In the first installment on Due Diligence, I explained how important it was to know your agent before you arrive in Bali.

In today’s episode I want to address what happens once you arrive in Bali and you're ready to view those beautiful properties that you've shortlisted over the last few months with your agent.

You're particularly excited to see that villa on the top of your list, because you've already figured out what it will be like to live in. And you're a virtual regular in all of those trendy coffee shops and restaurants close by.

A word of warning here.

Don’t get too excited because most buyers don’t usually buy what’s on top of their first inspection list.

Why?

Well, after having inspected around 20 or so properties, your original brief will certainly change dramatically. And that’s a good sign; it means you've done your homework and learned something you didn’t know before.

But how to decide which property is right for you?

Here are some tips:

1. Return to the top 3 properties on your list a few more times during different hours of the day.
2. Go in the morning, have a look in the afternoon and see how it presents at night.
3. Be sensitive to how traffic behaves during different hours of the day.
4. Pay attention to noise; is there a school nearby, a busy factory, a construction site, a discotheque hidden in the rice fields?
5. Talk to people that live in the neighborhood and find out as much as you can.
6. Does the local community welcome Uber or other commercial taxis or are you obliged to use some local transport providers at above normal tariffs?
7. Do you have kids that will go to school in Bali? If so, chose the school before you fall in love with a property and carefully research how long it takes to commute. Try it out during the hours your kids will have to go to school and come home.

Then look at the quality of the building you intend to buy.

1. Any cracks in the walls?
2. Any marks on the ceiling indicating a leaking roof?
3. I personally like to inspect the electrical panels. A tidy panel tells you a lot about the overall condition of the villa.
4. How old is the property? If its more than 10 years old and has never seen a major renovation, chances are that there's a lot of work for you to address in the next few years. Things like burst water pipes, electrical cables eaten away by unfriendly animals, leaking ponds and swimming pools, leaking roofs … and the list goes on.

If you're unsure about the building quality, get a local engineer to do an inspection and prepare a report.

In my next installment on Due Diligence, I'd like to share some very important legal things to be aware of.

Stay tuned!

Similar to this:

Due Diligence Part 1: know your agent and save yourself a lot of trouble

Making your Villa pay

Should I insure my property in Bali?