With a finished villa, you assess what already exists: the building, the furnishing and, if it has already been rented out, its results so far. With a project under construction, you assess a plan: the design documents, the schedule, the payment terms and what happens if there is a delay. Neither type is automatically better. What matters is that you compare both on the same criteria: start of operation, the option of an on-site viewing, documentation, schedule and payments, furnishing and how the property is managed. Below is a table you can use to compare two specific offers of investment property in Bali side by side.
Six criteria in one table
| Criterion | Finished villa | Project under construction | What to ask |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start of operation | can start sooner if the villa is furnished and ready to rent | depends on completion of the building and preparation for rental | When exactly will operation start and what happens if it is delayed? |
| On-site viewing | you see the actual condition of the building and surroundings | you see the plot, a building in progress or visualisations | Are the images photographs or visualisations? |
| Documentation | land rights, contracts and documents for the existing building | land rights, design, drawings and a construction contract | Will I get the documents before signing, and who verifies them? |
| Schedule and payments | you pay for a property that already stands | payments may be tied to construction stages | How are payments tied to the progress of the works? |
| Furnishing | you see what the price includes | set by the specification in the contract | Is furnishing included in the price or subject to a separate agreement? |
| Management | you can assess the existing manager and their reports | the manager and operating model are still a plan | Who will manage the villa and how will they report? |
Fill in the table separately for each offer. If you do not get a written answer for any row, that in itself is information.
Finished villa: what you can verify on site
The main advantage of a finished villa is that you can see it. During a viewing you can assess the quality of the work, the condition of the pool, technical systems and furnishing, as well as the surroundings and access road. If the villa has already been rented out, ask for actual reports for previous months: occupancy, average nightly rate and costs. An estimate of future yield is less useful than a documented history.
With a finished villa, also note the age of the building and the wear of the furnishing. An older villa may need repairs or replacements sooner, so ask how the repair reserve is set up and who decides on larger expenses.
Project under construction: what replaces a viewing
With a project under construction there is nothing to view in its finished form, so documentation matters more. Ask for the architectural drawings, the specification of materials and furnishing, the construction schedule and the contract terms for a delay. Check who is carrying out the construction and how payments are tied to its progress.
Also allow for the fact that floor areas from the drawings may differ slightly after completion, and the final figures are confirmed only by a survey. A modelled yield begins only with operation, so the time between your investment and the first guests belongs in your plan.
The AMANI example: offer, fully subscribed rounds and plans
For our projects we distinguish three situations and describe each one differently:
- Current offer – Villa Seseh. It is the currently available offer. The villa is designed according to a project from January 2025; floor areas are based on architectural drawings and the final figures will be confirmed by a survey. The images on the website are visualisations. The start date of operation is set for the specific offer and is stated in the project documents. Furniture is subject to a separate agreement, and the kitchen is ready for appliances to be fitted. You can fill in the remaining rows of the table from the project documents.
- Fully subscribed rounds – Vila Canggu and the first phase of AMANI Nature Resort. These investment rounds have been taken up by investors. They are not on offer; they show that the model works.
- Plans – Slovakia, Prague, Tenerife and Porto. These are planned destinations with no offer, terms or yield. Today they cannot be compared as an investment opportunity.
What this means for you
A finished villa gives you more certainty about what you are buying; a project under construction requires more trust in the documentation and schedule. For both types, compare the same six criteria and ask for the answers in writing. For any villa in Bali, also check the land rights and how long they run, as we explain in our article Leasehold in Bali. The currently available option and its documents can be found at Villa Seseh.
