Welcome to Offshore Living Letter, Your #1 Resource for Offshore Diversification

Author: Lief Simon

12 Jul
Practical Tax And Filing Consequences Of New FATCA Legislation Taking Effect

Practical Tax And Filing Consequences Of New FATCA Legislation

FATCA Is Closing In.. The level of concern among Americans seems to be growing as the FATCA implementation deadline draws closer and more people are becoming more aware of the implications and possible consequences of this absurd legislation. The first consequence has to do with the 30% withholding when wiring funds to a non-U.S. bank [...]
05 Jul
Unibank No Longer Accepts Foreign Accounts

Unibank No Longer Accepts Foreign Accounts

I remind you often that you should take action to set up a flag offshore as soon as an opportunity that interests you to do so presents itself. Wait…and the rules can change, meaning the opportunity can disappear. In today’s offshore arena, the only constant is that everything–policies, requirements, restrictions, etc., to do with banking, […]

02 Jul
Why And How To Invest In Foreign Property

Why And How To Invest In Foreign Property

Foreign Real Estate Is A More Appealing Strategy Than Ever Putting your money into foreign real estate is becoming a more appealing strategy all the time. Real estate has always made sense to me as an asset allocation, but I'm more persuaded today than ever that foreign property should be part of every investment portfolio. [...]
28 Jun
Transferring Funds Across International Borders

Transferring Funds Across International Borders

Banks Are Making Me Crazy! Moving money around the world should be easy in this electronic age, but, with all the banking and government rules, requirements, restrictions, and peculiarities, sometimes it isn't. This week a wire to a business I work with was rejected because the receiving bank didn't like how the sending bank had [...]
14 Jun
Junk Markets in Spain and Greece Present Opportunities For Bargain Property Hunters

Junk Markets in Spain and Greece Present Opportunities For Bargain Property Hunters

One Person's Junk... Greece's credit rating with Moody's is already in "junk" territory, and, yesterday, Spain was downgraded to just above junk quality. Things are getting interesting in Europe. A few weeks ago, I recommended that, given the current and trending status of the euro versus the U.S. dollar, as well as the disastrous local [...]
11 Jun
QRP Residency In Belize

QRP Residency In Belize

A back-up plan. That’s what many people are looking for right now. They don’t want to diversify globally altogether, but they do want to put a plan in place in case something happens and they feel like they have to get out of their home country in a hurry.

04 Jun
Safety Concerns In Mexico, Belize, And Elsewhere

Safety Concerns In Mexico, Belize, And Elsewhere

Report From The No-Go Zones I spent last week in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and am this week in Belize City, Belize. Two places that the U.S. State Department thinks no American should visit. Way too dangerous. I'm not going to try to tell you that nothing bad has ever happened in Mexico or Belize. Parts [...]
31 May
Euro Is Down 6% Against The U.S. Dollar In May

Euro Is Down 6% Against The U.S. Dollar In May

Euro's Fall Creates Opportunity For Property Investors In Search Of Diversification The euro has lost 6% against the U.S. dollar in the month of May and is rapidly approaching its most recent low (June 2010) of US$1.20. Make no mistake. It's the euro losing value against the dollar, not the dollar gaining value. The financial [...]