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Having found your dream home abroad you may now be in the position where you will need to transfer and pay for the property in a different currency to your own. The method you choose to change and transfer money and timing can have a huge effect on the price you pay for your property.
Firstly it is important to understand that exchange rates fluctuate daily. For example in the last 6 weeks the exchange rate of the Euro vs. Pound Sterling has dropped from 1.49 to 1.46. On the face of it this may not seem much, but if you are purchasing a 200,000 euro property, the price of the property in pounds sterling will have risen by GBP2,750.
Who you choose to conduct your money transfer and money exchange can also have a big impact on the price you pay for your property. Specialist currency exchange companies offer far more favourable rates than high street banks. A survey conducted last year by the Sunday Times found that you could save up to 4 percent on the value of your property. Again on a 200,000 euro property this is a huge GBP5,500 difference that otherwise you would just be handing to your bank to boost their profits.
Specialist money transfer companies can also help with exchange rate fluctuations. They provide advice on what they predict will happen to exchange rates and offer a service to allow you to fix the exchange so that you are protected from future fluctuations.
Although currency exchange is not often considered until after a property is purchased, it is worth considering at a much earlier stage when you start looking for property. The pound sterling is considered to be fairly strong currently, especially against a weak US Dollar. So buying a property now can potentially save you thousands of pounds.