Gross Yield vs Net Yield: How to Read Bali Villa ROI Numbers

Gross yield is the number in the headline: annual rental income divided by purchase price, before anything is taken out. It is the easiest number to make look impressive, because nothing has been subtracted from it yet.

It's not dishonest, exactly — it's just incomplete. It answers "how much could this villa earn", not "how much will you actually receive".

Between gross and net sits property tax, management fees, utilities, maintenance, marketing costs for the rental, and vacancy — the nights the villa sits empty between guests.

None of these are hidden or unusual. They are simply the cost of turning a villa into an income property instead of a holiday home. The question is whether the number you were quoted already accounts for them.

Ask whether the yield you were quoted is guaranteed or projected — and for how long. A guaranteed net yield is a contractual figure the developer stands behind, usually for a fixed early period. An estimated yield is a forecast based on current market performance, useful but not a promise.

A transparent structure states both, separately, and doesn't blend them into one headline number. That distinction alone tells you a lot about how a project is run.

Is this gross or net? Net of which costs, specifically?

Is any part of this yield guaranteed in writing, or is all of it a projection?

Who manages the rental, and is that cost already included in the net figure?

What was the actual occupancy used to calculate this — and is it verifiable?