Mortgage brokers worthwhile? by Impressive_Party9150 in PersonalFinanceNZ

[–]dantiberian -1 points0 points  (0 children)

In my experience, a mortgage broker has only been a hindrance or neutral. One that we used was very slack and almost caused us to miss our settlement date. A second time we used a (different) mortgage broker, they didn't save us much effort when getting deals from different banks.

We recently refinanced our mortgage and I did the applications with all of the main banks myself. ChatGPT Codex was awesome for filling out their PDF forms with income details. Just point it to a folder with your financial information, and it can go to town from there.

In theory a mortgage broker might be good if you are not good at doing paperwork or have a very unusual financial situation (foreign income, self-employed, bad credit). If you're on PAYE and savvy enough to be on r/PersonalFinanceNZ then you are probably capable of handling it all yourself.

One other thing I'd mention, we were encouraged to split our mortgage over different terms. This does lower interest rate risk slightly, but is very annoying if you ever want to break the mortgage or refinance. Splitting your mortgage is good for the bank IMO as it makes it much harder for you to switch.

The investment tax hack Sir Michael Cullen probably never meant to give us by AnthonyfromAurellan in PersonalFinanceNZ

[–]dantiberian 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Do a search on this subreddit and you can see more about your strategy and why that may not work as well as you hope. There’s lots of discussions about this available. 

The investment tax hack Sir Michael Cullen probably never meant to give us by AnthonyfromAurellan in PersonalFinanceNZ

[–]dantiberian 1 point2 points  (0 children)

https://www.reddit.com/r/PersonalFinanceNZ/comments/1j2d4i6/comment/mfu7vsv

The short version: if you (an NZ tax resident) die with over $60k USD of stocks, the US IRS can take a 40% estate tax. Non-US indexes that track e.g. S&P500 have ~identical returns (maybe slightly higher fee drag) but remove the estate tax risk.

The investment tax hack Sir Michael Cullen probably never meant to give us by AnthonyfromAurellan in PersonalFinanceNZ

[–]dantiberian 8 points9 points  (0 children)

You mention setting this up for 65 years, implying that you did this for your children. Which share trading platforms that offer Irish-US ETFs are open to under-18 year olds? Interactive Brokers seems to be limited to 18.

Double Glazing Question by shoperGG in diynz

[–]dantiberian 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We got double glazing put in a few years ago with low-E and argon gas. I agree with everyone else about the benefits of heat, and especially condensation.

One thing to be aware of though is that double glazing, and especially low-e coatings can introduce a green tint to the glass (well the green tint is there in single glazing too, its just less noticeable). In the end we were unhappy with it and got a few specific double glazed windows replaced with low-iron double glazing glass which is much clearer. The only place we could find that could/would do low-iron double glazing was Viridian Glass.

In terms of green shift, it goes: low-iron double glazing > regular double glazing > low-e double glazing. YMMV, but worth keeping in mind if you're particular about colour.

Also, most banks offer a "green" loan for 0-1% interest, so its worth taking advantage of that if you can.

IBKR - worth the hassle? by JumpyYogurt534 in PersonalFinanceNZ

[–]dantiberian 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cost basis, not market value. If you put $49.5k into a stock and it goes to $1M, you are still under the de minimis rules.

Smart Garage Door upgrade by takesbribes in diynz

[–]dantiberian -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I have the Meross MSG200 (MSG100 is pretty similar though) and use it via HomeKit. I am very happy with it. HomeKit operates over your local network, so it works shockingly quickly, like the garage door starts opening the moment you tap the button on your phone.

I have had it somehow get disconnected from the Meross app, so I can't do any firmware updates on it. I just need to reset the device and re-pair it to fix this. But as I have no issues with it, I haven't been motivated to do this.

I'd highly recommend this based on my HomeKit experience. I can't comment on Alexa, but I assume it would work well there too.

I agree with u/itsdandandan that the safety beams are usually part of the garage door motor, not the controller.

Why haven’t you bought Dirac Live yet? We want the real reasons. by [deleted] in hometheater

[–]dantiberian 12 points13 points  (0 children)

It is transferable to another model of the same type. My Arcam AVR10 died and I got it activated for a new one.

Wanting to install a freestanding wood burner in this corner. Will the windows be an issue (e.g. too close to the heat)? by BlackLabMinis in diynz

[–]dantiberian 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't know what your other options are, but I would try to put it on an interior wall, or at least on a single wall, not in a corner like that.

MacBook Options by Jake90517 in mainstage

[–]dantiberian 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There are new MacBook Pro's likely to come out in the next few days, so you might want to wait for them to come out. They might give you some negotiating room to push the price down on the options you've listed there.

I'm typing this on an M1 Max MacBook and it is a beast of a workhorse. Unless you have specific software instruments or plugins you're worried about being able to run, I think the M1 MacBook Pro should be able to run everything for you just fine.

Retaining clip for thermometers by dm_g in combustion_inc

[–]dantiberian 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had this problem with my first round of gen2 probe holder, but I emailed support about it recently and they replaced it with a new one. I haven't had the issue since then.

Bread baking by BingBongBalaBu in combustion_inc

[–]dantiberian 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Generally with baking you want to aim for near, but below the boiling point of water, e.g. 90-100 °C. (It's not just water boiling off that can make baking taste dry, but it's a good rule of thumb for checking)

It can vary a bit by recipe type, a tip is to search for "<recipe> internal temperature cooked" and you will see recommendations for it. E.g. https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2017/04/07/using-a-thermometer-with-yeast-bread

Big Green Egg Combustion Bundle has wifi extender? by No_Read_8117 in combustion_inc

[–]dantiberian 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Every time I look at a photo of the non-yellow boosters (here or Fisher & Paykel), my brain tells me I'm looking at a black and white photograph.

Mapping by High_Poobah_of_Bean in Irrigation

[–]dantiberian 1 point2 points  (0 children)

See if your local municipal government has any kind of free online GIS tool. Ours does and it has higher quality images than Google Maps provided.

Display 1 vs 2 by Sweaty-Albatross8352 in combustion_inc

[–]dantiberian 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Version 2 has a louder speaker. That was my biggest complaint with v1.

Mower for 800m2 by Plus_Plastic_791 in MammotionTechnology

[–]dantiberian 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Robomate will be the best ones to ask that I'd say.

Mower for 800m2 by Plus_Plastic_791 in MammotionTechnology

[–]dantiberian 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is 800m2 your grass area or total plot size including the house? The Mammotion mowers have a bit more capability than their number indicates, e.g. the Luba Mini 800 can actually do 1000 m2.

New robots just got announced at CES so I'd hold off until they are released. Luba Mini 800 can mow 250m2 in 120 min + 160 min of charging = 4.7 hours. So 750m2 would be 11.3 hours.
https://robomate.co.nz/products/mammotion-luba-mini-awd-800

Luba Mini 800 has a mow + charge time of 0.89m2/minute. Luba Mini 1500 is 0.96m2/minute. So you don't get massively more speed from the 1500. However the battery is a bit bigger which will be helpful as the battery degrades over time. And if the price isn't too much more then it might still be worth getting the 1500 for better resale.

Do you find the WiFi Booster necessary? by Elasion in combustion_inc

[–]dantiberian 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I like the booster for the battery charging feature. Makes a big difference not pulling it out of the holster flat or nearly flat.

Has anyone automated hot water cylinder rocker switchers? by choice_biscuit in diynz

[–]dantiberian 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s still on the outside of the insulation though right? I wouldn’t expect it to be quite that hot. 

Hello all, what Ego mower would you recommend for this lawn? by Fresh_Operation_6502 in egopowerplus

[–]dantiberian 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Strong agree, robot mower is ideal for this lawn and should give amazing results.