First Steps International, Ltd.

“Every individual with whom I have personally met, (that was) looking to move away from their country of birth, to live, work, retire or invest, had a unique perspective on was required for them to – Take a First Step.”

David J. Drummond – International Concierge

Some Simple First Steps

The adventurous individual also tends to be a bit cautious before committing wholeheartedly to their goals. So those of us who are committed enough to look at living, working, investing or retiring internationally are naturally cautious. And, in fact, each one of those activities will require one or more of the most common components of a lifestyle abroad.

For all who plan to live abroad personal banking is a critical component of their solution. How do you pay bills in your new country of residence? Your old one? How easy is it to move money between the two or more accounts?

Others go international to protect their hard earned assets and to provide generational wealth transfer vehicles to pass wealth down from generation to generation (think Rockefellers, Rothchilds, Gates – it’s how old money stays old! ).

If you are planning to live and work outside of your country of taxation, then you should be looking at corporate strategies that allow for the mitigation or deferment of taxes.

Do you want to use your IRA, 401K, 403B or other Qualified Retirement Plan to invest in real estate internationally? International Self-Directed IRA Limited Liabilities Companies provide the ultimate in control and investment options.

Look below at some of the most common first steps taken by our clients. And then give us a call!

Open an Offshore Bank Account

There is usually a short list of reasons that someone is looking to open an offshore, or international, bank account:

1. Private Personal Account for long term savings;
2. Corporate account for operating an International Corporate Business (IBC);
3. Private Limited Liability Company (LLC) for individual investors or investment groups;
4. Self-Directed IRAs LLCs for investment purchases;

Although the process is relatively straight forward, it does take time and patience to get through the account opening process. As we say to our clients – think of it as applying to a club that is very selective over who can become members. It’s a bit of an exaggeration but not much!

Create a Private Holding Company

Many people think that Asset Protection is only for the ultra wealthy. But that’s just not true. People commonly use a Limited Liability Company to hold assets and limit exposure of their personal items such as their home, property, precious metals, stocks, bonds – anything that has value.

This same strategy can be used internationally to protect both liquid and hard assets. There are LLC strategies that work very effectively for privacy and protection while staying within a tigth budget. They can also be added to more complex asset protection strategies as one’s needs change.

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Purchase Real Estate – Personal or Investment

A typical first step for many people is to purchase a property in a foreign country. This ranges from vacant land, usually targeted for capital appreciation, to homes, condominiums, or apartments for rental income, or personal use.

If you are buying a place to live, make sure you love it!

If you are buying an investments, make sure it generates profits!!!

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Establish a 2nd Residency / Citzenship

This may actually be tough to consider as a simple first step. However, believe it or not, there are some 2nd residency programs that are pretty dang simple to get started. A quick example is the Belize QRP residency designed for retirees who wish to live in Belize for 3+ months out of the year. They provide very good incentives and it’s a very low cost program with relatively low income requirements.

Of course, there are some far more complicated and costly solutions available to those who just can’t wait. As you will find, obtaining a second residency or citizenship is usually a balance between time and money. As a general rule, the more the program costs the shorter the time frame. However, your mileage WILL vary!