How to pay our New Zealand mortgage while living in Australia?
Hi, we're moving to Melbourne for a couple of years and are in the process of setting up an Australian account. Does anyone have any suggestions as to which bank is best for transferring money back to our NZ account for mortgage payments each month? Could be a costly exercise by the sound of things.
Reply from forum moderator 5 months ago on 22 November 2023.
To add something here that not everyone is aware of - if you own property in New Zealand while living in Australia, make sure you understand how you might be impacted by CGT (Capital Gains Tax).
If you are a tax resident of Australia (which has nothing to do with being a permanent resident or citizen of Australia), then there is a very good chance you will have to pay CGT if you sell your NZ property.
There is more discussion about it in this post:
Hi - one good option to save money (by getting a better exchange rate and paying less for your TT/wire fees) is to use Elldridge Lynch (linked to elsewhere on this site). Each month you do a foreign exchange transaction online for the amount of your mortgage payment, then pay your Australian dollars into their Sydney account (national payment so the receiving bank won't charge you a hefty TT fee).
They will then pay you NZD into your NZD account to cover your mortgage payment. If you do it this way, you will save a lot of money over the course of your two year stay. If you have any questions about the process I'm sure they will help you out. Hope this helps!
Thanks so much for your prompt reply and help! Its given me a good place to start!
If you are not comfortable with using a foreign exchange specialist you can do they trasaction yourself using internet banking. (depending on which bank you are with) We are with the commonwealth bank and can do our own foreign currency transactions.
We send money home every month to top up our mortgage. The fee is $22 Aud and of course your bank in NZ will have a receiving fee. BNZ $25.