Kimberly Koehler - Broker/Owner EXiT 3 Rivers Realty 651-998-9811

5 Cheapest Places to Retire Abroad

With the credit crunch biting, Christmas costing a fortune and banks being bailed out by the tax payer but still demanding more money, it seems that us Britons have to escape Great Britain if we want to avoid drowning in a sea of governmental and institutional debt!

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if we were the ones who had built up substantial arrears and liabilities - but because it is mainly the government and financial institutions that are dragging us down, the only way to escape the inevitable recession/depression is to escape UK!

British retirees are among the most active group in seeking a new life abroad where they can afford to have a decent standard of living, and so for pre-retirees and retirees seeking an affordable life overseas, here are the Shelter Offshore top 5 cheapest places to retire abroad!

1) Cyprus

Despite the fact that the Republic of Cyprus is now in the European Union and the Euro Zone, (i.e., its currency is the euro), it is our number one pick for Britons seeking an affordable place to retire overseas. It charges a maximum of 5% income tax on pension income - meaning that it is far cheaper to live in Cyprus even with the pound buying fewer euros these days. What's more, property prices have been wintering something of a negative pricing adjustment in recent months as the nation has also been hit by the global effects of the credit crunch. This means that it is cheaper now to buy property in Cyprus than it was just a year ago. Mortgages are available on the island, it enjoys up to 300 sunny days annually, heating costs are therefore far lower, and all in all, with its strong expat and retirement communities, excellent quality and standard of living, we rate Cyprus as the number one cheap (ish) place to retire abroad.

2) Belize

For Britons who are willing to be a little more adventurous in their choice of overseas retirement destination, what about the tropical paradise that is Belize? Formerly a British colony, English is widely spoken in Belize and therefore adjusting to life in this stunning nation is quite straightforward. There is a retired person's incentive programme in place too, this ensures that qualifying individuals pay no tax - that's right, no tax at all - on their pension income as long as it is earned outside of Belize! The quality of life in Belize is what you make it - i.e., you can spend whatever you want to buy the standard of living you want. It has long been a popular retirement hotspot for in the know Americans, but until recently it was lesser explored by Britons. All that is now changing as Brits are becoming far more active in seeking an affordable place to retire to.

3) Panama

Another tropical paradise that was an American favorite for a long time is Panama. It too is now becoming more actively explored by Britons seeking a cheap place to live. Property in Panama is very affordable compared to what Brits are used to, the cost of living is far cheaper than in the UK or our number one choice of Cyprus, English is the business language in Panama therefore it is widely used, and what's more, any income earned outside of Panama can be remitted 100% free of tax! Naturally this makes Panama a far cheaper place to live in at the moment than the UK.

4) Malaysia

If you fancy an even more exotic retirement destination what about Malaysia? The country has an economic incentive programme to attract relatively affluent individuals to move there - entitled ‘Malaysia: My Second Home,' the programme has tax benefits for example. If you qualify for the programme you can move to Malaysia and your pension is tax free when remitted to the country. Other benefits of retiring to Malaysia under the terms of the programme include the fact that you can own freehold property there, you can import a maid (?) and buy or import a car tax free! The cost of living in Malaysia outside the main city areas is much cheaper than in the UK, and because of the climate, heating costs are a minimum.

5) France

This is not a tax advantageous nation to move to, especially if you're a higher rate taxpayer - however it has numerous other fiscal and lifestyle benefits for retirees. It will be cheaper and easier to get back and forth to the UK if you still have family there, if you earn a low income then your tax rate will be low in relative terms, property prices are falling, the cost of living is a lot less for a higher standard when compared to the UK, utility costs tend to be lower and qualifying Britons are eligible for free healthcare!

Hopefully you can see that there are affordable and even economically advantageous escapes for you if you're a Briton approaching retirement - or even early retirement. You just have to look overseas, consider each country on a like for like basis, determine the criteria you're looking for in a nation in terms of cost of living and quality of life, and ultimately, be brave enough to make the move! After all, what have you got to lose if Britain is about to enter a depression!

By: Shelter off shore & solpropertygroup

Our Mission is Possible! Tami Bonnell,  Day 2 of Speakers at the EXIT Realty 2008 Convention.

In September Tami shared with us as she did again at convention the power of "just one more". I have often asked my agents is there more you can be doing. Tami in her sharing of "just one more" brings agents to a very manageable concept. It is simple and is this... as we look at our activities, is there one more call we should/could be making? Is there one more appointment we should/could be having? Is there one more event we should/could be attending? Is the just one more training we should/could be attending?   This is a very simple and powerful concept.

So I ask you... is there just one more activity that you can be doing in your business?

A Glimpse Into the Heart and Soul of an 80 year Old Bald Eagle, Bill Nasby. Day 2 of Speakers at the EXIT Realty 2008 Convention.

Following that was renowned trainer Bill Nasby. To watch Bill up on stage open up was amazing. I had the privilege to meet and listen to Bill Nasby speak at EXIT Corp. broker/owner training in Mississauga, Canada in Nov/Dec of 2006. He was passionate about his message yet also I found him a bit intimidating. Several in my class were friends with Bill and shared stories which dissolved my idea of him being a complete hard#!%. His assignment from Steve Morris was to speak about his struggle with authority.

Nasby took us though his yrs of service to his country. His struggle with drinking and the pain that it brought to is own family. His sobering moment and shared with us some of the people that has helped him along his journey that he has the deepest respect for. He spoke of his career, how he came to EXIT, how he HATED the name and thought Steve was crazy with the name and even with that thought he still respected and held Steve in high regard.

I am not a Bill Nasby expert however I have listened to his CD’s, and listened to him speak at broker/owner training. I believe he is an outstanding trainer and I am going to be working to get him into our region to train our agents. What I do know is parts of his story. I felt a bond because there were bits and pieces that were part of my life in his life. He has worked very hard to over come some incredible battles and is greatly loved and admired by many. I would say he has lived a great life, one not absent of pain and sorrow and is an example to us that with determination, a positive mind and some caring friends along the way we can rise above and over come life struggles.

My hat is off to you Mr. Nasby for having the courage to stand before us and share moments in your life that were of struggle. Through your sharing I know you brought tears to our eyes, warmth to our hearts and inspiration to our lives. Thank you!

EXIT Realty Convention, Day 1 of Speakers, October 15^th, 2008

The day started with speaker Richard Flint speaking on “How to Stand Tall When Others Are Falling Down Around You”. Flint was an outstanding speaker that spoke about leading a life by simple principles and coming back to basic in life. Building your life and business around relationships, true real relationships, conversations and connecting with one another. He is a true believer in we chose our attitude and the places in life we are at. He was comical, particle and to the point. On a scale of 1-10 I give him an 11.

Canadian Garth Turner spoke to us about “The Future of Real Estate”. Mr. Turner is a Canadian journalist, broadcaster, and politician. He is a popular public speaker on financial issues. His discussion points as I am sure you have guessed were about where our market was, how it got where it is today, and what we he perdicts to be where we are going. Key points of his speech was about the lending restricution lifting and because of that we will not see in our lifestime something so laxed again. He shared that boomers are the movers and shakers of our investments. The consumer confidence is the worst it has been in some time and the boomers will switch their investments from the stocks/bonds to real estate once again. Note I said once again, his point is that real estate is cyclical and that as real estate has become incredably afforable and our finacual markets distrought the money that is looking to be invested will once again turn to real estate as it has so many times before. Once elections are over and about in a yr or so we will be seeing a positive lift in our real estate world.

Dr. Robert Rohm was our afternoon speaker. He was comical and very energized. He is the personality expert that works with the D I S C personality system. D I S C is a system that breaks down personalities so we can understand how to work better with one another based upon personality comminalities in the 4 different groups. He had the group moving around the room ultimitly dividing the group up into the 4 different personality types. He took time to discrib the 4different personalities and give recommendations how one personality can work best with another. Angle Tucker is the EXIT traininer that specializes on the D I S C profiling. I would highly recommend taking the D I S C personality test to find out about your personality and developing your skills to identify others personalities. This is a powerful tool not only for your business life but also for your personal realtionships as well.

The evening ended a beautiful cocktail party that was abondant of food. The location was in the Delta Island of the Gaylord Opryland Resort. This setting was in the river walk area that has small bridges over the water, over looked water fountains and falls, and was surrounded by the shops. In the core of the location you felt like you were on the streets of a small, small town. You were surrounded by outstanding food, pleanty of bars so no long lines and the envirment was warm, encouraging of networking.