Purchasing Property Abroad: Currency Transfer Tips

Purchasing Property Abroad: Currency Transfer Tips

Published:   12 Dec at 9 AM

By:Admin

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If you are contemplating purchasing
a property abroad and are looking for the best currency transfer rate
this is our top 5 tips on how to get the best exchange rates and make
your money last longer!

1. As soon as you make your decision
to purchase property, start getting daily or at the very least weakly
exchange rate updates emailed to you. As the example in tip number 5
shows, exchange rates can fluctuate massively so it's important not
to just dive into it, it will really pay to make sure you get the right
deal and can be the difference between it being a good investment or
not. For this reason, getting regular exchange rate updates is essential
to ensuring you get the best deal. If you are seriously considering
purchasing a property abroad it is certainly worth signing up with a
foreign exchange broker online who would email you daily or weekly foreign
exchange rates updates for your relevant currencies so you can keep
track of how the markets are performing and estimate how much buying
a property abroad would cost you. Companies like World First and XE.com
offer market updates and most forex trading brokers will do so.

2. As discussed in the Spot Exchange
Rate section, make sure you fix foreign exchange rates when agreeing
to purchase a property. A forward contract is a much needed way of fixing
the exchange rate at a specific value for a set period of time. A forward
contract allows you to remove uncertainty from your currency transfer.
You will know precisely the amount you would be paying for the property
from the moment you agree the forward contract exchange rate. Without
a forward contract you are putting yourself at risk that currency fluctuations
could result in you paying more both in terms of the mortgage and the
actual purchase price.

3. As tempting as it is, it's important
not to take a gamble on these exchange rates. Very few people can afford
to leave purchasing the foreign currency until late on in the property
purchase process and even those who can afford it, are rarely stupid
enough to do so. It may work in their favour and they may get a very
good deal but the chances are that by leaving it until the last minute,
you will end up paying more than you need to and as earlier discussed,
could cost you a lot in the long term. Spend time researching the exchange
rates and the various organisations you may use in order to exchange
this currency.

4. It's also important not to try
and do it all on your own, get advice from the professionals who do
this every day. Money transfer services companies such as XE.com, Currencies
Direct and many others have years of experience when it comes to helping
people send money abroad to purchase an overseas property so make the
most of this experience, ask some questions! By registering online or
by telephone with one of these providers you will receive help and guidance
from a currency transfer expert or how to get the best possible exchange
rate.

5. The final essential tip is to
make sure you decide on your budget and stick to it. If you are planning
to make a large currency transfer from Pounds into Euros, Dollars or
another currency the exchange rate at the point at which you make your
currency transfer will massively affect the cost of your property abroad.
The price of an overseas property is different to the actual cost of
that property. The price is the amount of Euros or another foreign currency
the property has been sold for where as the actual cost is the amount
of pounds needed to buy that amount of foreign currency. This amount
can vary massively depending on the foreign exchange rate.

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