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A hotel is good for a few day’s stay, but when you’re planning to extend your stay beyond one week, you should consider renting a villa. Long term villa rentals in Bali come in all shapes and sizes, and are complete with various amenities and conveniences. They should, however, all have a couple of things in common: they should feel homey and have a better living space than hotels. Here are 5 tips on choosing and renting a villa in Bali.

1. Must-have facilities

The first thing you need is to list down all the facilities that are non-negotiable to you. If you must have a swimming pool, that will be your determining factor. If your villa must be air conditioned, filter all the selection of rentals to have air conditioning. This will greatly impact how comfortable your stay will be.

2. Location vs price

Conventional wisdom says that the further away from prime real estate you are, the cheaper the villa (possibly). Local advice will tell you that even within a prime real estate area, you can find affordable villas. Lacking in public transport, most people would rent a motorbike to get around anyway. However, it’s still important to determine how close you want to be to popular destinations: Canggu, Seminyak, Kuta, Uluwatu, Ubud and Denpasar are all relatively close together. But if you want to live at diver’s paradise, the north eastern parts of Bali including Amed and Tulamben are your best bets.

3. Reach out to people

You can surf the web to find waves upon waves of information, but having good old social connections can do wonders for your search for that perfect villa. Social media offers a transparent way to browse for homes. Facebook groups are filled with like-minded individuals, owners and tenants who can help you. You may be surprised to find advertisements of (verified) villas at cafes and hotels in the touristy area.

4. Reviews are mostly honest

When you’ve found your villa of interest, you need to look for reviews. If you haven’t found any reviews, do a quick test and contact the villa owner. You should notice how the owner behaves and whether or not the owner has your interests at heart and is ready to serve you. They shouldn’t make you feel uncomfortable; don’t feel bad about declining their offers. Even if you like your potential villa, a good relationship with the owner should be maintained so that you’re not faced with surprising surcharges or worse -- legal action against you for no apparent reason. A villa with reviews is always a safer bet, unless you are experienced enough to judge for yourself.

5. Agents are here to help

There’s nothing wrong with contacting a property agent that will help you find long-term rentals in Bali. Agents are there to help connect a villa owner with you. You won’t have to deal with shady landlords. Just pick a location and decide on your budget, and schedule a villa inspection to decide whether or not you like your prospective living space. Reviews are open, you can contact people who have rented before, to ensure you’re getting good value for your money.

Bali Coconut Living is a villa management firm that is committed to paying attention to your accommodation needs. Stay a month or longer, in one of our reputable villas. Find the right accommodation here.