Recent content by joeExpat

I used to reward them in Sydney by just never increasing the rent, only doing that between tenancies. As a renter (mostly overseas but Sydney and Brisbane also) I've never experienced inspections, the owners have never asked to see inside the property I live in unless there is some maintenance...

Depends what country you are coming from but usually the answer is ZERO. You are not allowed to take liquids on the plane at all, including duty free zipped up alcohol. It WILL be confiscated. Only Australia and the USA do this. Thailand duty free does not sell to people on flights to...

They need to be regulated hard as soon as possible. This is what party happened in Spain, although the major banks were well regulated and among the most prudent in Europe (lesser so at the peak of the bubble) they were sideswiped by the smaller regional banks which were funded from abroad (eg...

Surely cricket takes the prize as the most boring sport. A lot of countries are scared of FIFA.

The voting population using Negative Gearing is huge, over 1.2 million. This is the main reason why NG remains and was reinstated in the 1980s, nothing to do with affordability or rents. A lot of these NG voters would be more marginal / central than the current NG opposition, which is picking up...

This is law in some countries. when rates dropped in Switzerland when I lived there tenants could apply for rent reduction and the owner was usually legally required to oblige.

Sometimes yes, usually no... now in Spain yes (they introduced themselves to me). In London slightly. In Switzerland yes. In USA no. In Sydney no, except when Ken Done was my neighbor in Mosman (Sydney), I knew him but he didnt know me.

Me too, I chucked in a 200K job in Switzerland (A country I love and lived in for 10 years) to be unemployed in Spain (where my kids live). Dont regret it a bit, although when possible I still go back to CH sometimes.

In AUD Rent 12K Child support 20K (biggie for a lot of blokes I reckon) Health insurance 3K (inc. kids) Basics 12K (food, transport, clothes, utilities) Extras 8K (holidays, beer, restaurants, presents, etc) total expenditure >> income, going backwards but will probably last this...

John Paulson http://www.amazon.com/Greatest-Trade-Ever-Behind-Scenes/dp/0385529945

Restricting LVR to investors is a prudent move but maybe a little too late. 20% across the board is pretty reasonable. Many other countries use similar maximum LVRs now to investors to control rampant speculation, Switzerland is 80%, UK 75%, Ireland and Spain 70 to 75%.

The Capital Gains tax discount was withdrawn suddenly for non residents in 2012. It was the main reason I sold a while later as the non-discounted period was eating into the capital gain as time passed (pre May 2012 remained discounted). I expect the same will happen for residents before...

Link to Red Cross is solicitation ? oh well... Well over 7000 dead now, and 75% of Kathmandu damaged. Some villages completely wiped out. Spare a thought and some cash (tax deductible !), it makes most of our problems look quite trivial.

"The RBA saw improving trends in household demand and growth in the employment sector, hinting that the chances of further easing in the upcoming months may be relatively low" - DailyFX

The AUD has strengthened quite well after this cut, not weakened. They have cut enough, no more please. Would prefer to see rates rising again sooner than later.