FR on Auckland NZ

just came back from a one week trip to auckland, just some pointers:

(1.) At least 35% of the population in the city is China/HK/South Korea/Japs, with another 15% being Indians and another 10% being Iranians, with about 40% KIWIS. The KIWIS are the lot here thats actually the most friendly. Point is no need to argue about racism here.

(2.) NZ banks pay high interest on deposits ranging from 4% to 5%. That means if you deposit $500K at 5% you get interest of $25000 per year. Quite sufficient to survive I would say. Much better than most countries.

(3.) There is the Skycity casino. Seasoned gamblers with $10K capital can easily make $100 to $200 a day.

(4.) Vis a vis, midwives earn $1600-$2100 for about 40 hours of work excluding OT (advertised in NZ Herald). Thats slightly less than a what a mid wife earns in SG. There is miminum wage of $12.50 an hour if I am not wrong. All jobs that is labour intensive pays well and is expensive when rendering their services as well.

(5.) Rental for a 30 sq M space along Queen Street is $2500 per month. I think its not expensive but then again due to the small population (one million plus), nature of spenders (only tourists like the europeans and asians spend, the locals dont), its actually not easy to become rich.

(6.) Food is generally expensive when one dines in a restaurant. Chinese restuarants charge $7.50 for Chap chai Peng with three dishes, Restaurants and food courts average $10-$25 for a main course (servings are one and a half times what you get in SG) Fast food cost $5 for a value meal. Buying in bulk in Supermarket like food town, countdown or GW can be very cheap. $10 for 6 pieces of lamb chops. However soft drinks are expensive.

(7.) Clothes can be obtained from factory outlet dresssmart. Goes as cheap as $5 for a shirt or skirt, ASICS gel shoes for as low as $80, old fashion Ralph Lauren POLO Ts $50. Men's suits are very expensive.

(8.) Transport is also expensive, esp the taxis. Short 2 km distance about $10. Different bus services charge different prices due to routes, minimum is $1.60. Cars are affordable, parking averages $12 for 6 hours in the city. Not too sure about sidewalk though.

(9.) I am well traveled and I find Auckland really beautiful. Four seasons, cold winter but no snow, rain is clean.Have not ventured past Palmerston North though.

(10.) I think its a great country to migrate to. If you have about $800K in cash, get the PR, deposit $500K in the banks for the interest, play at the casino fr about $100 to $200 profits a day with a $10K capital, job plus profits plus interest can net you about between $200 to $300 per day, I think its quite comfortable to retire or enjoy life. SG's Stamford land currently selling apartments (FH) from $400K (NZ) above the stamford auckland hotel in the city centre. I find it cheap.

Thanks for the info.

I'm considering migrating to NZ cos cannot tahan the bloody over-crowding in spore anymore.

I intend to buy a property in Auckland rather than over-priced pee-holes in spore.

Anyway,

1. Is there any thing such as leashold or freehold titles in NZ?
2. Do you know how ppty tax is calculated?
3. Roughly how much is the maintenance costs per month for a 2 bed-rrom partment in Auckland central?
4. Are there any other hidden costs in owning a ppty in auckland?

Thanks again.

I am no kiwi, perhaps you can check their immigration or google the links to the info you need (i think most housing are freehold ones, they have lots of land). Some books that you may consider picking up:

http://www.amazon.com/Emigrating-New-Zealand-Steve-Horrell/dp/1845281160/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b

holyman said:

just came back from a one week trip to auckland, just some pointers:




(6.) Food is generally expensive when one dines in a restaurant. Chinese restuarants charge $7.50 for Chap chai Peng with three dishes, Restaurants and food courts average $10-$25 for a main course (servings are one and a half times what you get in SG) Fast food cost $5 for a value meal. Buying in bulk in Supermarket like food town, countdown or GW can be very cheap. $10 for 6 pieces of lamb chops. However soft drinks are expensive.


.

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eating out is cheap in SG cos we are still paying 3rd world wage to those working in the foodstall, where as there is min wage in NZ.

SG for the longest time don't dare to implement min wage, cos the our artificial "competitiveness" will be gone.

chewed said:

eating out is cheap in SG cos we are still paying 3rd world wage to those working in the foodstall, where as there is min wage in NZ.

SG for the longest time don't dare to implement min wage, cos the our artificial "competitiveness" will be gone.

Click to expand...

I went to NZ for holiday in 2007. It's true that that food is more expensive but the servings are so huge that it can feed 2 pple.

holyman said:

(1.) At least 35% of the population in the city is China/HK/South Korea/Japs, with another 15% being Indians and another 10% being Iranians, with about 40% KIWIS. The KIWIS are the lot here thats actually the most friendly. Point is no need to argue about racism here.

Click to expand...

Below is the ethnic breakdown from the census : You left out the fact that the govt will help themselves to around 30% of the interest income generated from term deposits. There is no escape. It is taxed at source.

Those who want to buy property in NZ would be advised to stay away from apartments which are built on leasehold land. The ground rent can be horrendous and there is a ratchet clause which means what you pay tomorrow could be double what you pay today.

<table class="wikitable"><tbody><tr><th>Ethnic Group</th> <th>2001 (%)<sup id="cite_ref-2001_Census_18-0" class="reference">[19]</sup></th> <th>2001 (people)</th> <th>2006 (%)<sup id="cite_ref-2006_Census_19-0" class="reference">[20]</sup></th> <th>2006 (people)</th> </tr> <tr> <td>New Zealand European</td> <td>66.9</td> <td>684,237</td> <td>56.5</td> <td>698,622</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Pacific Island</td> <td>14.9</td> <td>152,508</td> <td>14.4</td> <td>177,936</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Asian</td> <td>14.6</td> <td>149,121</td> <td>18.9</td> <td>234,222</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Māori</td> <td>11.5</td> <td>117,513</td> <td>11.1</td> <td>137,133</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Middle Easterners/Latin Americans/Africans</td> <td>n/a</td> <td>n/a</td> <td>1.5</td> <td>18,555</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Others</td> <td>1.3</td> <td>13,455</td> <td>0.1</td> <td>648</td> </tr> <tr> <td>'New Zealanders'</td> <td>n/a</td> <td>n/a</td> <td>8.0</td> <td>99,258</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Total giving their ethnicity</td> <td>
</td> <td>1,022,616 (individuals)</td> <td>
</td> <td>1,237,239 (individuals)</td></tr></tbody></table>





<hr class="displayNone"> Apartment owners hit by $12,000 ground rent
4:00AM Tuesday Jan 27, 2009
By Anne Gibson <!-- Ixt1-->
The land owners of Beaumont Quarter site originally wanted $4.4 million a year in ground rent from apartment owners. Photo / Supplied

Ground rent at one of the country's largest high-density housing estates is rising 244 per cent from $900,000 to $3.1million annually.
Instead of paying an average $3400 for land under each of the 258 apartments at Auckland's Beaumont Quarter opposite Victoria Park, unit owners will now be up for an average $12,000 a year each.

A partial decision from arbitrator Sir Ian Barker, QC, over new ground rent has been issued and the full decision will be out later next month.
Owners desperate to avoid the dramatic ground rent increases were last year quitting places and said the new payments would make it unfeasible for investors to rent Beaumont Quarter townhouses.

But owners are claiming the $3.1 million ground rent settlement as a big win because the land owners actually wanted $4.4 million a year.
Beaumont Partners, managed by Augusta Funds Management which is connected to the listed Kermadec Property Fund, proposed last year to hike ground rents but the residents objected, initially gaining valuations that they should only pay $2.2 million.

So the land owners commissioned a valuation from property consultants Jones Lang LaSalle and the numbers were confirmed by Colliers International.
Neville Corbett, chairman of Beaumont Quarter Residents Society Inc, wrote to owners describing the $3.1 million settlement is a victory.
"Our ground rent will be approximately $1.3 million a year less than the $4,435,000 wanted by Beaumont Partners. That is a reduction in the ground rent of $9.1 million over the seven years rent period. This is a great result for the Beaumont Quarter apartment owners.

"The result of the rent reduction means that the lot value for the Beaumont Quarter will reduce from $64 million to approximately $45 million."
However, he emphasised that the final decision on the ground rent would not be out until February 27 and said it was hard for residents because it left them in limbo.

"This non-finality is not helpful to us," he said. "Unfortunately the partial award does not give a finite answer to what the new ground rent amount actually is and further consideration by both parties and calculations by the valuers are required for further submissions to the arbitrator for him to give his final award."
Corbett's letter said the residents had won a further victory, forced to pay a penalty interest rate on money in dispute lower than that the land owners originally sought.

"The arbitrator is not accepting the Beaumont Partners' penalty interest amount of 26.2 per cent and approving a penalty interest rate of 19.5 per cent," he wrote.

The new $3.1 million annual leasehold payment has been backdated to April 1 last year.

"We did lose two legal points regarding the interpretation of the ground lease document relating to how the market rent should be assessed and (residents' lawyer) John Carter has suggested we should consider appealing these two issues," Corbett wrote.
A special residents' meeting is planned soon.

Corbett said a small group of townhouse owners had failed to pay money due so legal action was being taken against them.
"An update on the legal moves on the 11 worst-case payment defaulters is that court cases against them have commenced this week," he wrote.
Mark Francis of Augusta was unavailable to comment on the issue.

Copyright ©2009, APN Holdings NZ Limited

is this freehold or leasehold Sam?
http://www.stamfordresidences.co.nz/

You need a new pair of glasses.

I think it is difficult for Singaporeans to understand anything that does not work the Singaporean way.

Just something from my experience. I am not very impressed with the building standards in NZ.

Before 1979, most houses were built without insulation resulting in very cold houses during winter. Double-glazed windows were only a requirement in the last couple of years. The government is now giving a subsidy for insulating your house, ask the seller if the house has been insulated in the ceilings, walls and under the floor.

In Auckland especially, you need to be wary of apartments (houses as well but to a lesser extent) built between the 1990s and early 2000s as some of them are leaky buildings. Make sure you get a building inspection done before you purchase any property.

Hopefully, others can contribute their experience as well.

littlefish said:

Just something from my experience. I am not very impressed with the building standards in NZ.

Before 1979, most houses were built without insulation resulting in very cold houses during winter. Double-glazed windows were only a requirement in the last couple of years. The government is now giving a subsidy for insulating your house, ask the seller if the house has been insulated in the ceilings, walls and under the floor.

In Auckland especially, you need to be wary of apartments (houses as well but to a lesser extent) built between the 1990s and early 2000s as some of them are leaky buildings. Make sure you get a building inspection done before you purchase any property.

Hopefully, others can contribute their experience as well.

Click to expand...

aussies are pretty lucky these days since rudd announce a $2k grant for insulation installation and material for houses without. thank the greens for the pressure.

I wonder what is the building code like ... nz is not known as the shaky isles for nothing.

littlefish said:

Before 1979, most houses were built without insulation resulting in very cold houses during winter.

Click to expand...

That's a rather misleading statement. 99% of all houses in NZ are insulated. The issue is not the absence of insulation but the fact that the insulation does not meet modern standards and it is therefore more costly when it comes to heating homes.

Most of NZ doesn't get really cold in winter. In Auckland, 15 degC daytime temperatures and 8 degC night temperatures are the norm throughout most winters and many Aucklanders still have their windows wide open in the winter months. Double glazing used to be thought of as an overkill in most parts of the country as heating was required only on very frosty nights.

However, in this day and age of ever increasing energy costs and dwindling resources, new houses are now being built to a higher insulation standard (including double glazing) and a subsidy is in place to retrofit older houses to bring them up to speed.

Leongsam said:

That's a rather misleading statement. 99% of all houses in NZ are insulated. The issue is not the absence of insulation but the fact that the insulation does not meet modern standards and it is therefore more costly when it comes to heating homes.

Most of NZ doesn't get really cold in winter. In Auckland, 15 degC daytime temperatures and 8 degC night temperatures are the norm throughout most winters and many Aucklanders still have their windows wide open in the winter months. Double glazing used to be thought of as an overkill in most parts of the country as heating was required only on very frosty nights.

However, in this day and age of ever increasing energy costs and dwindling resources, new houses are now being built to a higher insulation standard (including double glazing) and a subsidy is in place to retrofit older houses to bring them up to speed.

Click to expand...

Are you staying in NZ?

Leongsam said:

That's a rather misleading statement. 99% of all houses in NZ are insulated. The issue is not the absence of insulation but the fact that the insulation does not meet modern standards and it is therefore more costly when it comes to heating homes.

Most of NZ doesn't get really cold in winter. In Auckland, 15 degC daytime temperatures and 8 degC night temperatures are the norm throughout most winters and many Aucklanders still have their windows wide open in the winter months. Double glazing used to be thought of as an overkill in most parts of the country as heating was required only on very frosty nights.

However, in this day and age of ever increasing energy costs and dwindling resources, new houses are now being built to a higher insulation standard (including double glazing) and a subsidy is in place to retrofit older houses to bring them up to speed.

Click to expand...

Well, I don't know about you but I have visited quite a few houses and they all seem too cold for me if they do not have heat pumps installed. In summer, it is usually not a problem as long as the temperature in the house is about 10 degrees warmer than outside at night. For a few weeks during the depths of winter, the temperature drops to below 5 degrees overnight, making it an extremely frosty start to your monrings (My solution is to set the timer to turn on the heater a couple of hours before I wake up as I do have the heater on while I sleep).

I wonder if anyone has taken on the government grant for doing the insulation and how much of a difference does it make. I heard a few comments over the radio that it was definitely worth doing the insulation. Anyone has any idea how much it costs to insulate the house roughly? Of course, every house is different but is there some kind of ball-park figures to expect?

littlefish said:

I wonder if anyone has taken on the government grant for doing the insulation and how much of a difference does it make. I heard a few comments over the radio that it was definitely worth doing the insulation. Anyone has any idea how much it costs to insulate the house roughly? Of course, every house is different but is there some kind of ball-park figures to expect?

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I have heat pump at home. It's only used on frosty nights. It's been unusually cold this winter and it's been on whenever the overnight temp goes below 4 degC. Last year, I hardly used it at all.

I don't have double glazing. However, I have insulation in the walls and ceiling. It was installed when the house was built.

To retrofit double glazing will cost from NZD4000 to NZD15,000 depending on the number of windows and ranch sliders.

Leongsam said:

I have heat pump at home. It's only used on frosty nights. It's been unusually cold this winter and it's been on whenever the overnight temp goes below 4 degC. Last year, I hardly used it at all.

I don't have double glazing. However, I have insulation in the walls and ceiling. It was installed when the house was built.

To retrofit double glazing will cost from NZD4000 to NZD15,000 depending on the number of windows and ranch sliders.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. Yeah, winter is unusually cold this year and it started earlier, in mid May. Even the Kiwis are complaining about the cold.

Why not just buy that freehold project for $400K and rent out instead of deposit $500K in bank? Or better still buy 2 using loans you stay in one and rent out the other. Use interest on loan to offset tax.

Thanks Holy man, i have just been selected from the EOI pool so hopefully we should be out of here soon. Thanks for your very helpful tips. I have only about 200k SGD left but should be enough to get a small house and start settling there and bring my folks over once we are settled.

neddy said:

I wonder what is the building code like ... nz is not known as the shaky isles for nothing.

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Found the answers myself ...

Earthquake-prone buildings
What provisions have been introduced?
http://www.dbh.govt.nz/bomd-earthquake-prone-buildings

To make buildings safer to use in the future, the Building Act 2004 has introduced provisions to improve the likelihood of existing buildings withstanding earthquakes.

This is a long-term strategy that focuses on the buildings most vulnerable in an earthquake. It does not include small residential buildings (ie, houses).

The strategy allows local territorial authorities in different areas to take into account their area's particular
seismic, economic and social conditions. Many territorial authorities will be undertaking local consultation early in 2006 as part of the Act's requirement that they develop a policy on earthquake-prone buildings.

It is expected that territorial authorities will adopt these policies for addressing earthquake-prone buildings in their districts over a timeframe they consider appropriate, which could be over several decades.

Implied warranties
http://www.dbh.govt.nz/bomd-implied-warranties

On 30 November 2004, mandatory warranties to protect consumers took effect. Consumer protection measures in the Act set out certain warranties that are implied in all building contracts, whether specified in the contract or not. These include the expectation that the work will be done competently using suitable materials, completed within a reasonable time, and that the household unit will be suitable for occupation.

Read the Sections 396-399 letter [PDF 39 KB, 2 pages] regarding implied warranties sent to building industry organisations by the Department of Building and Housing on 10 December 2004

wuqi256 said:

Thanks Holy man, i have just been selected from the EOI pool so hopefully we should be out of here soon. Thanks for your very helpful tips. I have only about 200k SGD left but should be enough to get a small house and start settling there and bring my folks over once we are settled.

Click to expand...

I admire your courage. Hope you get there ASAP, have some fun, kena a few knocks here and there and start running back to Spore within 5 yrs. I wager you on that bro.