LALITA

I am 43 years old. Right now I feel like I am in my second act. In life, that is. I never tried theatre. I wish I did. I wish I tried a lot of things. Like believing more in myself and investing more in myself rather than in someone else's dreams, career, and needs. Nevertheless, here I am; 43 and trudging forward because why would I want to go back?

I moved to Bali in 2023. I was born and raised in Indonesia. Moved to the US in 2009 with my then husband. Spent almost 14 years in Houston, Texas. Learned to drive the proper way, paid taxes, had a baby, did real estate: buy, sell, flip, long term rental, short term rental, and all that jazz.

Those 14 years went by so fast. I blinked and there I was: 40 years old with an 8 year old. We had our reasons to go back to Indonesia. Maybe it was meant to be. Here I am, 3 years later with my daughter, living in Bali with our 2 cats and our dog. I run a company called Lalita Properties. Lalita is an Indonesian real estate company, based in Bali. We do buy, sell, lease, and property management. 

Something that occurred in my personal life last year pushed me to get to know Lalita better. To get to know myself better. Because, in extension, Lalita is me. I am Lalita. So I took a deep look at Lalita as a company: a real estate company that is operating in Bali where we are surrounded by the big dawgs of real estate, by foreign business owners with capitals and worldwide networks. For the past 2 years Lalita has been struggling to play in the same field with these big dawgs. But now I truly understand that Lalita is not them. Now I understand, Lalita does not belong with the big dawgs, nor do I want Lalita to be there. 

Right now Lalita manages 13 villas in Canggu, 1 in Berawa, and 3 in Seminyak. I am so proud of my team, both the ones running the operation on ground and the team at the office. These are the people who believe in Lalita, and in extension, in me. Lalita is running because there are 18 individuals who come to work everyday and believing in what I believe: that we can be professional and caring, efficient and attentive, truthful and kind. We take pride in making sure everyone we come in contact with is treated well and fairly; our property owners, our guests, and our fellow team members. Lalita is not a big dawg and I am very OK with that. 

After almost 2 years doing real estate here in Bali, I learned that the strongest currency is trust. The owners of the properties we manage trust Lalita. I do not take that lightly. The many nightmare stories of people getting scammed in Bali have made it hard for trust to be given freely and easily. Truly understandable. I feel like I am on the same boat as the property owners that Lalita manage. I can understand their worries and concerns. My then partner and I took a big risk in moving here, starting a company, and having our own real estate investments. I do not trust easily. I love people and I believe in the goodness of most people, but still, I do not give my trust easily. I feel honored to be able to have a good professional relationship with our property owners, both local and foreign. 

I have never really talked about Lalita this much online. I have always been shy about showing up on Lalita's instagram. I have not found my online personality. Do I even need one? I may be old school but I believe in connecting with people organically. Of course, as a business owner, I love referrals. I know social media is everything right now, but I love reading and I love writing. A few curated pretty pictures and AI-written caption will not convey what Lalita is to me. What Lalita brings to the table, what Lalita can offer. This blog used to be my saving grace. Some silly things have been shared here. I am pretty sure no one will read this, but (or so?) here I am talking about Lalita, my second baby. 

What I want for Lalita is pretty simple. I want Lalita to be a name synonymous with Balinese hospitality. That old-school, trusted, and proven hospitality: warm, efficient, and personal, combined with today's standards of efficiency, swift and clear communication, and proficiency in technology. We are still not 100% there but I see the northern star and we are moving closer everyday. 

Why choose Lalita though? As a property owner in Bali, why would you choose Lalita? That is a question I ask myself also. Knowing that there are so many other options. So many names, all claiming to be able to deliver the best numbers, the best service. All wanting a slice of the pie. Lalita is the same. Without our property owners and their business, there is no way we can survive and continue what we do. However, more than that slice of the pie, there is also something I want more: a business with integrity and consistency. I will never claim I know everything. I will never claim I know how to immediately make a property make this much or that much. I will never promise a number. I will, however, promise that Lalita will care for your properties. I will push my very hardest to have your property perform as best as it could through ways that I have learned from 8 years of selling on OTAs. I will promise that I will take care of my people so that they will happily care for your property and your guests. 

Entering our second year, I want Lalita to have a better website. Because right now it is, quite literally, crap. Check this out and tell me what you think: lalita.id

I have not been this serious about Lalita. What happened last year really re-directed my life. And as I put my complete focus and energy to Lalita, at the same time, economy is going downhill, politics are crazy inside and outside the country, Bali is facing a serious trash problem, infrastructure problems, and a lot of businesses are struggling. Still, there is no better time but now. 

It feels so good to write again on this blog. Nothing to do with Lalita but I love being a millenial. I love my early childhood without the internet. I love getting to know the internet and being the first ones to experience how fast the world is changing because of technology. I love how I have been able to adapt to whatever life is throwing at me. My first e-mail was a hotmail. I recorded songs from the radio to a cassette so I could make a mix tape for a boy I had a crush on. I used dial-up internet to chat with my long-distance boyfriend. I learned to write and read cursive, I learned typing on a typewriter, I learned typing on my Nokia 3310. And this blog. This blog captured the journey of my younger years and now my midlife.

Thanks for reading my thoughts about Lalita. I know you do not have to, but you did it anyway. So yeah, thank you. 

If you're curious about Lalita. Here are our host profile on Airbnb (Superhost, by the way!):

https://www.airbnb.com/users/profile/about?context=host

If you are looking for a place to stay in Bali, check us out and booking directly for a better price.