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Recently Answered Questions

Is the rental contract in Mexico is in Spanish and English, and if there is a difference in the two contracts, which one controls?

Liliana Cota - Stewart Title Baja and Stewart Title Puerto Peñasco

Condos on the beach at Puerto Penasco, Baja California, Mexico – Best Places In The World To Retire – International Living

If there is a difference in Mexico between a rental contract in English and in Spanish, the Spanish version always controls. If you want to purchase property, you have to be aware that many documents from your real estate provider will be in English and Spanish for you to understand what you are signing. When you get to the final documents, which are the public document with the notary, the documents will all be in Spanish.

The law in Mexico requires that if you do not speak...

In general, should I keep my US bank, brokerage, investment, IRA or retirement account if I move overseas?

John Ohe - Hola Expat Tax Services

Map of Bank of America in Guadalajara, Mexico – Best Places In The World To Retire – International Living

You should absolutely keep your US bank, brokerage, investment, IRA, or retirement account when you move overseas.

Opening financial accounts abroad exposes you to additional risks and a lot of reporting. This is paperwork not only for your tax return, but you may need to complete the FBAR (Foreign Bank Account Report). The FBAR is not exclusive to just bank accounts, but also applies to life insurance policies with a savings component, mutual funds, brokerage accounts, etc.

Assuming you're not a retiree, your tax return will be much more subject to scrutiny if you have a lot of assets abroad. With FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act), the US government will have access to foreign bank account balance and income information of US citizens living abroad.

Therefore, working expats are now much more on the radar screen than they were before. There are also reporting requirements. Given the fact that the Treasury Department and the IRS now have more access and could get greater information on a foreign bank account than they do a US bank account, in some respects, expats need to file their tax returns even more accurately.

For example, I have a client who stayed in Mexico who forgot about US $15 worth of interest income on a bank. He got a letter from the US government saying that he forgot to report that $15, which is amazing. Gone are the days when people actually had to look at papers. Now, the computers are doing all the reconciliation.

Foreign banks and foreign financial institutions are sending account information to the US Treasury Department. They are now able to reconcile that with the tax return and the FBAR. Expats filing their income tax returns must be much more accurate.

There are all kinds of risks of investing abroad such as country risks, political risks, and "know-how" risks. You may be subjected to scams. You can easily invest in foreign markets through US accounts. I would do this.

Leave accounts in the local country for liquidity purposes. For example, I would need funds in a bank account to keep a small amount in the money market or a CD (certificate of deposit) because I need an account to earn interest while I spend the money down.

For the most part, I would maintain most of my assets in the US.

I have a client who has been living in Guatemala for a long time. She has let go of all connections in the US, including her US bank accounts. The US has the PATRIOT Act. She has severed her ties to the US completely, not just for residence purposes, but also for financial account purposes. Now that she wanted to open a US bank account for another reason, she is having a ton of difficulty even though she is a US citizen because there is no recent record of her.

(Map data 2016 copyright Google INEGI)

To drive in Nicaragua, do I need a Nicaraguan driver's license?

John-Marc Gallagher - GPS Real Estate

You can get a Nicaraguan driver’s license but it is not really necessary in order to drive here. I have been driving in Nicaragua using my Texas driver’s license for fifteen years now. Even as a permanent resident, I can drive on my Texas driver’s license. There may come a time when they will change that law and that if you live here you have to have a Nicaraguan driver’s license but that has not happened yet.

What’s it like to live in Portugal? What’s the lifestyle?

Carol Bartlett Ribeiro - Carol Bartlett Ribeiro, Property Consultant

Cascais, Portugal ocean view – Best Places In The World To Retire – International Living

Living in Portugal is very “summery.” This time of year we’re in winter but the Portuguese are very outdoor people. They are very hospitable. If you are in a condominium and they’ve got a big pool, most of the people at the pool will be foreigners there because all the Portuguese will be on the beach. Come the summer, the Portuguese are very much outdoors—on the beach, walking along the beach, riding.

The...

The Portuguese are very sociable people. They are friendly people. They can be very reserved until they’ve decided whether they accept you but I think that’s probably the case in a lot of countries. I have learned that one thing that’s very important here as a foreigner is to say, “Oh please, could you help me?” If you’re going to a government department, for example, say, “Oh please, I wonder if you could help me because I don’t know this” and the Portuguese would go over the top to help you. “Please” and “thank you” and “how are you” and “isn’t it hot” and “isn’t it cold” make all the difference. They are more than affable to you and it’s an easy way of life. Going for a coffee is very important; it’s almost part of your important everyday life, which is coffee in the morning and going out for lunch. Most people eat out a lot. That’s why the South Africans coming here find it so easy to adapt because it’s a similar lifestyle to “open horizons.”

“Open horizons” refers to a perspective which is says that the horizon is far away, as opposed to the skies and horizon being on top of your head and being narrow. The open horizons way of looking at things is broad and people with an open horizons way of seeing the world like to be outdoors (As a point of contrast, the weather conditions don’t help but in England people are much more conservative.) Here in Portugal everybody is very often outdoors and people are enjoying themselves. And in the winter, you’ll find shopping centers absolutely jammed packed because people have got to do something. They’re not people who will stay at home all day long. They’ve got to always be doing something.

Personally, I like the Portuguese lifestyle very much. I was recently in England and whenever I go back, I enjoy being in England. I like London very much mainly for the theatre and because I have several friends there and I often go to the country, which is also beautiful. The English countryside is hard to beat. But London is terribly expensive. I find that it’s an easier, more relaxed life here. Bureaucracy in Portugal is a little bit frustrating at times, but it’s improved a great deal.

There are lots of golf courses here in Portugal. On the golf course you hear a lot of Swedish because of the new permits that foreigners have to live here now. They’re all on the golf course. The French are all in there restaurants. So you hear French and Swedish all the time here now. For everyone, it’s a nice lifestyle in Portugal.

And at the moment, certainly, it’s been difficult because, financially, Portugal has been struggling. They’ve just changed the government and we have to see how that’s going to go now. A lot of the Portuguese were distressed because a lot have had their pensions cut almost by half and subsidies as well. There’s always the good and the bad. When the Portuguese hear about foreigners coming here and they don’t have to pay as high of tax then they get a little bit annoyed. Many young Portuguese have left Portugal because it’s very difficult to find jobs now.

The Swiss absolutely love it here. They want to be out of their countries now for 183 days because of the law, which provides them with tax advantages. So they all stay in their country for the summer and they’re here in the winter. The Swiss can’t believe the great weather here, so they’re on the golf course all the time. They love the restaurants, and they love the wine. They say the Portuguese people are kind to them. And of course, if you are working here, you can still work if you are a foreigner and the percentage of tax that you would pay here is less than half of what you would pay in France or in Sweden, for example, which is very welcoming. Also, if you’ve retired you don’t pay any tax on your private pensions.

(Pictured: Cascais, Portugal ocean view.)

Is it safe to drink the water in the Panama City, Panama area of Casco Viejo?

Rey Bazán

(Casco Viejo and Casco Antiguo are different names for the same place.)

The water is safe to drink in Casco Viejo. The water supply here in Panama is not like it is in Mexico. Here, the water is drinkable. Having said that, lots of people still use filters and bottled water just like in the US, but they don’t have to.

What are Rights of Possession in Belize and why is this so important for me to know?

Gwido Mar - Grupo Mar Realty Ltd.

Belizean Prime Minister, Dean Barrow in London – Best Places In The World To Retire – International Living

In Belize, there is no such thing as rights of possession. There is either titled property or there is leased property. Titled property is what you can legally sell. Leased land is what the government gives to a national. It is only given to Belizeans. Foreigners cannot own leased land.

In Belize, any property that you need to transfer has to have a title. It is illegal for Belizeans to sell leased land to a foreigner.

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