Report time – INZ Permanent & Long Term migration pt2
Filed under: Economics, Hubby's Views, Jobs & Work, Life in New Zealand, Property & General Investing
The contribution of Kiwi’s abroad to the NZ economy.
One of the interesting stand out comments in the DoL exec summary refers (again) to the Kea research. DoL cite this as “New Zealand’s diaspora is significant and our expatriate community is seen as an important contributor to New Zealand’s economic prosperity“.
Hmm, that sounds like a sound and solid contribution to the economy.
Only the Kea report cited doesn’t actually say that.
Kea talk about the potential for rich Kiwi’s living abroad to invest back in NZ.
They do identify that some of these rich folks are doing that already, but that there is huge potential for more investment from Kiwi’s who no longer live here.
Page 8 (section 3) of the Kea report makes for some fascinating colourful graphs. Although it is based on the assumption that listing on a stock exchange and having public share ownership must be a good thing and is the only way to run a successful company. Not an entirely fair and reasonable presumption. I know of quite a few world leading and competition beating companies that are entirely privately held.
It also assumes that Foreign Direct Investment (people abroad investing in your country) is a good thing too. Oh, right. Let’s just ignore all the FUD tub thumping about the Crafar farms sale then shall we. Foreign Investment in NZ is a bad thing, it must be. All those foreign types! We can’t possibly sell them bits of New Zealand! We will be ruined!!
FDI to NZ in 2010 is quoted as being $600m, while the Overseas Investment Office who approve who can buy NZ land maintain some interesting monthly stats.
2011 will be a bit better, thanks to James Cameron 
Not many people seem to mind him directly investing in New Zealand. But then he doesn’t look “foreign”. And he makes fun movies. So he’s alright.
The Kea report makes for fascinating reading, especially the theme’s that companies need to address if they’re looking for investors. Time for a sit down with a cup of tea, pen & paper to make some notes.
Less writing more pictures.
Due to the horrific dangers involved in ongoing gym membership – I have buggered up my shoulder. My right shoulder. Which makes typing for more than a few minutes pretty painful. So there may be a lack of posts that include my usual at-length rambling about stuff for a while until the Physios get me sorted.
In the meantime – enjoy one of the secrets of successful investing – ignorance.
Mitre 10 Mega coming to Masterton.
Filed under: Cost of living, Property & General Investing
We were invited today to the Open Day for the sparkly new Mitre 10 Mega in Masterton. Friends of mum and dad want to know how come we got an invite. Basically because I have a business account with them for the rental business. Currently we have 2 stores in the area – one on the main high street in Masterton, and one on the bypass. The site next to that one is where they are building the Mega Store.
Currently – if we want the selection of good available at at Mega store rather than a normal Mitre 10 – we have to travel to Petone near Wellington. Now the small stores we have in Masterton are good – the staff are really top notch – and they the service they provide is excellent. I found them invaluable when I was renovating my trashed rental – many of the staff have also been through the mill with bad tenants and problem property managers – so they know the feelings well. The main difference we are going to see is in choice – and easy availability. Previously they could get me stuff they don’t have in stock – but now we will actually be able to browse a massive warehouse of DIY goodies.
I think there could be some budget blowouts coming up if I’m not careful.
Now the place isn’t stocked yet – though they have started. It has taken a few weeks just to get the racking and shelving in place to put the stock on – with the help of some short term contractors they took on just for the job. Apparently it normally takes 10 weeks full time work to stock up a Mega Store – and they reckon they have 6-8 weeks to get it done before they open – though they will not yet commit to an opening day.
Smart move!
Some people have complained about the effect that opening a big store like this will have on the area – now I don’t know what I am missing here – but I have always thought this was bloody good thing for the Wairapapa. For the owners to have the guts to build a massive megastore in a small town says they think the area is growing. Which is what I reckon is happening. There’s actually a lot of money in the Wairarapa – the problem is there’s not so many places here to spend it – so the money ends up being spent in the cities: Wellington or Palmy for instance. Really – we wont be spending any more money on DIY – but we will be spending it in Masterton rather than in Petone. Surely that’s a good thing?
I cannot wait till it is really open for business. And just in time for Christmas it looks like. So good luck to the team – and from my family at least – thank you for (if nothing else) the lighting section! And thank you for inviting us today!
The Mortgage Pig
Filed under: Avalon's Money Thread, General Budgeting, Interest Rates, Credit Cards & Mortgages in NZ, Property & General Investing
I was on the train today heading to the Wairarapa for the weekend, and I was mulling over our latest money saving exploits. And I was thinking about Fred’s comment and how we actually attempt to make sure that saving are just that – real savings – and that we don’t waste the money elsewhere.
Because of course Fred is quite right – it’s all very well not spending money on something – but if you then spend it on other stuff – you really haven’t saved anything at all.
That’s where the Mortgage Pig comes in. This was an idea I came across on the MoneySavingExpert forum – and seems to have been “invented” by Aliasojo.
I decided a while ago that I really wanted my mortgage paid off. It wasn’t very large to start with admittedly, but it wasn’t coming down as quickly as I would have liked.
As the mortgage was one of those background constants that just gets paid every month without thinking about it, I figured that if it was in front of us and on our minds more, we might make more of an effort to collect more money to chuck at it.
So……I got a mortgage pig.
It’s a large green pig which sits on my kitchen worktop in a very central position with a ‘speech bubble’ printed on A4 paper and stuck to the wall above it. The mortgage pig explains (in the speech bubble) who he is and why it’s a good idea to check whether you really need that bottle of wine or takeaway and if it might be better to give the cash to him instead. It also a bit to remind us why we wanted to pay off our mortgage and lists the things we want to do in the future.
Now we don’t use cash. And while we have used a physical piggy bank in the past – because we don’t use cash – it takes too long to save anything. So we have a “Virtual Mortgage Pig”. It’s not large, it’s not green and it doesn’t have a speech bubble explaining what it is. Instead, we have a category on Quicken called Mortgage Pig. When we make a saving, get a bit of extra income (such as share dividends, trade me sales), or we use our ASB points to buy stuff instead of money, we transfer the money to Mortgage Savings. Now that our personal mortgage has gone and been replaced by a business mortgage – the Mortgage Pig savings get paid to our Investment Savings Pot.
At the moment, not all our “savings” will make it to the Pig. That’s basically because the past year or so have been very hard for us financially, and to be perfectly frank – savings we make in one area are pretty much eaten up with price rises in another. Right now it feels like Standing Still financially is a battle of epic proportions – let alone trying to get ahead!
Should we have any money left at the end of the month – that too would be a Mortgage Pig saving – and get shoved into to the Investment Savings. These savings are what keep our rental business afloat. Given how much money we lost on because of our issues with Agile Property Services’ negligence and failures to manage our properties – that account is in pretty much a mess. But with some hard work, and some tough management – we are clawing back the losses he caused. It does help that the tenants we now have are paying rent like clockwork, and I am not having to pay it for them. Ill be blogging more about that later – but every time I start I just get too furious at the trouble the Property Manager caused me – and his refusal to get some balls and deal with me.
So yes – it doesn’t really matter how you do it – but you do need some way of locking in the savings. Like I said – ours is for mortgages – which is the best use of money you can make. If you haven’t got a mortgage – then it’s really up to you. I really like the idea of the Mortgage Pig. It’s a bit silly, it’s a bit fun, and you can basically run it however it suits you: from putting all spare change in – to literally deciding not to buy a takeaway and gettimg cash out to put in the pig instead. Remember there is no “one true path” and what works for me may not be good for you – but there is certainly no harm creating your own version of “The Mortgage Pig”.
Thanks Fred 
Buying Paint in New Zealand: It’s expensive
Filed under: Cost of living, General Budgeting, Property & General Investing
It’s a nightmare of epic proportions. We needed to buy some paint. Not such a hard task you might think – just pop to the DIY store and grab a tin off the shelf – what’s the big deal???
That was in a previous life – where you main concern is getting the right colour. Today’s trip started with a visit to the nearest Resene Colourshop. A consumer’s palace dedicated to the 1001 paint colours you never knew you needed. Ok, so that bit was easy – I’d already worked out the colours I needed – 10l of Half Vienna White, which I was getting elsewhere, and here I needed 4l of Mayhem, low sheen.
I was dead chuffed. I could walk in – order my paint and I thought that was it. You see the first problem is that here in New Zealand – all the paint is mixed to order. There’s no such thing as an aisle you can walk down and see all the different colours. All you get are swatch cards, and sample pots – which at Resene are all black – so you don’t get to see the actual paint till you get home.
So I order my paint – and end up getting a tin that doesn’t look anything like the tins I have bought previously. It still says low sheen – but it’s got a different name. A fraught conversation ensues with the shop staff – which basically determines that previously I have had acrylic, and this is water borne enamel.
Look – I want a tin of paint. To go on a wall. With a low sheen (I tried the flat matt approach before – but it causes a lot of confusion and looks crap anyway). I didn’t know there were 27 different types of paint I could get that would come under that heading!
And that’s before we get to the price. I get a discount – so that came to an eye watering $111.50 (with the discount). That’s £43. (£55.75 at current exchange rates) For 4l of paint.
No I am not making this up!
Having got through that – we then pop to Mitre 10 to get the Half Vienna. You see – mitre 10 sells Dulux paints, and a make called British Paint – both of which are a lot cheaper than Resene. They just don’t have the 1001 colours. They still have to be mixed (it always narks me that Dulux can premix paint for the UK but can’t be arsed to do it here). I buy British Paint – it’s cheaper, and experience tells me that it covers over old paint in 2 coats whereas Resene takes 4.
And – Mitre 10 can mix Resene colours in Dulux or British paint bases as long as it uses a white base .
And then we hit another little hiccup. The sales guy didn’t know that they can mix Resene colours, and apparently neither did anyone else there. So I have another fraught conversation along the lines of:
“Look – you’ve been mixing me Resene colours in British paints bases for the past 2 years!!! I’ve bought buckets of the stuff!!! “
“Oh no madam, that must have been a Mitre 10 Mega.”
“No It was here!!! I have an account with you – you can check if you like!!!”
Eventually the computer was rechecked and yes – suddenly they could find the colour recipe I needed and mix up 10l of Half Vienna White in a British Paints Low Sheen base.
So I got my 10l of Half Vienna White (a Resene shade) for about $40 cheaper than I would have paid for it at Resene. And I will use half the amount as well.
Of course – I’m now too knackered to actually do the painting.
A reminder of what paint used to cost!
Homebase sell Brilliant White paint in 10l for £9.99. Even in the bestest of the best sales – you will pay about $70 here, and usually it’s $100 or more. They are selling Dulux 5l (various colours) at £23. Expect your DIY budget to get blown out of the water when you emigrate!
Might be worth bringing a load of (sealed brand new) buckets of paint with you when you emigrate!
Kiwisaver: may not let you say no.
Filed under: Cost of living, Property & General Investing, Retirement, Pensions and Kiwisaver
It seems discussions are underway to “auto enroll” the million workers who have not yet done as they were supposed to do and enrolled in Kiwisaver. Now if you start a new job, you are automatically enrolled, and you have to opt out: that takes time, and in that time you lose a % of your salary until such time as the IRD give it back.
But for the million people who have not signed up voluntarily, and have not changed jobs so been swept up in the automatic enrollment – apparently – that’s not what you were supposed to do – and time could be up to behave and do as you are told!
Sometimes I do wonder how we can possibly be allowed to make any of our own choices anymore.
It is one thing to make Kiwisaver compulsory – and I personally object to being forced to invest in a way I do not want to, but its another to sit there pretending you have choice in the matter, and then clubbing you round the head with a big stick cos you didn’t make the “authorised” choice.
I get that many people are not savvy about investing. Hell, even those of us that think we are, probably aren’t. But should you be forced to put your money in an investment you think is a really bad one? Clearly a lot of the people not enrolled are there because they just didn’t bother. Many of them may not mind being auto-enrolled. But at a time when the cost of food and fuel are rocketing should we really be saying that you now have to work through the process of opting-out in order to not lose 3%+ of your wages?
There are 1.75 million people in KiwiSaver now but another 250,000 have opted out of the scheme.
But it is likely the opt-out rate would be much higher under an auto-enrolment plan, perhaps as high as 40 per cent to 50 per cent.
“The Government is looking at how we can auto-enrol those people who are in the workforce but currently not in KiwiSaver,” he said. The Government’s Savings Working Group had looked at compulsion but had shied away.
“They rejected it on the basis that it wouldn’t necessarily suit every person’s circumstances. Low-income people might find it quite challenging to go in there . . .” Mr Key said.
I am also a bit tired of the belief that only low income people are affected by losing a % of thier salary. When the kiwsaver contribution was 4%, it would have cost us over $500 a month to enroll. We could not afford to lose that. And bear in mind that with a lot of companies, you also need to fund the employer’s contribtion out of you salary (how the hell is that legal???) you can be stuffed!
Enrolling more people in the scheme may not lift national savings, because they may save less in other areas.
Saving what I wonder?
Labour leader Phil Goff said his party was looking at ways to create a more “universal savings scheme”, but he refused to give details.
KiwiSaver had been universally available, but not universally taken up, he said.
There were problems extending it to everyone, because many people did not have spare cash to put into savings.
“There are a whole lot of New Zealanders that are struggling just to meet the day-to-day bills, that actually don’t have the ability to put money aside for savings.”
I actually think that may the first time I have agreed with what Phil Goff says.
Cocktails
Filed under: Life in New Zealand, Property & General Investing, Things to do
While in New Plymouth we had dinner (recommended by a friend) at Andre’s. And well worth booking to make sure you get a table if you happen to be up in the area when there’s a concert on – because it was heavenly.
But best of all – I treated myself to a cocktail. Now I don’t drink a lot – though I am quite partial to a glass or two of Pinot Noir wine since moving here to New Zealand – on account of we make bloody good wine. But on average I would say I maybe drink a unit or two a week – some weeks.
But every now and then – about once every 18 months I will try a cocktail.
And this weekend was a bit of a celebration – you see we finally got to the AGM of the Body Corporate of teh Century City Apartments – which is where we own one of our rentals. Now the ins and outs really are not that important – but in essence the place was a mess, and the Body Corporate (a collective of all the owners) was broke because one person owned the majority of the apartments, and refused to pay their levies. I had been working for the past few months to get the other owners organised and voting – to try and get some changes made.
As it happened, by the time we got to the AGM, there was no longer a single majority owner – and we could get some decisions made that will hopefully turn the building round and make it a pleasant place to live – because the apartments themselves are really rather lovely are are a bloody bargain right now.
But after 6 months of hard (and sometimes very stressful) slog and having to read way more of the Unit Titles Act than any sane person should have to – I felt I deserved a bit of treat.
First was taking the offered holiday to New Plymouth and second – a cocktail to celebrate a really good outcome.
So I plumped for a Chocolate Martini:
(Apologies for the picture quality – it’s an iPhone special) This is Vodka, White Creme de Cocoa and a touch of Kaluha. Next time (and I assure you there will be a next time )- I’m having the After Eight Martini!
By the way – the food was just as wonderful as the cocktail.
Who exactly writes new laws in NZ?
Filed under: Life in New Zealand, Property & General Investing
Oh , that’s right – my waste of space local MP John Hayes.
Well, I have come across another new law that was written by a total imbecile – so if that is what Mr Hayes does when he can’t be bothered to talk to his constituents – he needs to go back to school.
It is however refreshing to know that it isn’ just the Immigration Advisers Licencing Act that screws the very people it attempts to help.
In this case – it’s the Unit Titles Act 2010, which replaces a 1972 act and is supposed to improve the lot of apartment owners. When you own an apartment here – the owners usually make up what is called a Body Corporate, and they pay into a central fun to cover the costs of running an maintaining the common areas of the property. Well, that’s the theory as long as people pay up.
Now, every year, the Body Corporate has an Annual General Meeting. Usually not many people turn up – but our next AGM – a lot of people want to turn up because there is a rather big issue in the building with one person owing a lot of money in fees to the Body Corporate. The issue is that not everyone can get to an AGM. Many owners live out of town, or cannot get time off work to attend a midday meeting. So they assign a proxy to someone else to vote on their behalf.
Under the 1972 law, this required that they do no more than send an email to the person they wish to assign as their proxy stating their name, the name of the person they are assigning, and the number of the unit.
Under the new “improved” 2010 law they have to give all this clobber:
Form 11
Proxy appointment formSection 102(3), Unit Titles Act 2010
To [name of person authorised to receive proxy appointment forms]
Unit plan: [reference number]
Body Corporate Number: [number]
Proxy appointmentWe/I*, [full name, address], being the owner/owners* of [principal unit] and therefore an eligible voter within the meaning of section 96(1) of the Unit Titles Act 2010, appoint [full name] as my/our* proxy for the purposes of the general meeting of the body corporate to be held on [date].
*Select one.If the general meeting is adjourned and reconvened, this proxy appointment is valid for the purposes of the reconvened meeting.
MotionsComplete the following table.
Motion
Type of resolution[Summarise the motion.]
[State whether the motion requires an ordinary or special resolution and whether, if passed, the resolution would be a designated resolution.]Date: [day, month, year]
Signature of eligible voter:
So now, we cannot sort out the proxies until the AGM has been called and we know all the motions that people want to vote on. It also means that if you as a unit holder which to propose a motion to be voted on – then that has to be in the proxy forms that go out to the members, so that people who are unable to attend can still vote on those issues.
I can categorically say that this screws over a number of people who find themselves in a crappy situation. And it has just made my life a whole lot harder personally. Once again – the brains behind a new law have not thought things through and are being utterly idiotic.
But hey – that’s just my opinion
Like what Avalon has to say?
Click Here to buy Avalon's Guide or Click Here to buy the E-Book
Thumbs up for Empower today!
Filed under: Cost of living, General Budgeting, Property & General Investing
One of the things our waste-of-space tenants did before they ran off owing money to a lot of people was not pay their power bill for ages – and got disconnected. I think this may be the real reason the did a runner rather than any sterling effort our ex-property manager claims he made to get rid of them.
You cant power a 46″ flat screen TV, Sky system, X-Box and Laptop if you refuse to pay your power bill now can you?
So not only do we have to tidy up after the dirty tykes, remove their crap and repair the extensive damage, and field several debt collectors (to who we are giving all the aliases this guy goes under)- we also have to reconnect the electricity before we can do much of the work. We talked to Meridian the day we got in the property, but they pissed around so much that it was gone 5pm on a Friday before they pulled their fingers out and would arrange the connection – and then said they had to charge us $60 for a “weekend connection”.
We told them where they could stick it, as they refused to see that their bone-idleness had in fact caused the necessity.
So we contacted Empower – who we used to deal with before shifting to Meridian.
Because the power had been disconnected, we actually couldn’t get it back on till the Wednesday, but we weren’t being charged, so waited patientl;y and did what we could without electricity. Which is actually not as much as you might think.
This weekend we got the bill from Empower – including a $65 next-day reconnection fee!
Well, I phoned (and managed not to get angry – which I feel was no mean feat). Spoke to a lovely chap named Paul, explained the situation and he said he would see what he could do. A minute later and he comes back saying the fee has been waived.
What a lovely start to the day!
So Empower get a thumbs up from me today for being helpful and understanding, and I will now look at the possibility of changing back our home accounts to them.
Like what Avalon has to say?
Click Here to buy Avalon's Guide or Click Here to buy the E-Book
Would you apply for a mortgage for someone else…
Filed under: Banks, Economics, General Budgeting, Interest Rates, Credit Cards & Mortgages in NZ, Property & General Investing
and then complain when you realise that you were scammed and the mortgage broker lied to you when they told you it was to help a British couple out whose money was locked up in the UK???
Much as I would like to help people make the move to New Zealand – the answer for me is
NO WAY IN HELL!
Because call me nuts – but isn’t it fraud to apply for a mortgage or loan under you own name, when you know its actually for someone else, especially when you are doing so on the promise of being paid money by these people when the loan draws down, and then a monthly fee from them?
This is what has happened to a couple on the Kapiti Coast. They got scammed by Kerry Brundle, a mortgage broker. And they have finally woken up and gone to the police – along with many other victims who for some utterly inexplicable reason took out loans to give this woman money. The mortgage payments were supposed to be met by Brundle, or some other fictitious character and then the people scammed were also supposed to receive a payment when the loan was drawn down, and then ongoing payments each month. To say “Thank you”.
Mark Mason can testify to how persuasive Ms Buddle could be. He took out a $42,000 mortgage on his house in Paraparaumu in 2008 so he could lend her money to renovate her home. He has since had to sell his house to avoid a mortgagee sale.
“She said it would be good for both of us. I trusted her, she was a friend. I thought this has got to be easy – get $1000 upfront then $100 a month – for signing a piece of paper.”
Were they all barking nuts???
Why oh why oh why would you mortgage your house, risk yours and your families financial future to give money to someone else? Charity is one thing – stupidity is quite another. If you have the money and want to help people – that’s great: laudable and entirely your choice. But when you are prepared to sign loan documents under your own name knowing full well that you are lying about the loan being for you in exchange for money, I’m afraid any sympathy I have goes out the window. To me – this is what greed is – you do something which highly unethical, because someone is going to pay you money to do it.
That doesn’t diminish how much of a snake Kerry Brundle is – living like a millionaire on the money she scammed out of people. There are an awful lot of people out there pretending they have a lot of money when they don’t, so she will not be the last person to get caught for trying to live off other people’s money I’m sure.
Why do people do this?
We were prepared to take a certain amount of risk when taking out mortgages to buy our investment properties. But always – we ran the numbers, listened to advice, and remembered that if we screwed up or things got difficult – we were risking not just our home and future – but that of my Parents and brother as well. I sure as hell would never risk that to borrow money for someone else! If I give money – for any reason – it is money I can afford to give – and I give it because I want to – not because someone will pay me to do so.
Like what Avalon has to say?
Click Here to buy Avalon's Guide or Click Here to buy the E-Book
Avalon’s Guide On Facebook
-
