Offshore Accounts

Raeven · Posted: Thu Jul 22, 2004 1:50 am Post subject:

Hi, wilson,

Boy, it's tough, isn't it? There were years when I struggled so hard to hang onto this house after a divorce, and years when I worked up to 3 jobs to do it. Through all that, I fondly remember a tear-off party held to rip all the old cedar siding off it (all 3 stories!) in preparation for a new stucco exterior... every wall has been painted by us at least once, and more likely 3 times.. the kitchen we remodeled top to bottom, installing new fixtures, plumbing and tilework... I have to stop now or I'll cry my fool head off! Besides that, I'm completely off topic and should go start the Hopelessly-Pathetic-Sentimentalist thread!!

When the time comes for you to sell yours, I hope to be happily ensconced in NZ and telling you from the sidelines that it's totally worth it -- and IT'S ALL GOOD!!!!

All the best, Rae

richsadams · Posted: Thu Jul 22, 2004 4:21 pm Post subject: Home Sales

Hi Rae and All

Selling a home is no fun no matter what...unless it's the Amityville house I guess! Eek

Lucky for us the market was hot, hot hot! We had an offer in 24 hours and consummated the deal after we arrived in NZ. (Beware of faxing A4 paper from NZ to 8.5"x11" paper fax machines in the U.S., they tend to cut the bottom portion off...right where your signatures usually appear! Nutcase

)

Buying a house in NZ is sooooo much easier than in the U.S. The only drawback is that you are basically on your own in your search as the real estate salespeople only sell houses listed with their particular company (Harcourts, Century 21, etc.) They don't "cross sell" anything...so they are happy to show you "their" houses, but no one else’s. We found most of them to be very knowledgeable and friendly though. It's just a pain when you want to know about other properties and they don't have any info. We spent many weekends driving around and looking at open houses (which they have by the hundreds every weekend). Otherwise the paperwork is a breeze and everything can be done within a week or so. And I mean "here's the keys, thank you very much!". Cool. On top of that, closing costs are very low. Ours totalled around NZ$1000 when all was said and done. VERY cool! Nice One

I know what you mean about the S2000. We had a little SLK 2 seater and sometimes I wish I had brought it. The kicker is that they sell for about US$10K more in NZ than in the U.S.! Eek

I think we could have had it converted to right-hand drive and still come out ahead! I'd caution about driving a left-hand car here though. The real challenge is passing...and you'll do a LOT of passing as there are mostly two-lane roads...with lots of slow moving trucks. As you sit on the "wrong" side of the car, it's impossible to see anyone coming until you're already out in the other lane. Hiring a passenger to act as a lookout might be an option! Laughing

You also have to take a special test to get a drivers licence that will allow you to drive a left-hand vehicle. The last thought about your particular car is that there aren't any here...at least I've never seen one. We've run into ordering parts and they usually have to come from Japan or the U.S. Being a U.S. car, they won't have everything you may need when you need it. Just some thoughts. Shy

We have heard from a number of people that Nelson is a great place with a sizeable American population. It's on our list of places to see soon. A fellow named Gerry runs a B&B there and I'd like to meet up with him one of these days.

Hey...Napa wine is a rarity here! (There are some very good NZ whites and lots of good Aussie reds...but we miss V. Sattui and the rest!) So say no more!! Mr. Green

We'll bring the dark chocolate!

Best of luck and keep us posted!

Raeven · Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2004 2:05 am Post subject:

Hi, Rich!!

Love hearing your experiences and receiving the benefit of your advice, I really do! What the heck is an SLK? I've never heard of it!

I hadn't even thought about the difficulty of passing with a left-hand drive car, but as soon as you shared it, I visualized that maneuver. Gad zooks!! Fortunately Stephen, born and bred in NZ, drove a left-hand drive vehicle there in his salad days and is experienced driving in that fashion.. the car is such a baby anyway, never gets driven in the rain and for the most part sits like a spoiled old grandmother in the garage, wrapped in shawls and even (I hesitate to admit this on an open forum) covered with masking tape to keep the cats off it. It's a ticket magnet and maybe not a bad thing to be stuck behind slow-moving trucks, given the pleasure NZ law enforcement take in giving out those speeding tickets. We plan to look into coverting it to right-hand drive if it gets brought along. I have the same concerns you mentioned over getting parts and -- probably even more of a headache -- finding a mechanic who knows how to work on it. The car is actually manufactured in Japan at their Acura facility, and since it sits so much of the time, it probably would be an inconvenience more than a dire strait to wait for parts. I can't help but think of scooting along with the top down on a beautiful NZ day, however.... pure bliss!

So glad you mentioned the passing thing, though!! When I thought about being a passenger, managing the passing maneuvers, it made me think of a story Stephen told me about his grandparents... his grandmother didn't drive, but she insisted that every new vehicle purchased by her husband be fitted out with an extra horn button on the passenger's side. That way, she could honk as she pleased at stupid drivers and especially hitchhikers -- which for reasons unknown, made her hysterical. Her dislike of them was so intense that her tiny dog would bristle and bark like a thing unstrung as soon as he spied one... Those nutty New Zealanders!!

Anyway.. yesterday 3 people came and looked at the house with one totally in love with it.. she has a house she must sell first, however, so we'll see what happens there. I suggested a bridge loan. I'm enjoying a coffee and the calm before the storm today.

Like you, I'm sure we'll spend many weekends looking at properties -- just have to figure out where we're going to live, first! I'm happy to hear closing costs are so reasonable. From other posts I've read, what we save in closing costs will be spent making deposits to get things like phone and electricity connected...

Anyway, I should get off my rump and get this place into showroom shape.. thanks as always for your thoughts! Updates soon!

All the best, Rae

Timbo · Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2004 2:22 am Post subject:

Rae. It may be worth a look at this link as it covers a multitude of motoring sites in NZ

http://www.nzsearch.co.nz/category.asp?id=766

richsadams · Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2004 10:43 am Post subject: Cars, houses and whatever

Hi Rae,

Yes, it would be great to go "topless" on a warm NZ day! Nice One

The winding roads here lend themselves to a car that can stick to the ground. Like your car, our "baby" spent most of its time safe and secure in our garage...we only put about 3K on it annually...it was a very spoiled vehicle! Laughing

I still miss it Sad

but like you, I know our car (Mercedes SLK 230 - the little one with the hard top that folded into the trunk) would have gotten us into a lot of hot water here. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) the top speed limit is 100 kph (about 60 miles an hour). If you don't want to go through all of the export/conversion/driving hassles you might want to consider picking up a Mazda MX5 (Miata) or Toyota MR2 here. They are fairly plentiful (the Miatas are all stick shifts though) and reasonably priced. They certainly can't compete with an S2000, but with the lower speed limits and such it's more about enjoying Mother Nature right? (Plus you can spend the extra cash on refilling your wine cellar Mr. Green

) Sure...now convince your hubby of that! Laughing

The concern with getting parts and someone to work on an "import" comes from our personal experience with our Honda Odyssey - we've since traded it in on an RX300 (they are badged as Toyota Harriers here) - not solely because it was an import (I just couldn't handle the "soccer mom" feel of it Embarassed

) but that was part of it. As soon as we'd tell the Honda dealer it was a Japanese import, they'd go into overtime trying to figure out what it needed and how to do it. They were very nice about it as it's quite common to have an import here, but they had a whole set of dog-eared manuals (nothing on computer) especially for non-NZ cars to dig through. Imports come from all over the place here, mostly from Japan, but many from Singapore, the U.K., Spain, France, Oz and other parts unknown. They do their level best to take care of you, but it can mean some downtime if parts have to come from elsewhere. It also means higher costs to maintain them. Just a few thoughts. Nutcase

Masking tape to keep the cats off of the car? Brilliant! Nice One

Your husband's grandmother sounds like a real piece of work. I think I would have liked her! Wink

Deposits and installations on utilities aren't too bad...more than in the U.S. but nothing to be worried about.

Best of luck on your house...you should have it sold very soon. If you've followed the news here you've probably seen that the housing market has slowed and that they are concerned with the housing "bubble" bursting and prices plummeting. (Perfect ...we just bought our house, apparently at the top of the market, but what are you going to do? Rolling Eyes

) A report from the top NZ economists yesterday said they thought the housing market will go through a downturn but no bubble bursting. Phew! They predicted a levelling off then a possible drop of about 5% with a recovery in about a year. *Sigh* We have a nice ocean view so hopefully we won't feel the pain as much. fingers crossed

Now go bake some banana bread, take down all of the refrigerator magnets and turn on all of the lights…your house will sell in no time! Pack your bags in the meantime!

Keep us posted!! Mr. Green

Oh, and thanks Timbo for the website...lots to look at! Nice One

Raeven · Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2004 11:29 am Post subject:

Timbo!! Thanks so much for referring me to the website!! I did a quick search for S-2000s and found one (count 'em, one) in the North Island -- where we're not going. Which tells me everything I need to know about what we will experience a la Rich's dog-eared manuals if we bring the car over.. you're right, Rich, we really should sell it. <sigh...>

Gotta run, someone's coming again to see the house!

Thanks again, Timbo!!

Rae