NZ Herald article 10 May 2010
Reasons for not being in KiwiSaver rarely make sense.
Q&As: Two readers’ bright ideas on how to negotiate with real estate agents; Everything you need to know about tax on PIEs, which include almost all KiwiSaver funds.
Set and forget KiwiSaver funds a great choice for many. I’m not really interested in what happens under the bonnet of my car, as long as it goes. In much the same way many people are not interested in what happens to their KiwiSaver accounts, as long as they grow.
Q&As: Real estate agent objects to my suggesting people negotiate with agents; Brian Gaynor’s and my differing views on the best way to invest. Plus: Buy a KiwiSaver book for less than half price.
Home ownership doesn’t always beat renting. I was a little surprised the other day when I asked a couple of hundred young university students whether they wanted to buy a home in the foreseeable future. Everyone said yes — despite the fact that we’d just been considering why home ownership is not necessarily all it’s cracked up to be.
Q&As: Retiree stuck with a property investment that’s gone wrong should sell her house and the rental; 71-year-old wants to be in KiwiSaver, while younger New Zealander stays out for the sake of the country; Fees are not the only consideration when choosing a KiwiSaver fund.
Q&As: KiwiSaver fees — and how an article may have misled people; The range of KiwiSaver fees; Is bank cheating a customer on tax withholding rates?; Depreciation usually clawed back when a landlord sells — or is it?; More comments from and about landlords.
Change KiwiSaver default funds… …but educate too. All the wrong people are ending up in KiwiSaver default funds — or are they? That depends on their financial knowledge, temperament and home ownership plans.
Q&As: Accountant spills the beans on landlords’ taxes; Reader may leave New Zealand because of rental property tax changes; Small businesses have a harder run than landlords; Last week’s correspondent still angry; Two quick — and contradictory — letters.
Q&As: Some rays of hope for landlord who has lived through a nightmare of things going wrong; Three landlords are angry with me and/or the government for various reasons.