Offshore Accounts

karltsmith · Posted: Wed Feb 11, 2004 8:40 pm Post subject:

Nice one Gerry (the two fingered typist?),

Some sound advice and very much appreciated Clapping

. I am also exploring the possibility of using the offshore investment a surity against part of a mortgage until things swing back in our favour!

Karl Nice One

Gerry · Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2004 2:57 am Post subject:

Hi Karl
I tried that myself three or four years back, but the bank did not want to paly (they didn't even want to give me a credit card as I had no earned income at the time!). The logic behind this is that cash may not be there tomorow - you might spend it!

On the topic of getting credit cards, the way I got it in the end was to deposit the value of my credit limit as a term investment with the same bank that I got the card from. So, if you want a $5000 limit, you give them $5000 to hold in a 6 month or 1 year time deposit. Then if you default, they have the money! It is worth getting one immediately however, rather than using your home card, as in the first few months you can rack up enough in air miles to get a ticket to Oz. It'll take me to Brizzie next June to see England beat Oz again........ Of course, if you have an income you can get an Amex card and they have a great 2 points/miles for every $1 spent deal on this year, then you can take a friend (I was going to write "Then you can take the missis", but I couldn't stand the abuse - feminists saying "How dare you ?" and rugby fans saying "Don't waste the ticket!")

When do you arrive in NZ and where?

Gerry
You mean, you're allowed to use both hands to type?

karltsmith · Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2004 3:05 am Post subject:

Hi Gerry,

Arriving hopefully some time mid to end of March...beware the ides of March eh! Hmmm

Destination my old stomping ground of Auckland, North Shore (of coarse) only because thats where the job takes us though. ChCh was our next favoured destination!

you however are in a great and under appreciated little place in Nelson...I'll get there one day.....Chardonnay in hand.......

Keep in Touch

Karl

karltsmith · Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2004 3:07 am Post subject:

I just noticed you're local time....are you having trouble sleeping?????

Gerry · Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2004 6:16 am Post subject:

Hi Karl

I'll leave the light on for you........

No, I don't have trouble sleeping (except when I'm full of beer) I'm actually in the States right now on a very nice little house-sitting gig. Only one month to go before I head back to Nelson and work! We will have a couple of busy months left at the B&B when I get back, then it goes quiet for the winter and the rugby season. England touring will be a big attraction. Tomorrow I'm off to LA to see the boys play in the IRB world 7's - I think it's the first time it has been staged in the States. If it is televised in Brum, look out for me in the crowd. I'll be the one wearing an England shirt and flying the NZ flag.

Good luck with the move and the exchange rate. If you do go after a mortgage, TSB and Bank Direct offer very good rates and excellent service. You deal with both by phone, and they make it very simple.

Gerry

karltsmith · Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2004 9:01 pm Post subject:

Thanks Gerry Laughing

,

I'll look them up when I get there. I hope to be opening a NZ account next week. I'm considering National Bank, although I did use BNZ ans ASB when I lived there last! Any recommendatione before I commit myself?

Karl Nice One

debkiwi · Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2004 3:14 pm Post subject: US - NZ tax challenges

This post might not be under the correct topic heading but from what I've read people here seem to have a grasp off some of the variables so ...

We moved to NZ 18 months ago from The USA. I'm a Kiwi (US green card holder for 10+ years) and my husband is American. My Green card expired 5 months before we left the US - I spent a day at Newark INS trying to renew it but after 6 hours on line waiting for an appointment, gave up.

I found out a few months ago that because I did not take any action to give up my Green Card status within 12 months of leaving the US, I have to file US taxes for the next 10 years. NOTE TO ANYONE WITH AN NZ SPOUSE RETURNING TO NZ ... LOOK INTO THIS.

The move was a lifestyle decision, made easier by NZ's capital gains and estate tax treatment ... the lifestyle is seriously threatened by the time we are now spending trying to understand the tax/trust situations in both contries, to say nothing of the cost of "professionals" to research, advise etc on the situation. Has anyone in the same circumstances had any luck ending their obligaiton to file US taxes? If so how? Any recommendations for well above average US/NZ tax accountants and or lawyers would also be appreciated.

Debbie

Raeven · Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2004 5:33 am Post subject:

Hi, karl,

I'm bumping this topic in the hope you will give us an update on which bank you ultimately selected in NZ and if you are happy with them. Care to share?

Thanks, Rae

richsadams · Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2004 9:30 am Post subject: Banking

Hi Rae and All

We've been pretty happy with Bank Direct...

http://www.bankdirect.co.nz

They are part of ASB so you can go to any ASB branch or ATM and do your banking as needed.

We were assigned a "personal banker" and he's been great at getting things done, both before and after we arrived. We were able to set up an account before we immigrated so everything was ready when we got here. If there's a question or we need something to be changed on our account we just call him and it's done. He arranged for EFTPOS (debit) and Visa Gold cards for us within a few days of our arrival. They handle home loans and other services as well and you can do almost everything on line. typing

The folks at the ASB branches have been very helpful and friendly too (although U.S. checks we receive have to be held for 21 working days Eek

Wire transfers are the way to go for large sums). I'd highly recommend them. Yes

Raeven · Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2004 11:57 am Post subject:

Hi, Rich,

<jot, jot, jot, jot> Thank you, O Guru!! I will give them a shout tomorrow and see about setting up an account -- it's getting close to that time... hard to believe this is all finally happening!! We might even be over by mid-September!!

Say, off-topic as can be, but how did you guys manage with the floods/earthquakes/mudslides/geez-it's-like-living-in-the-Old-Testament stuff? I'm sure massive Weta infestations are next!!

Thanks as always, Rae

richsadams · Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2004 4:47 pm Post subject: Banking

Hi Rae

No worries, we're here to help!

Wow! You really do stay on top of things! The floods affected people to the east of us, mostly in rual areas but the town of Whakatane was hit pretty hard as well. It's due to rain some more, so there are a lot of folks out of their houses right now. rain cloud

A couple of people lost their lives...very sad. Sad

The earthquakes? Funny you should ask. We just had yet another one about two hours ago!! We've had no less than a dozen nearby in the last 72 hours! Eek

We are about 25 kilometers from the main epicenter. Most of them are in the 3.0 to 4.0 range, but one was 5.1 or so...that'll get your attention! falling bricks

But nothing bad happened here. Just some raw nerves. Having grown up in CA. I'm used to them...well as used to them as anyone gets I suppose. Nutcase

I went through the 7.2 San Francisco quake in 1989. Yeeow! My wife on the other hand had not experienced one and was ready to pack our bags after the second one! (She's since come to accept that I'm not the only one that can make the earth move for her! Laughing

) So far they were what I call "rollers" where the ground seems to undulate under you as if you were standing on a water bed. A bit scary, but to be expected with all of the volcanic activity. The neighbors said they hadn't felt one in three years or so. They were as excited as we were! It's just Mother Nature's little way of reminding us that we aren't so big afterall. Yes

Here's a great website that lists all of the NZ quakes and reports up-to-the-minute events....if you're brave enough to have a look.

http://www.gns.cri.nz/what/earthact/earthquakes/index.html

Right now we're sitting on top of a fault line. Woo hoo! Wink

The area we're moving to (Tauranga) is much safer as it's in between two fault lines...but it is within site of an active volcano. Yikes! Who said this wasn't an adventure!! Mr. Green

Getting ready to go eh? Awesome! Tell us again where you plan to land. We want a minute-by-minute journal of all of your experiences of course! Laughing

Well, maybe a line or two now and again to keep us up to date. Congrats and hold on tight...you're in for a bit of a bumpy ride. But, as they say here "It's all good!" Nice One

Raeven · Posted: Thu Jul 22, 2004 1:21 am Post subject:

Hi, Rich,

LOL, I was thinking that you guys were getting a more exciting welcome to NZ than perhaps you might have wished for!! Glad you are faring well despite all the excitement. I figured you wouldn't be bothered much by the 3-4.0 earthquakes.. we've been having aftershocks that size all year since our 6.5 last December. But you guys are CLOSE to that epicenter.. I can imagine the 5.1 got your attention!!

Your poor wife!! She must be wondering at times just what the heck she let you talk her into!!

The 'For Sale' sign went up on our house this morning and I'm steeling myself for the deluge of phone calls. We're selling it ourselves (why not add a few more headaches to the general merry excitement, eh?), and the way things have been going here, I expect to pull the sign down by Friday. I've really struggled with this decision as I've put 13 years of blood, sweat and tears into this house and I love it to bits.. but I keep coming back to the fact that it's just a house, we can make another one our home once we are in NZ, and it will be a brand-new and extremely welcome experience to have no mortgage.

We've been looking at lifestyle properties that suit in the Top of the South.. not sure yet if we'll end up in Blenheim or Nelson. Just depends on who finds work first and where. We've both been met with encouraging responses from prospective employers.. Steve is currently in discussions with a group in Nelson who have said our two-month delay in arrival is not necessarily a problem for them, as finding the right person for the job is more important than hiring someone right away. However, we have family in Blenheim and the properties we've liked best for the $$$ are there. If nothing pans out job-wise before our arrival, I'm sure we'll end up in Blenheim/Picton. Happy to see property prices are leveling off.

We're shooting to arrive sometime between mid-to-end September. Rentals seem plentiful in Nelson, scarce in Marlborough. We've been preparing for the move for the past 4 months, so I don't really see any impediments to things moving very quickly once the house is sold. We can pack up and ship within a couple of weeks. I have to wait for the NZ Consulate in LA to process my work visa (Steve is a returning NZ citizen) and have been told this will take between 2-3 weeks only. Won't apply for PR until after we've arrived in NZ. We have an old Porsche we've been trying to sell for a couple of months.. will probably drop the price and someone will get a lovely deal on that.. and also selling a Honda S-2000 that's causing problems. It's a sweet little car which I've cared for like a beloved only child, but there's not a huge market for them -- if you have kids, they're straight out! Geez, it doesn't even have a glove box! We've gone back and forth about it, and we may bring it along on our container. It meets the criteria for bringing a left-hand drive vehicle into NZ, and in a few months, when I'm proficient at driving on the "wrong" side of the road, we might quite appreciate having it. Still, we'd prefer to find a buyer for it if we can.

Other than these little issues, we're basically a garage sale away from departure. Have thought about taking a holiday over to Germany for a couple of weeks to visit my brother before going on to NZ, but I think I'd rather get started on settling in our new life first. I feel so... displaced at the moment, even though I haven't gone anywhere yet.

I promise to keep you updated on our progress! After all the help you've so generously given through these past few months, I hope there's some way we can meet up once we're all on the same side of the planet. I've got a lovely bottle of Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon with your name on it!

My new mantra: "It's all good, it's all good!!" rae's dancing banana

(ENZ hates my dancing banana, so I have to use it occasionally!!)

Thanks for everything, Rich!! - Rae

Tanya · Posted: Thu Jul 22, 2004 1:29 am Post subject:

Rae

Good luck with the house sale - fingers crossed one of us gets out there - looking less likely to be me

so it might as well be you Yes

Let us know when it sells!! fingers crossed

Tanya

wilson182 · Posted: Thu Jul 22, 2004 1:35 am Post subject:

Hi Rae

Know how you feel about the house, we have only lived in ours for 8 years, but it has been a real labour of love. Like you we are trying to remind ourselves that is is only a house at the end of the day......but i will be sad to let it go.

Raeven · Posted: Thu Jul 22, 2004 1:40 am Post subject:

Awwwww, Tanya!! I hate that this is happening to you, I really do. I'm just amazed the property market in the UK has slowed so dramatically. If my luck holds true to form, we will be the first to experience a similar slow-down here in the US market!! Ooh, ooh, I probably just cursed this house sale...

Thanks very much for your kind thoughts, and I promise to give regular updates on our progress (assuming there IS progress!). I surely couldn't have gotten this far without your help and the help of others. I'm grateful beyond words.

You've just GOT to make it out there!! I'm sending every good vibe I've got!!

All the best to you as always, Rae