If you want a stressful two months, try committing to a property purchase without protecting your currency! Don’t let an ill-wind blow your property budget away.
Believe it or not, just eight weeks ago it was the beginning of the school summer holidays. Some of us were looking forward to weeks of smearing suntan lotion on happy, wriggling kids, while those without children were relishing the prospect of an easy commute and drinking in pub gardens. Now we’ve only got Strictly to cheer us up and the heating is firmly on!
If two months is a long time for the British climate, it’s an absolute age when it comes to currency. In the past two months the pound has gone up and down by more than 5%, meaning that a €200,000 property has risen and fallen in price by £10,000. Now, many of us put a pound or two on over the summer and are squeezing back into our winter clothes, but we might struggle to accommodate that sort of an expansion. You have to ask, how easily could I find an extra £10,000 if necessary?
If you had chosen a property at the end of July there is every chance you would be paying for it now.
Yet eight weeks is a reasonable time scale for the completion of a property purchase overseas. If you had chosen a property at the end of July there is every chance you would be paying for it now. It can be done quicker, if there are no issues and your estate agent, notary and lawyer are really on the ball, but four to eight weeks is normal. In any case, the currency can swing violently one way or the other in a much shorter time. This makes buying a property abroad a lottery unless you lock in your currency.
Don’t let your property budget get blown away
A 5% swing in the strength of a currency pair over a month or two is not rare. It’s not even something we can blame on Brexit. It’s actually quite average. So how can you be sure that the price you pay when you come to complete the purchase in the cold grey light of the notary’s office is the price you agreed for the property in the warm glow of summer?
That is where Smart Currency Exchange can help. As a specialist in helping people with property purchases overseas, and the official currency partner of Rightmove, no-one understands the currency needs of overseas property buyers more than us.
A Forward Contract is perfect for property buyers who need to pay a deposit and then wait weeks to complete.
We have a range of tools to help property buyers protect their budget. These include a Forward Contract, which is perfect for property buyers who need to pay a deposit and then wait weeks to complete. You can set your exchange rate for up to a year ahead, yet you don’t need to convert the full amount until you complete, up to a year away. You may have other needs, and at Smart we have a range of tools for every eventuality in the property buying process.
That is why it is so important to speak to Smart Currency Exchange today. No-one knows what will happen to the pound in the weeks between seeing the property you love and paying for it – but we can protect your budget, and your dreams of life in the sun.
Save money when buying overseas
Get the best foreign exchange rates with Smart Currency Exchange. You can save up to 4% compared to your bank!
Whether you are buying a property abroad, making regular payments, sending money overseas or back in to the UK, you want the most cost-effective, safe and easy way to transfer your money.
That's where Smart Currency Exchange can help. As the one of the UK's fastest-growing currency exchange specialists, we save our clients thousands of pounds every day by offering the best currency exchange rates, along with your own dedicated personal trader.
