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Imagine
a perfect warm Saturday morning. You wake up; you can smell the ocean
in the air. A breeze blows gently from the sea, calling you down
to the shore. You spend the morning under an unbelievably clear blue
sky, pristine sand underfoot, the warm sun on your skin. You build
up a hunger playing in the surf, and you can’t decide where you want to
get some breakfast. You have your choice of the freshest of fish,
hormone-free meat, and vegetables and herbs plucked from a nearby farm
and served up with endless variety, and you don’t even have to change out
of your flip-flops and beach shorts. Ah, the island life. |
On the way to
your café of choice, everyone you pass has a friendly word and a
smile - they all know what you’re coming to suspect – this is paradise.
So New Zealand
is your dream. There’s no greater location to set your sights on,
no country with more to offer the human spirit in search of freedom.
So let’s talk about how to make it happen. The purpose of this article
is to give you a brief overview of what you will need to know and where
to begin, in order to move to New Zealand, buy property there, and start
a business.
What New
Zealand Has to Offer:
Ok, so paradise
is well and good, but if you’re moving halfway across the world you want
to make sure you’re going to still be in love with the place a few years
down the road. So what does NZ have to offer to keep you enthralled?
Aside from the incredible scenery you’ve no doubt heard all about, and
excluding the financial reasons and focusing just on enjoyment of life,
there are:
• A wealth of entertainment options,
including theatre, galleries and museums, cinema, and 24-hour nightlife.
• The beach at your doorstep, and
all the good that entails:- fishing, clam-digging, swimming,surfing, sailing,
sailing, kayaking, sunbathing, and the list goes on…
• Dining options including whatever
you’re in the mood for, from casual options to five-star fare, alongwith
an exceptional selection of local wines and beer.
• Seemingly endless terrain for
the explorer in you – from the many tracks you’re sure to find near you,
wherever you may settle, to the many neighboring islands, or any of the
long-range treks available on the North and South main islands.
• Affordable, top-quality healthcare
for adults and children.
• A rich cultural heritage well
worth exploring.
• And of course if you ever do bore
of all the above, you can always try white water
rafting, skydiving, bungy jumping, rock climbing, or snowboarding.
.Buying
property:
The New Zealand
government presents no major obstacles to foreign investment, and in fact,
welcomes it. New Zealand is currently showing high rental demand,
and property values are steadily appreciating, creating the potential for
real value in purchasing property, whether you’re planning to invest in
a home of your own, or buying property to rent or resell.
It is a relatively
tax friendly country, without the Mortgage Stamp Duty Australia levies
(which is up to 3-4% of the purchase price), and with no capital gains
tax (though it is a good idea to check with your accountant and clarify
what, if anything, you may need to do to ensure you are not liable for
taxation in your home country when selling property abroad). You can also
claim depreciation (beginning from the date of purchase) on the building
on an investment property at a flat rate of 4% per year, regardless of
the age of the structure.
The Process
in Brief:
Once you find
the property you intend to buy, you will make an offer in writing, which
is then signed by the seller. Your offer will then either be accepted or
rejected, or a counter-offer will be made. Once you and the seller
settle on an accepted offer, another document is drafted and copies lodged
with the buyer, the seller, and the lawyers for both parties. The
deposit is usually made at this time, and paid into the real estate agent’s
trust account and held for at least ten days unless both buyer and seller
sign a contract for early release of the deposit. Escrow is not used in
New Zealand. Instead, your deposit on the property goes directly
to your rental agent’s trust account and the settlement is made in the
lawyer’s office with neither buyer nor seller present.
A few Terms
You May Hear:
Rates:
Rates are essentially the portion you pay the government each year for
the cost of the infrastructure around you.
Ratable
Valuation: A yearly evaluation made by the local council in your area,
assessing the value of property in each neighborhood.
Solicitor:
A lawyer.
Foreshore:
Any land above the low water mark that is covered by high tide.
Starting
a Small to Medium Sized Business:
You will find
that there is endless help for starting your business in New Zealand.
There are numerous organizations offering training and workshops.
In starting up my business, I took advantage of several, amongst the best
were the courses offered by BIZ Central, which offers comprehensive business
support funded by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. Find them at:
http://www.bizcentral.co.nz
They offer an enormous amount of free, accessible and useful information
from marketing tips to courses on sorting out your taxes to your best advantage.
Common Business
Structures:
Sole Trader:
A sole trader
operates the business on his or her own. As they own, manage and control
the business, a sole trader receives all income and is personally liable
for all taxes and debts. Generally a sole trader can start up the
business without following any formal legal processes. Others may be employed
to help run the business. No registration is required to operate as a sole
trader.
Common Business
Structures:
Sole Trader:
A sole trader
operates the business on his or her own. As they own, manage and control
the business, a sole trader receives all income and is personally liable
for all taxes and debts. Generally a sole trader can start up the
business without following any formal legal processes. Others may be employed
to help run the business. No registration is required to operate as a sole
trader.
Legalities
Including Visas:
The New Zealand
immigration service states that they prefer you to apply for your long-term
visa before you arrive in the country. This is a good idea, as the
information required may be easier to obtain from home. So, you have
three months on a visitor’s permit, and this may not be enough time to
get everything in order. I did not follow this advice, and in my
experience, the fingerprint approval from the FBI took much longer than
I had anticipated, and I was mere days away from having to take a short
trip to Australia to renew my tourist visa upon return (the fingerprint
approval is one of the requirements of the permit application process. |
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RESOURCE
LINKS FOR NEW ZEALAND
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| Previous
articles on new Zealand |
New
Zealand: Kiwisms
A Kiwi is
not just a fruit, or a flightless bird. It is the name adopted by New Zealanders
as a nickname for themselves and an adjective for their culture. The word
Kiwi originates from the Maori word for several species of a bird endemic
to New Zealand. English is the official (and most widely spoken) language
but the New Zealanders have a few little "Kiwisms' of their own.
Memories
Of Piha New Zealand
Before every
winter's arrival I sense its presence. I feel the bitter chill in the air,
and the familiar scent of snow. At first it’s a welcomed phenomenon. The
idea of bundling up with plush blankets and hot cocoa sounds appealing.
This feeling, however, is short lived for me. After a few snow storms,
when I can't feel my nose and toes, and I'm so bitterly cold that by the
time I get inside I'm sweating from moving so fast, I remember how much
I miss summer. Actually, this year, I'll remember how much I miss Piha.
Piha, on the wild west coast of New Zealand, will become my recurring destination
as an escape from New York winters.
Traveling
And Staying Healthy
When I first
decided to take an extended journey away from home, I knew I would be faced
with the tiresome dilemma of what to do with all my stuff. I quickly decided
that "stuff" was meaningless in the grand scheme of life. But I didn’t
want to give it all up. I wanted to keep my favorite books, my practically
new Swedish foam mattress, and all the things I had collected since college.
I couldn’t afford a storage unit (could barely afford to survive the 6
months I'd be away). When I thought about it though, six months is nothing.
I mean, I wasn't spending seven years in Tibet. |
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