Successful Bali Developer Reflects on Living in Bali for 21 Years

Twenty one years ago I sailed my yacht  into Benoa Harbor, Bali.

I arrived here after three years of sailing from Hawaii to Bali. 

During that voyage I had several dangerous episodes, such being caught in the doldrums for 42 days with no wind, fuel or water and having a mast fall down in the middle of nowhere. 

When I arrived in Bali I was ready to repair the yacht, sell it and discontinue my dream of sailing around the world.

After a month or so I decided that was cheap enough to rent a home and give me a break off the yacht while is been repaired.

After befriending local expatriates, most of them Australian, I realized that Sanur was a nice place to rent a house and fix my yacht with low cost Labor and materials.

My first home was rented at $250 a month for a lovely little three-bedroom home.

I began the tedious task of refurbishing the yacht and making it sellable.

I soon fell in love with Bali, its locals, low cost of living, high-quality lifestyle and began to wonder if there was some way to make this a home.

When the yacht was almost finished I were approached by hotel staff of the Four Seasons Hotel who commented “you have the most beautiful yacht in Bali would you like to charter it”?

“you have the most beautiful yacht in Bali would you like to charter it”?

Soon thereafter we obtained working permits and began selling charters for Bali Yacht Charters. 

At first it was a lot of fun taking some of the richest and famous people in the world from The Grand Hyatt, Four Seasons and most major five star hotels in Bali.

After a while realizing that 20% to 30% of the guests we getting sea sick crossing the Badung straits and keeping the yacht repaired became too tedious.

Often when sailing with VIPs from around the world they asked what my previous profession was which was investment advisor and owner of a real estate brokerage company in Hawaii. 

They asked “what do you think about Bali real estate”. My answer was always the same. “Bali is Hawaii 30 years ago when investors first started to buy” But that I “would not buy Bali Real Estate until the dictatorship at the time was over with”.

“Bali is Hawaii 30 years ago when investors first started to buy” 

My last yacht charter in 2002 was escorting young British adults on what was supposed to be a human powered trip utilizing no fossil fuels from England to Australia.

Half way across the normally complacent channel between Indonesia and Australia we were caught in a class four cyclone similar to the one that just devasated Caribean Islands and Florida Keys, with winds topping 250 km/h.

Things soon began to go wrong. The sails shredded. The entire crew and passengers were down below seasick and I was holding on for dear life at the helm as each wave, sometimes 5 meters tall, crashed over me for 42 hours.

The net result is we made it to Dundee Beach, Darwin, Australia but ended up getting nailed when the storm turned around and caught us at anchor. So we all walked off. Nobody loss their lives or personal items. 

I lost my $150,000 yacht with no insurance and my entire livelihood.

“Where is the seed of an equal or benefit in this adversity”.

As I sat on the beach and watched my yacht fall apart while it crashed into the reef I asked myself the question I’ve asked myself several times in my life “where is the seed of an equal or benefit in this adversity”.

Long before I learned from very famous philosopher, Napoleon Hill, “that every adversity has within of an equal greater benefit”.

Like lightning from above it flashed on me that the benefit is that by losing this yacht I no longer was in my comfort zone, which was barely paying the bills.

Now I was free pursue real estate at a time which was perfect because a year before the very tenacious Suharto dictatorship had been forced out of power and Indonesia was now a democracy.

Our first staff working from my home. Yanthi, far right still here.

It was now time to buy Bali real estate, but I didn’t have money.

So I started slowly out of my extra bedroom and developed a real estate website. With internet speeds at 9 KB per sec  most mornings I was working form 1 am to 5 am to obtain the bets speed.



I studied how the best web sites were designed in America and how to tweak my web site to be on the first page of any search.

I started selling properties focusing on the East Coast of Bali from Sanur through to  Cucukan off a brand-new road which was being built.

A 4,000 Square meter beachfront property in those days sold for only $1,000 per hundred square meters. 

It’s now selling for $40,000 per hundred square meters. Over a 4,000% increase.

It was then that I was approached by the Bali Sun Newspaper to publish full-page articles each week on Bali real estate. 

This was followed by weekly radio program, which gained success here for several years and was discontinued when they dropped the service.

My Bali News and Views blog became very popular as well. 
As of today it has had one over 1,400,000 page views with one blog going viral with over 1,460,000 pageviews to date.


Early this year I replaced that like the new improved Bali and world news and views which is also very popular.

During that time we also built a PMA company called PT Bali Affordable Lifestyles International, otherwise known as PT. B.A.L.I. 

Everybody knew me as Captain, Lawrence, owner of PT. B.A.L.I.

This company specialized in renting Bali Luxury Villas and now manages over 155 employees. 

At first I had plans of becoming the biggest and most successful real estate brokerage in Bali.

But I soon realized that 20% to 30% of all land deals were fraudulent.

I saw the possibility of getting involved in a million-dollar deal receiving a $50,000 commission and have the deal go bad even though lawyers were brought in to do due diligence. 
Finally, the buyer would seek compensation from me. I did not want to lose my nest egg so I only dealt with deals that I knew were 100% clean

In recent years I was also scared about the exponential growth in prices of real estate in Bali. In 2012 in 2013 beachfront properties increases as much as 50% in two years.

I’ve been through several cycles of real estate during my 40 years of a real estate investing. 

Lately I’ve been very accurate on predicting tops of markets as I did in 2007 in the United States. As well as a few years ago in Singapore.

In March 2014 a Indonesian minister issued a statement that they were going to check into all properties in Bali owned by what is called a Nominee Agreement, where a Indonesian is a shell name for a foreigner buying the property. 

Since it is illegal for foreigners to own property. I myself have never recommended the nominee agreement. Although some my clients have done them without my recommendation.

As I predicted at the time that this may trigger a selloff in Bali real estate as many foreigners will panic realizing that if they don’t get out the property may be confiscated by the government or by the Bali owner.

Sure enough prices began to tumble and at this point, three and a half years later prices have undergone the first downturn in modern history.

I say that because according to my research based on 40 years before I arrived here the last 20 years since I’ve been here there has never been a downturn in Bali real estate.

I hired a very professional website designer to design a new website http://bestasiarealestate.com/search-listing/ which allows our clients to search through our inventory of low-priced discounted properties to find the perfect property for them.

Now I will be pumping up this operation, including hiring competent data inputters, real estate salesman who I will train to earn unbelievable incomes.

If you wish to seek these positions contact me direct at lbptbali@gmail.com or SMS me at 62 – 812-381-4014.

In addition my Bali news and views, general blog which again has had over 1,400,000 pageviews  less of my time as all my efforts will be going into primarily blogs that are associated with the Indonesian Bali economy, Bali tourism, Bali real estate, and Bali investments.

My major change in my life has been my marriage to my beautiful, intelligent, classy wife Azizah, complete with two young sons, aged 9 and 13.

She and the two boys have made my life complete and allowed to me to formulate a  new vision of my career for the next 20 years in Bali. 

Azizah  graduated cum laude with a law degree, and Master Degree plus a Notary’s Degree and the next few months she has been notified that she is now a fully licensed  Notaris in Bali.

The benefit of her legal training is that we can review any transaction in house before we sell it to our clients. 

We will also recommend that they have their own due diligence done.

This provides me with more confidence on dealing with Bali properties to avoid being involved in a bad transactions which is the last thing I want to do.

So I hope you will join me and our several thousand satisfied clients that I have had the pleasure of serving over the last 20 years in Bali and abroad.

You can contact me directly at my office number in Sanur at 62 – 361– 284069 by my mobile or what’s up at 62 – 812-381-4014. Or email me lbptbali@gmail.com.

Head Office PT.B.A.L.I.

I look forward to assisting you in achieving financial securityin the near future.

Lawrence B.M. Bellefontaine

President, Director of PT. Bali Affordable Lifestyles International

Who Manage Pt Bali Luxury Villas and Best Asia Real Estate

 PS. You may want to attend one might forthcoming Free Bali Real Estate Seminars to learn how you can get in on the second best time to buy real estate this century

Free Bali Real Estate Seminars – New Foreign

 Ownership Laws – Property with 50 % Discounts.

Free Seminar-Recent Laws for Foreigners-Properties 50 % off

According to PT. B.A.L.I., Bali's leading real estate expert for the past 13 years with thousands of satisfied clients, this is the “Second best time to purchase Bali Real Estate this century”.

They cite the fact that changes in real estate laws for foreigners allowing them to obtain control for more than a normal lifetime and up to 70% bank financing is creating a huge new demand for Bali Real Estate.

Coupled with the fact that Bali Real Estate has just undergone the first correction in modern history with prices down up to 50 % this has set the stage for *increases of 20% to 100 % the next three to five years.

Free Bali Real Estate Seminars:

PT. B.A.L.I’s Canadian President, Lawrence who is married to Azizah a fully Licenced Notaris will review the most recent Indonesian real estate laws for Indonesian and Foreigners in detail. Then they discuss the Past, Present, and Future of Bali Real Estate at a series of Free Seminars in Sanur the next two weeks.

Free Seminar Schedule: 

1.     Sanur –Wed.  Sept.20^th.  6:30 PM - 7:30 PM

2.     Sanur – Sat.   Sept.23^rd.  2:00 PM - 3:00 PM.      

At these seminars you will learn about:

- The Past, present and future of Bali real estate.
- Why a recent official clarification of foreign ownership laws allows foreigners to totally control Bali properties for up to 80 years without leases?

- Why Indonesian banks will now lend money on Bali Real Estate to foreigners, therefore proving leverage and additional huge profits?

-Discover the latest high tech method to buy or sell properties fast.
- How to avoid legal problems and make sure a property is solid.

How to avoid complicated real estate laws in affecting Indonesians married to foreigners.
- Why this is the second best time to buy this century. 
- Where are the best locations to buy in Bali for maximum profits?
- What type of properties will offer the best investment potential of 10% to 20 % per year?
- First Class Beachfront property at almost 50% discount.
- A Quality 5,000 m2 Bali Hotel with12 bungalows, 3 pools and Restaurant for only $588,000.
- Low cost properties with Luxury Villas starting as low as $129,000 for a three bedroom 650 m² 3 bedroom, 4 bath with private 9 mtr. Pool.
Ridiculously low priced ocean view building lots starting as low as $25,000 for 500 m².

Limited Seating: Free Parking. 
Seating is very limited for these free seminars so please avoid disappointment and make reservations ASAP.
Tel: Office: 62-361- 284069 or Mobile: 62– 812-381-4014 or Email: seminarsptbali@gmail.com