You found the villavillaapartment.
You shouldn't trust the contract.
Every week, Australians put their life savings into overseas property, in Bali especially, and sign contracts they don't fully understand, with developers they haven't verified, using legal structures a foreign government can unwind at any time.
The most common trap in Bali is the nominee structure. A developer or agent sets up an arrangement where an Indonesian citizen technically owns the land "on your behalf." It looks like ownership. It is not. Indonesian courts treat these arrangements as void from the start, which can leave the foreign buyer with no enforceable claim to the land.
Thailand has its own version of the same trap. Foreigners can't own land outright, so deals get pushed through Thai companies with nominee shareholders, or a Thai individual holding title "on your behalf" — both illegal under Thailand's Land Code. Even a legitimate condo purchase can fail if the building has already hit its 49% foreign-ownership limit, because your title can never be registered.
Dubai is different — and that lulls people. Here foreigners genuinely can own freehold, but in designated areas only, and most sales are off-plan. The money is lost when a developer stalls or never completes, or when payments are routed outside the RERA-supervised escrow account the law requires (Law No. 8 of 2007). A polished brochure is not a registered project.
You wouldn't buy at home without a conveyancer reading the contract. But overseas, most buyers sign first and hope. The language is foreign, the law is foreign, and the lawyer is expensive, slow, and often conflicted, because they're paid by the same side selling you the property.
PropSafe is independent. We take zero money from developers or agents. We work only for you.
