Episode Summary
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller dives into the complexities of healthcare for expats, the nuances of tax filing for those living abroad, and a humorous tale of a car infested with rats. He also promotes a Latin American seminar and shares insights on navigating the Affordable Care Act as an expat.
Johnny begins by introducing the show and promoting a Latin American seminar, which is limited to 24 people and currently has 21 sign-ups. He encourages listeners to register on the expat wisdom.com website. He also shares a personal anecdote about his sister's dog, which had extensive and expensive treatments in the US, including acupuncture and chakra realignment. He contrasts this with the realities of life in Latin America, where most people cannot afford such treatments. Johnny then shifts to discussing Obamacare and its implications for expats living outside the US, clarifying that they are not required to purchase health insurance under the law.
He then discusses the implications of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for expats living abroad, particularly focusing on the exemption from the penalty for not having health insurance. He explains that Americans living abroad in 2014 are exempt from the penalty if they meet certain criteria, such as being outside the U.S. for at least 330 days a year. He also highlights the availability of affordable first-world healthcare in Latin America and advises expats to ensure they have health insurance coverage if they return to the U.S., especially for short periods. Mueller emphasizes the importance of understanding the physical presence test and the foreign earned income tax exemption, which are related to the ACA's requirements for expats.
Johnny continues by discussing the complexities of the ACA for expats, highlighting the open enrollment period for health coverage in the U.S. and how it doesn't apply to expats living abroad. He explains that expats are not required to purchase health insurance under the ACA if they are living in a foreign country and are not U.S. citizens. He also outlines the exemptions available to expats, such as living abroad for more than 330 days a year or having a low enough income to avoid filing tax forms. Additionally, he touches on the challenges expats face when dealing with the IRS and finding qualified tax preparers, suggesting that living off the tourist trail can offer more advantages than living in saturated expat areas.
In this segment, Johnny discusses the challenges expats face when living off the tourist trail in Latin America, particularly regarding finding reliable tax preparers. He highlights the unique situation of expats, who are often in the minority and stand out to locals, which can be both an advantage and a disadvantage. Johnny emphasizes that expat tax preparers are better equipped to handle the complexities of expat tax situations compared to those in the U.S., as they are themselves expats and understand the nuances of expat tax status. He also touches on the importance of maintaining good relationships with locals to preserve the 'gringo advantage.'
The episode concludes with a humorous story about Eddie, a character who had a persistent smell in his car that he couldn't figure out. After several attempts to identify the source, Eddie eventually discovered that the smell was caused by a rat nest in the headliner of the car. The story highlights the absurdity of the situation, the lengths Eddie went to in order to solve the problem, and the consequences of the rat infestation, including the car being unsellable to Eddie's girlfriend. The segment ends with a humorous note about Eddie trying to sell the car despite the rat problem.
Topics
The Expat Files podcast, Latin American seminar, Healthcare in the US vs. Latin America, Obamacare and expats, Affordable Care Act (ACA) and expats, Health insurance for expats, Physical presence test, Foreign earned income tax exemption, Open enrollment periods, Expat Tax Challenges, Gringo Advantage, Tax Preparers for Expats
Chapters
00:00:00 Opening 00:00:16 Introduction to The Expat Files and the Latin American Seminar 00:00:48 Seminar Sign-Ups and Remaining Spots 00:01:49 Personal Anecdote About a Dog's Expensive Treatments 00:04:15 Contrast Between US and Latin American Healthcare Systems 00:05:14 Discussion on Obamacare and Its Implications for Expats 00:05:32 Exemption from Health Insurance Penalty for Expats in 2014 00:07:07 Physical Presence Test and Exemption from ACA Penalties 00:10:06 What to Do if You Stay in the U.S. for More Than Three Months 00:11:32 Open Enrollment Period for Health Coverage in 2014 00:12:55 US Citizens Living Abroad and the Affordable Care Act 00:14:12 Impact of the Affordable Care Act on Expats 00:14:23 Tax Filing Challenges for Expats 00:16:15 Advantages of Living Off the Tourist Trail 00:18:06 The Disadvantage of Finding Reliable Tax Help Off the Tourist Trail 00:19:20 Opportunities for Expat Tax Preparers in Latin America 00:23:12 The Smell That Would Not Go Away 00:23:14 Eddie's Investigation into the Smell 00:24:39 The Bird That Was Actually a Rat 00:26:19 The Damage Caused by the Rats 00:27:04 The Consequences of the Rat Problem
Transcript
Automatically transcribed from the original recording; names and wording may contain errors.
[00:00] South of the border down Mexico way That's where I fell in love when the stars above came up to play and now as I wonder Hello there all you expat wannabes I'm Johnny Mueller and you're listening to the expat files living in Latin America the show that tells you just what it's like to live Work play and or retire down here in Latin America It's a mix of the good the bad the ugly and the great and it's all right here So let's get started and now just a little update on my upcoming Latin American seminar in January 2014 Now if you remember I only have room for 24 people at the seminar and as of right now as I record this five weeks before Showtime I've got 21 people signed up already
[00:48] That means of course I have three spots left and by the way I've got six or seven people emailing me here and there saying they're gonna come but they're just juggling their schedule Their money and their dog sitters and stuff, but you know you're not in until you're in I know that sounds like something Yogi Berra would say but it's true Anyway, if you want in on one of those last three spots Just go to the expat wisdom.com website and on the upper left You'll see a link called the Latin American seminar just click on that and get the full details Oh, and by the way this time again, we'll have some repeat offenders That means of course people who've attended my seminar before and want to double doors of it So they're coming back and so far that's happened at every single one of my seminars repeat offenders And you know there's nothing strange about that These are people who are really serious about moving down here eventually and they want to get all the head start
[01:35] They can't so like I said five weeks to go and three spots left So get to that expat wisdom website and sign up as soon as you can and yeah You heard me say that people are trying to line up their schedules their money and their dog sitters Well, believe it or not. Just today I got another shock when I called my mom up in the States and she told me my sister was all bummed out because her Dog died and worse yet. It was only like eight years old. All right, so what's surprising about that? Well, I'll tell you my mom said that in the last six months of this dog's life and it had cancer my sister spent about 30,000 bucks on that dog taking it from this specialist to that Specialists and this treatment to that treatment and I know people who can afford that stuff often do it But when my mom filled me in on the list of some of the things that dog had undergone treatment wise
[02:24] I just thank my lucky stars I don't have to deal with that stuff down here in Latin America and all the while my mother was talking I was thinking Thank God. There's a huge lag time on heroic treatments to save a dog's life. For example. Did you know that in the States? They have a dog Acupuncturists. Yep. My sister's dog had that done and canine relaxation and physical therapists I mean, come on, would you be proud to tell our guy or gal on a first date that that was your chosen career? I know it sounds like something out of a comedy sketch, but it's true Oh and get this when my sister took her dog to the holistic canine practitioners Turns out they spent a lot of time and she spent a lot of money when she discovered horror of horrors that the dog's Chakras were out of whack meanwhile She proceeded to set the dog up with a few appointments over there to realign the chakras and she dropped about eight hundred bucks at
[03:15] That place and you know, I like dogs as much as the next guy I've had a few over the years and they've been nothing but good times and joy really, but I'm gonna stop now I really can't talk about this much anymore because it only makes me think there's something Seriously wrong with and very screwed up about a good percentage of first-world people in their priorities on the other side There's a lot of people like you guys and gals who listen to programs like this I know you have a feeling just like I do that a system like that just can't go on You know from history that in dozens of ways what's happening up in the first world little by little is a blow-by-blow Repeat of the fall of the Roman Empire and when it finally does crash and burn you have a sneaky feeling that that's exactly what it Deserves and why am I being so harsh? Well because when you're down here in Latin America
[04:01] You realize that about 70 or 80 percent of the entire population Can't afford 10 bucks for a dental checkup much less a physical therapist Acupuncturists or some new age guy screwing around with misaligned chakras It seems like in a lot of ways compared to down here in Latin America first world people are living on another planet Especially upscaled first worlders like my sister who think nothing of dropping 30 grand on a dog. That's about to die I mean the lopsidedness and the pure irony of the situation can't escape anyone with half a brain Which makes me wonder if you can get your chakras realigned under Obamacare. Don't laugh I'll bet it's mentioned somewhere in that 20,000 page document. Okay enough said about that. I take that back
[04:46] I do have to talk a little bit about Obamacare because people are asking me lately What about Obamacare and living as an expat outside of the US? Do you have to buy that mandated supplementary insurance they're talking about or pay a fine or a penalty? So I'm gonna give you a little bit of a rundown on that So far and things are changing all the time with that stupid and utterly confusing Obamacare crap Turns out as of now anyway, if you're living outside the US You don't have to purchase health insurance by the end of March 2014 Like everyone else is supposed to do up in the States And if you're up in the States you get it through what they call the newly established health insurance Marketplaces in each state whatever that is. That means unlike other citizens in the US
[05:32] You won't be penalized with a fine for not buying that mandatory insurance So if you're an American living abroad through the year 2014 You will be exempt from buying health insurance and I repeat exempt from the penalty for not buying it now If you listen to this show and have already picked up my free 100 page PDF health care report in Latin America Available from the expat wisdom website At least I think it's still there now because I only promised to put it up there for free for a short time and it's Been up there a couple of months now Anyway, if you read that report and you listen to my show You know that you can get absolutely first world health care down here for 10 or 20 percent of first world prices Which means there's no point in having any of that Obamacare crap But if you're abroad as an expat only part of the year
[06:20] Then you have to call your resident states health care marketplace or check out one of those health care Gov websites and you're gonna have to ask them about your individual case and how to go about buying a policy for yourself for your Family what I'm saying is whatever you do Don't come back to the states without some kind of health insurance coverage such as a traveler's medical coverage or something like that Until your American health insurance kicks in because if you don't not only will you probably get fined? It could be the end of your health or your savings if you have a big medical health problem while uninsured in the US And of course with your tax filings You'll prove that you're an expat living in a foreign country and are therefore exempt But it's not quite as simple as that since you have to meet the requirements of being a resident in another country
[07:07] Which means normally you have to be outside of the USA for three hundred and thirty days or more each year now the so-called Affordable Care Act the ACA talk about oxymorons, huh? Anyway, it says under certain circumstances You won't have to make the so-called Individual responsibility payment which basically works out as a limited exemption for expats who come back to the states for short periods of time Generally no more than three months So you will qualify for the exemption to that unaffordable Care Act under the following circumstances For example you qualify for an exemption if you're uninsured for less than three months of the year You also get the exemption if you have such a low income that you're not required to file an income tax form at all with the IRS
[07:56] Now there's one thing that 90% of the population in the states doesn't know they think everyone has to file But that's wrong in fact for the 2014 tax year a single person can earn up to around $12,000 that year and not file one single IRS form nada zilch No, April 15 jitters at all and that's totally legal and by the way You know by listening to this program if you live off the tourist trail in Latin America on $12,000 a year you can live a very respectable solid middle-class American life Which is equivalent to an upper middle-class Latin American lifestyle? And that's a lifestyle enjoyed by only about five to seven percent of all Latin America Whereas a single person in the states living on 12,000 a year would be shopping at Goodwill
[08:43] Recycling plastic bottles and eating cat food, but let's get back to expats and Obamacare and the unaffordable Care Act now remember I said that you could go back to the USA for up to three months without getting health insurance And you won't get in trouble for non-compliance for the unaffordable Care Act and note you also qualify for that ACA Obamacare exemption if you're outside the US for at least 330 days per calendar year They call that the physical presence test which all expats Eventually get to understand and know about it's something that I talked quite a bit about in my seminar now remember that physical presence Test was created by the IRS to determine if you qualify for that approximately $95,000 foreign earned income tax exemption which I also talked quite a bit about at my seminar now qualifying for that foreign earned
[09:35] income tax exemption that 95,000 more or less gift the IRS gives us folks who live more than 330 days a year out of the states Meaning we don't have to pay income taxes at all on the first 95,000 of our foreign earned income as Opposed to all other US citizens living up in the states that have to pay income tax on all sources of income Within the states and out, but that's a whole other subject and here We're just trying to stick to Obamacare the unaffordable Care Act So the question is what if you have to go back to the USA for more than three months? Well, you're gonna get nailed by the IRS unless you're exempt due to Insufficient annual income which I just mentioned earning 12,000 bucks a year or less
[10:21] Or you must within the first three months that you're there get qualifying health care insurance coverage that kicks in Before you're one more day over three months in the states So if you are over three months in the states remember, I said that some travel insurance policies will qualify But these travelers insurance plans must meet some minimum Essential coverage terms that are outlined in the unaffordable Care Act And if you look it up, you'll see there's a big boring list so I won't go into it But just to say if you have insomnia, I definitely recommend it as a late night read Now get this to make things even more complicated when you're an expat arriving in the states And you're gonna stay over that three-month period that means you'll have to sign up for some kind of insurance program
[11:08] And there are special rules in each state Depending on where you're gonna reside allowing people like that to sign up with approved insurance exchanges That normally have a closed enrollment period so you actually could land in your chosen state and find out your insurance Options are very limited because some of the insurance company enrollment programs are closed at that time of year For example the general public's open enrollment period for health coverage in 2014 closes on March 31st 2014 and doesn't reopen again till January 1st 2015 So as an expat you have to wonder what's gonna happen to your insurance situation if you land for example on April 2014 during the closed period you see how utterly screwed up and confusing this is now
[11:59] This is the part I really like now remember like I said before there is a low income exemption to but There are other exemptions for example if you're a member of an approved religious sect That rejects medical care on religious grounds, or if you're a member of an Indian tribe Or you happen to be a convict so if you're up in the states And you want out of that unaffordable care act completely you don't have to rob a jewelry store Just buy a horse and buggy toss your smartphone practice your these and those and go amish But better yet do what so many long-term expats do or I should say don't do They just don't go back to the u.s. For more than 35 days a year though believe me there are other ways around it That are completely legal though a bit more complicated, and I talk about those at my seminar, too
[12:49] Okay, let me try to clarify the important parts of this completely screwed up subject bottom line US citizens living in a foreign country are not required to get health insurance coverage under the unaffordable care act if You're uninsured and living abroad You don't have to pay the fee that other uninsured US citizens will be forced to pay and the reason why the unaffordable Care Act allows us expats to slip through the cracks like that is because US marketplace insurance companies Generally do not provide health care coverage for people living outside of the US So in effect just about the only logical thing about the unaffordable care act is that we expats don't have to buy insurance
[13:36] That wouldn't cover us in the foreign countries. We live in anyway So our problem as expats is that we'll have to prove to the IRS and the US government that one we either have residency status in a foreign country to we remain outside of the US for more than 330 days a year or three we make a low enough income so that we don't have to file a tax form at all Those are the main avenues in which we can get our unaffordable care Exemptions note there are a few more ways to but I won't go into that right now You must know that all this Obamacare crap is no small thing since there are more than 10 million US Citizens living outside the country right now Which means all of them are gonna have to deal with the unaffordable care act at one time or another Now speaking of the IRS and filing tax forms as an expat
[14:23] The fact is there are so many retired expats in Latin America 90% of whom are in Mexico and you know I feel for you guys anyway Because there are so many people receiving pensions and getting Social Security That means very few of them fall under that condition where their income is so low They don't have to file income tax forms at all Because remember the average Social Security recipient these days gets around 14 or 1,500 a month about 17 or 18 grand a year That means most expats abroad are filing income tax forms at least once a year and like in the states 95% of those folks use a tax preparer to file that stuff which begs the question How do you find a qualified tax preparer or CPA when you're living out of the country good question?
[15:11] well if you're living in an expat community like so many retired gringos do in Mexico or in those high-volume tourist areas like Costa Rica or Panama there are plenty of people that actually advertise in the gringo newspapers as Qualified tax experts, but are they well usually through the expat grapevine people have no trouble finding these guys either and In these big expat gated communities oftentimes you'll have a retired tax preparer or CPA Living the expat life himself who does that kind of work on the side? There's a chance a guy like that's living right down the street from you But like I said you'll generally only find those kind of guys in gringo saturated areas now as you know I always recommend living off the gringo tourist trail believe me
[15:56] I've tried it both ways and off the tourist trails the way to go. It's just so much more fun much more laid-back Inexpensive and not to mention you've got that gringo advantage going for you in full force Unlike in those gringo saturated tourist areas and of course you knew that already right in fact There's dozens of advantages to living off the tourist trail with only a few slight Disadvantages like for example brand new expats off the tourist trail often say the biggest disadvantage is that people don't speak English So naturally you're always fumbling around with even the communication basics and at first That's how most of us expats feel but after a while you realize it's a huge advantage Because you've been thrown into the deep end you can't help but learn your Spanish in a hurry
[16:42] It's kind of like an absolutely free Spanish immersion program without having to live with an immersion family Eating their food and getting sick in their bathroom. Oh and one more thing about immersion families I've never heard of one yet that did not instruct you to put your used toilet paper in the bathroom Trashcan and that's of course because the average latin's house has undersized plumbing and will not take toilet paper in the toilet Not in normal quantities anyway, so you'll have to get used to that However, you won't get used to that you never will and here's my suggestion put it in the damn toilet Anyway, in fact anywhere they tell you to put your used toilet paper in the trash can Whether you're in an airport or a hotel or a restaurant or an immersion family home Go ahead and shove it in the toilet. Anyway, and if it clogs up the toilet tough crap pun intended
[17:33] It's your Buddha given right since you're paying money for that place to stick it in a toilet I mean, come on. What the hell do they call it toilet paper for they don't call it trashcan paper do they but again? I digress. Oh and by the way, if you ever do the immersion family thing, you'll find it's no fun at all getting sick in that shared bathroom I mean getting six no fun wherever you are But like expat Eddie always says there's nothing like being in the comfort of your own house and your own private bathroom When you're about to lose your cookies, that's one thing Eddie's an expert on and now I'm gonna bring up a pretty much unspoken Disadvantaged to living off the tourist trail and that is it can't be quite a chore to find a reliable tax Expert to help you file those dreaded IRS forms and stuff And of course, that's because there are so few gringos around compared to the high-volume tourist areas
[18:21] That is though. I assure you that even in the most far-off and isolated places in Latin America even way out in the boonies There's always a gringo or two within a couple of miles from where you've set up camp and the locals Well, they always know where the gringos are because we stick out like a sore thumb So for example, if you're in a far-out little town and you walk into a hardware store or a restaurant If you were to ask someone who is working there if there are any gringos living in the area Though there might only be a handful of us within a 10-mile radius Because there's so few of us were kind of like B grade celebrities. You knew that already, right? It's part of the gringo advantage and all the locals know we exist and whereabouts we live and don't think that's a bad thing It's not at all. Unless of course, you're a jerk and treat people like crap. Then it's a different story
[19:07] I always remember that to the locals were kind of first-world emissaries So if you want to maintain your gringo advantage, you have to treat the people right though when you talk about Disadvantages us gringos have a knack of turning those into opportunities And that's why there's a kind of a golden opportunity that exists for all you ex-pat wannabes and gone to be is up north Who are accountants CPAs or tax preparers? That is if you're thinking about making money while you're down here Because I mean it when I'm telling you that there's a huge dearth of qualified tax preparers when you're off the tourist trail Let me repeat that when you're off the gringo tourist trail and about 95% of the landmass of Latin America is off The tourist trail as opposed to when you're on the gringo tourist trail there There's just so many gringos that all the careers are represented including accountants CPAs bookkeepers and tax preparers
[20:00] So anyway being off the tourist trail almost all the time myself When US tax time comes around people always ask my advice about who they should get Because they just can't find someone themselves locally now of course you could go online and get a tax preparer or get h&r block To do it for you online too, but listen to this carefully now Expat gringos who are tax preparers down here are very tuned in to the needs of expats because well They're expats themselves right as opposed to tax preparers up in the states and the big one size fits all places like h&r block The tax filings and tax status of expats permanent or otherwise is not at all in the same league as the average Joe who files his Taxes up in the states and tax preparers who live up in the states are not generally familiar or very well versed at all with the ins
[20:49] And outs of expats and their exemptions deductions exclusions foreign bank accounts and SA Corporations and offshore businesses foreign-based partnerships and trusts all of that The fact is CPAs and tax preparers up north in the states Just don't have expat clients living outside the country so it's not their specialty not to mention all the expats I know that file taxes would like to sit down face to face with the preparer That's responsible for doing their taxes because most expats keep a low profile They don't want all their financial data being shoved back and forth over the internet to a place like h&r block or other Tax preparers up in the states and that's why I'm telling all you expat gonna bees and wannabes CPAs accountants and tax preparers
[21:34] You'll always have plenty of work if you want it off the tourist trail down here in Latin America And it's true like one expat tax preparer told me when he first got down he had no idea He was gonna be in the tax preparing business for gringos and expats But soon enough he had more clients than he could handle and he also mentioned that early on he had to do a lot of His own homework and boning up on the tax situation for expats and part-time expats because when he was back up in the states He too only did taxes for the average Joe But like he said within a month or two he became an expat tax expert. Okay, it's time We changed to a less boring topic Let's talk about the latest and the greatest coming from expat Eddie now if you recall a couple of shows ago I mentioned that expat Eddie bought a used Jeep that just happened to be bulletproof to a level three or four
[22:25] I can't remember and by the way, they call that blend Datto down here blend Datto bulletproof Now, of course, he didn't care about the bulletproofing part He just bought the car because it seemed to be a good deal So anyway over the last few months I've taken a few rides with them in that thing and it was nice and it drove Well enough. However, it seemed every once in a while I could detect a strange whiff of something really stale almost like urine and when I mentioned it to Eddie said yeah I know it comes and goes and I've got three of those air freshener things hanging and still I can't seem to get rid of The smell Eddie said but you know I do let some of my workers take the car down to the big market and pick up produce and for a while I thought maybe a potato or tomato slipped under the seat and just started rotting there But I had my maintenance guy give it the works and nope no rotten fruit
[23:12] So anyway about two weeks later I hooked up with Eddie again and this time he had no little air fresheners hanging from the mirror and the car had no evil Smell to it at all anymore. In fact, it smelled pretty fresh So I said Eddie apparently you found out what was stinking the car up and he laughed out loud and he said You'll never guess what it was first He said I thought maybe one of my employees that drove the car was sabotaging me You know after finding no rotten fruit I thought one of my workers might have taken a leak on the backseat floor or something Because you never really know when someone's mad at the boss and I said Eddie come on It's not like you to make enemies your people love you He said yeah But you never know then Eddie reminded me how he got back at one of his bosses in the States The guy Eddie says was a real jerk by shoving a raw potato in his car's exhaust pipe
[24:02] And with that his old boss just could not get the car started It would crank alright, but it just wouldn't turn over in the end The guy had to have it towed to the garage and it cost him about 300 bucks for a repair And with that Eddie laughed even harder because he said look his mechanic ripped him off, too There was no repair work to be done He just found the potato eventually and pulled it out and charged a guy 300 bucks for a tune-up Anyway, Eddie knows what it's like when workers try to get revenge on their bosses So that did cross his mind, but it wasn't that no It wasn't that at all turns out one day after Eddie had pretty much given up on eliminating that smell completely He was stopped at a red light. He heard what sounded like a small bird Fluttering its wings somewhere up in his headliner You know the ceiling of the car above your head, and he thought my god. There's a bird trapped in there
[24:52] So when he got back home He had his maintenance guy go for that headliner and try to get that bird out and all the while Eddie was thinking how the hell Did that thing get in there well after about an hour Eddie gets a knock at his front door? And there's his maintenance man with a big happy grin on his face holding a dead rat by the tail not a mouse a rat Though like Eddie said it was a small rat Disgusting enough right so then his maintenance man said he was gonna put a rat trap in the front seat of the car and Eddie Said what for you got him case closed, but the maintenance guy shook his head and said uh-uh They never live alone. They always come in pairs So the guy rigged up your standard three Stooges style rat trap and loaded the trigger point with peanut butter now the maintenance guy said Rats and mice love peanut butter so the next morning Eddie got up open the front door and no rat in the trap
[25:42] But the peanut butter was gone meanwhile the maintenance guy looked at the empty trap and said smart rats You got here Then he went into his lunch bag and pulled out a little piece of tortilla and reloaded that trap with that little piece of tortilla Glued to the trigger point with guess what peanut butter and sure enough the next morning another rat in the trap case closed, right? Wrong just for good measure the maintenance guy loaded up the trap again and the next morning another rat and in fact all week long there were rats a Grand total of get this eight rats We're living in Eddie's headliner, which does bring up quite a few questions first How in the hell did they get in the car in the first place? Secondly, how in the hell did they find their way into the headliner of all places and thirdly?
[26:32] What kind of damage were they doing up there? Well his maintenance guy pulled the headliner and as you might expect there were a lot of harnesses and cables up there including yes A rat's nest and a good number of those electrical wires had the insulation Nod right off of them. So in fact that nest was pretty colorful because those wires are all color-coded So what happened next well surprise surprise Eddie's got the car for sale, but not because he wants to It's just fine with him because it's rat-free now It's a three-year-old Jeep and otherwise very good condition But Eddie's girlfriend because of that rat problem will not set foot in that car anymore for love or money So Eddie being Eddie said he'd sell it to me cheap. Well, the fact is I don't need an extra car Not even a cheap one. So next week it goes up on the bulletin boards and the auto classifieds in the big El Salvador newspaper
[27:23] So will Eddie let prospective buyers in on the former rat problem? Well, Eddie says it's a hell of a nice car Nothing ratty about it at all You've been listening to the expat files living in Latin America coming to you twice a week from somewhere south of the border Email me the expat files at gmail.com and don't forget to check out expat wisdom calm to sign up for your free Reports on Latin America. See you next time. No spamos