards the Good Life may be the best chance to putting a glow on the many remaining days which are ahead.

However, it’s no good setting a five-year goal, feeling all virtuous for being such a strategic and big-picture thinker, then realizing in four years and 364 days that you've not actually got any closer towards making it a reality!
Think this over and check out -
• Where you are now
• Where you want to get to, and
• What actions you're going to take to bridge the gap.
And just as importantly, when do you want to have achieved that?

Of course, from where I stand and live, I am talking mainly about property, and what a place in Bali would mean for your future in terms of enjoying life, also for securing your savings and building up on them.
Sure, you can plan on other investments, but better just as secondary eggs in the basket. Why?
Because of the risk-to-benefit ratio of property purchase.
Because land and house is an asset that is real – you can see it, use it, rent it, improve the value of it.
Quick example: Because I did not want to miss out on ‘modern’ ways of handling my meagre savings, I bought in March this year some bitcoins. Of course you have heard by now what this is.
(This first crypto currency, called bitcoin, started in 2008 with a price of 30 cents per bitcoin. Just today the price is 21.000 USD per each.) Stunning. But do I really, really trust that this goes on forever?

I do not. Same with stocks, bonds, etc. It is even worse with money in the bank. Did you know that today half of all US Dollars in circulation world-wide, have been printed just this year, in 2020 ? It is truly scary, thinking about the loss of buying power of the Dollar and the impact on international inflation rates.

Can I trust that my nice home near Ubud will still be there for me later next year? You bet!
… and here in Bali you can even get happiness thrown into an investment property purchase. It comes totally FREE with such deal.

Indeed, real good deals can be had right now:

920 sqm land, 10 km from Ubud, USD 114.000 Prop. Code S.164
1.100 sqm land in Tegallalang with its fresh climate, USD 128.000 Prop. Code T.368
Brand new pool villa, leasehold until 2044 and extendable, USD 250.000 Code UL.346
Beautiful villa setting near Ubud USD 333.000. Code V1.165
Soon travelling will happen again. You must come and see!

When considering property as investment, making such a plan can start very simple:
For example, look at the choice between two property types:
• Property 1, maybe a villa, will give a return on your investment of 12% but will probably not increase in value dramatically, (maybe house to large on a too small block of land, etc.)
• Property 2 will give a return of 7% but has the potential to double in value over the next decade.
If your goal is to create a certain monthly income within three years, the Property 1 is likely to be a better choice. Growth is unlikely to happen to a great extent over that time, so you can cash in by renting right now, then short to mid-term sell again with a humble capital gain.
On the other hand, if you have a decade before you want to have achieved your goal, Property 2 is the better bet. It very much is a “bet” because you're taking something of a gamble on capital growth, but it's got a lot of time to happen and in Bali there is some certainty that the still available quality properties will go up in price significantly – and when they do, your returns will dwarf the higher rental income you'd have made from the other property.

This is just the very basic beginning of examining the many options, e.g. is the villa suitable to be managed by Property letting agents? – Hence investing in property can be even a “virtual” job.
The golden rule is – make sure you purchase a property that has a good rental market and is not overvalued. Best to ask a reputable local real estate agent what type of properties they most easily rent out. (Why do I have to mention UbudProperty? You know already :o )
Many investors target areas where there is positive change occurring – new roads, hospitals, sports/recreation areas, re-generation, injection of public and private funding.
Furthermore, and as a general trend, families are increasingly small, the typical 4 bedroomed 1930-70s house will become less popular. Retirement couples in Bali just want an extra bedroom only for visit of friends and family. Many may want convenience, Ubud-town living, café culture and access to airports and roads for local travel.
Or, to the contrary, -being totally detached from town activity, - enjoy nature together with the lower land prices, applicable to places more than 15 minutes from town center.

Do not follow your emotions, unless you plan exclusively to use the home for yourself, – instead follow the numbers. Make sure the economics are attractive. If you buy at say 10% below true market value – this is the safety margin you need, in case prices drop temporarily (as they do now). If you can quickly fix up a property to increase its value, your safety margin will improve further.
Finally, in this short summary one question needs to be asked: Could you do every task from research / selecting / doing due diligence / closing yourself?
Maybe.
Could you achieve better results if you bring in specialists to do what they do best? 
Definitely.
You could even go big and instruct us to view properties and make offers for you. Of course, before we act on your behalf in such a case, you should put a small security deposit down, so that we can assure the vendor that he has reason to take you serious.
Once purchased, consider to outsource functions like villa management marketing and accountancy to the local professionals.
Whatever you do, once you start thinking about your property venture like a real business with various departments, you'll start to break away from the idea that this is something you have to do all on your own – and that's a very useful insight.
As a first step, just tell us what is on your mind, email info@ubudproperty.com
We love to hear from you. No charge for professional advice. Nothing to lose, much to gain…
And apologies – reading through to here took you about 500 heart beats. But sometimes it is worth investing…

With kind regards and best Wishes of the Season,
Ray for the team of UbudProperty