Guide for foreign investors

Buying in Lombok
without getting burned

A foreigner cannot hold freehold land in Indonesia. That does not mean you cannot invest: it means the structure matters more than the price. Here are the 8 steps, what you sign at each one, and where people lose money.

8steps
3-6months on average
Freethe whole guide
The 8 steps Have us do it
01

Choose the legal structure

1-2 weeks

A foreigner cannot hold land in Hak Milik (freehold) in Indonesia. So the first move is not finding a plot: it is deciding which structure you will hold it under, because that changes the price, the taxes and what you can do afterwards.

Leasehold: you rent the land for 25-30 years, with renewal agreed in writing. It is the most common route and the cheapest to set up, but the value falls as the years run down.

Hak Pakai: a right of use in your own name as a resident foreigner, up to 80 years in total. It needs a KITAS and only covers a home.

PT PMA: an Indonesian company with foreign capital, which can hold HGB (the right to build). This is the route if you plan to operate the asset or build to sell. It has a minimum capital, accounting, and tax obligations all year round.

Where people lose money

The «nominee»: putting the land in the name of a trusted Indonesian under a private agreement. It is the most widespread arrangement and the one that has made the most money disappear: the Indonesian courts have struck it down repeatedly because it exists to sidestep the constitutional ban. If someone offers it to you as «what everyone does here», you now know who you are dealing with.

Who can do this for you
Lex Lombok Lawyers ✓ verified
Or we do it for youWe handle this step and all the others →
02

Find the asset and reserve it

2-8 weeks

This is where this site comes in. When something fits, you sign a reservation with a deposit in exchange for exclusivity while the checks run.

Always ask for: a copy of the certificate, the cadastral plan, the holder's ID, and the price broken down per are or per m². If the seller will not give you the first three, there is nothing to check and nothing to buy.

The deposit must be refundable if the checks come back bad. Get that in writing.

Where people lose money

Paying a deposit with no refund clause for a documentary problem. If the title turns out to carry a charge, you lose the deposit over something that was the seller's fault.

Or we do it for youWe handle this step and all the others →
03

Check the paperwork (due diligence)

2-4 weeks

The step that decides whether this goes well. You verify that the certificate exists in the registry, that the boundaries on the plan match the land on the ground, that the zoning allows what you intend, that there are no charges, and that whoever signs is entitled to.

Certificate against the registry (BPN): that the number exists and sits in the name claimed.

Cadastre and boundaries: a surveyor measures on site. Finding extra or missing metres is routine.

Zoning (RTRW/RDTR): that the municipal plan allows tourism or residential use. Many projects die here.

Charges, mortgages, rights of way, and heirs: if the holder has died, you need all of them.

The seller's unpaid property tax (PBB).

Where people lose money

Trusting the certificate the seller shows you without cross-checking it at the registry. And buying beautiful land that the municipal plan calls agricultural: you find out when you apply for the building permit, with the money already paid.

Who can do this for you
Lex Lombok Lawyers ✓ verified Ukur Lombok Surveyors ✓ verified
Or we do it for youWe handle this step and all the others →
04

Incorporate the company, if needed

4-8 weeks

If the structure you chose is a PT PMA, it has to exist before you sign the purchase. The company buys, not you.

The company's stated purpose needs the right KBLI codes for what you will do: holiday rental and property development are not the same code.

Minimum capital and its payment.

NPWP (tax number), NIB and the activity licences.

A company bank account and monthly bookkeeping from month one.

Where people lose money

Incorporating a PT PMA with the wrong stated purpose and finding out when you apply for the building permit, or when the tax office looks. Changing it later costs time and money.

Who can do this for you
PMA Setup Indonesia PT PMA agents ✓ verified
Or we do it for youWe handle this step and all the others →
05

Contract and signing before the notaris

1-3 weeks

In Indonesia the contract is executed by a notaris (and a PPAT for the transfer of the land right). They are a licensed public official, not your adviser: they will not negotiate for you.

The binding contract is the Indonesian one. The translation is a courtesy; if the two differ, the original wins.

Check: price and payment schedule, term and renewal conditions if it is a leasehold, what happens if the seller defaults, who pays which tax, and what happens if you or the holder dies.

Payments go by traceable bank transfer, never cash.

Where people lose money

Signing a 25-year leasehold with no automatic renewal clause at an agreed price. In 25 years the owner asks whatever they like, or you are left with nothing and a villa built on top of it.

Who can do this for you
Lex Lombok Lawyers ✓ verified Notaris & PPAT — Mataram Centro Notaris / PPAT ✓ verified
Or we do it for youWe handle this step and all the others →
06

Payment, taxes and registration

1-2 weeks

You pay, the transaction taxes are settled, and the right is registered. Until it is registered, it is not yours as against third parties.

In a sale, the seller settles their tax on the gain and the buyer theirs on the acquisition; the rates and exemptions change with the structure, so ask for the calculation in writing before you sign.

Keep every receipt: you will need them the day you sell.

Afterwards there is an annual property tax (PBB), small but recurring.

Where people lose money

Budgeting only for the price of the land. Between taxes, the notaris, the surveyor and management, add a margin on top of the purchase price, and ask for the exact figure before you commit.

Who can do this for you
Notaris & PPAT — Mataram Centro Notaris / PPAT ✓ verified Pajak Partner Tax advisers
Or we do it for youWe handle this step and all the others →
07

Building permit and construction

3-12 months

To build you need the PBG (the old IMB) and, depending on the case, environmental studies. Without a PBG, what you have built is irregular and hard to sell well.

A local architect who knows the height limits, setbacks and coastal distances for the area.

A milestone-based contract with the builder, with a retention and a penalty for delay.

Independent supervision: whoever builds should not be the one certifying it is built properly.

Where people lose money

Paying for the build up front. The pattern repeats: 70% paid, 40% built, the builder disappears. Pay against milestones verified by someone who is not the builder.

Who can do this for you
Bumi Kontraktor Builders ✓ verified Studio Atap Architects
Or we do it for youWe handle this step and all the others →
08

Rent it out and manage it

ongoing

If you bought for yield, this is where you find out whether the number in the listing was real. Occupancy, average rate, commissions, maintenance and income tax on the rent.

Ask for real occupancy data for the area, not the seller's projections.

Management takes between 15% and 25% of gross income.

Maintenance in a tropical climate on the beachfront is expensive and constant: budget for it from the start, not when it shows up.

Where people lose money

Believing the yield in the brochure. Almost all of them are calculated on gross income — no management, no maintenance, no tax — with a high-season occupancy rate applied to all twelve months.

Who can do this for you
Pajak Partner Tax advisers Selatan Stays Property management
Or we do it for youWe handle this step and all the others →
Managed service

We coordinate.
The licensed sign.

In Indonesia, notarising a contract or incorporating a company are acts reserved for a licensed notaris or PPAT. We do not replace them: we choose them, hand them a checked file, translate, review what they put in front of you and stand with you on signing day.

Why this service exists
01

The certificate is not what it looks like

Girik, letter C, Hak Milik in a cousin's name. If the title is not clean and registered, what you are buying is not the land: it is a lawsuit.

02

Zoning does not allow what you planned

Buying beautiful tourism land that the municipal plan calls agricultural. You find out when you apply for the building permit, with the money already paid.

03

The legal structure is the wrong one

A nominee in the name of a trusted local, a badly drafted leasehold with no renewal right, or a PT PMA that does not cover your activity.

04

You signed something you did not read

The binding contract is the Indonesian one. The courtesy translation you were shown is not what the notaris signs.

Packages

Depending on how far
you want us to go

You can start with the check and move up later. What you have already paid is deducted.

Paperwork check

90,000 € to be confirmed · indicative
2-4 weeks

Before you pay anything, you know exactly what you are buying. If it comes back bad, we save you the purchase; if it comes back clean, you go in with the file already done.

  • Certificate cross-checked at the registry (BPN)
  • Boundaries measured by a surveyor
  • Zoning checked against the municipal plan
  • Charges, mortgages and rights of way
  • Seller's identity and capacity
  • Outstanding property tax
  • Final report with a traffic light and a recommendation
  • Notaris fees
  • Transaction taxes
  • Company incorporation
Request a quote
MOST REQUESTED

Guided purchase

350,000 € to be confirmed · indicative
2-4 months

Everything above plus the full process until the right is registered in your name. One point of contact, in your language, from start to finish.

  • Everything in Paperwork check
  • Choosing the legal structure that suits you
  • Negotiating the contract with the seller
  • Notaris and PPAT chosen and coordinated by us
  • Contract translated and explained clause by clause
  • We stand with you on signing day
  • Payments, taxes and registration coordinated
  • Complete file handed over digitally
  • Notaris fees and taxes (paid directly)
  • Construction and building permit
Request a quote

Turnkey

Custom on request · depends on the project
8-18 months

From the plot to a villa that is renting. Includes the company, the build and getting it into operation, with supervision independent of the builder.

  • Everything in Guided purchase
  • PT PMA incorporated with the right KBLI codes
  • Architect and builder selected (three quotes compared)
  • Milestone-based build contract with retention
  • Independent site supervision with written reports
  • PBG and permits processed
  • Handover and rental management started
  • Cost of the build
  • PT PMA share capital
  • Furniture
Request a quote

Prices are indicative and are agreed in writing before we start. Third-party costs (notaris fees, registry charges and taxes) are separate and paid directly to whoever is owed: we never handle them.

01

Call and engagement

You tell us what you want to buy and why. We tell you whether it makes sense, which structure fits and what it will cost. Fixed quote in writing.

02

Due diligence

Certificate against the registry, cadastre and boundaries, zoning in the municipal plan, encumbrances, and the seller's identity and capacity. Report with a traffic light.

03

Structure and contracts

We set up whatever is needed (leasehold, Hak Pakai, PT PMA) with the lawyer, and negotiate the contract. We explain it to you clause by clause, in your language.

04

Signing and after

We coordinate signing before the notaris, payment and taxes, and hand you the complete file. If you are building, we carry on with the permit.

No commitment

Tell us about your case

We tell you what you need, what it costs and how long it takes. If your case is not for us, we say so and point you to the professional in the directory who fits.

We do not share your details with advertisers. This is a request to us, not contact with a seller.