What you should consider before buying property in Spain.
Heading out on your viewing trip is an exciting step, and there’s a lot to think about. But there’s one piece of the puzzle you might not yet have considered: safely transferring your money.
Sending thousands of pounds to Spain to buy a home is very different to changing holiday money, and there are two areas to check off before going on your trip.
- Talk to an expert to understand exactly what you have to spend in euros and the solutions available to you to protect your budget
- Arrange how to safely transfer your money to pay the deposit once you find your property.
HOW EXCHANGE RATES CAN AFFECT YOU AND YOUR BUDGET
You’re transferring between currencies, and that means your money is exposed to the live exchange markets.
These markets are constantly moving, so the cost of buying euros in your home currency can change at any moment. In other words, if you expect to pay a deposit on a house in a week’s time, you have absolutely no way of guessing how much it will cost by then in your currency.
Take a simple example. A €150,000 house at the end of December would have cost £125,000. A week later, by 1st January, it would have cost £130,000. Another week later and it would have been £128,000. For a higher price, the range is even bigger. This ‘up and down’ is typical, and yet unpredictable.
Could you afford to find another £5,000 in a short space of time?
If you leave this too late, you may spend thousands of pounds extra. Take a few minutes and you’ll have peace of mind that your purchase is protected.
PROTECTING YOUR MONEY
Fortunately, this is very easy to protect against. At Smart Currency Exchange, your Personal Trader can help you secure a fixed exchange rate for up to twelve months with a forward contract. This means that, upon payment of a deposit and for no extra fees, you know exactly how much your money will be worth at any point in the next year. That way, you’re in a position to realistically budget, knowing it won’t change.
Having spoken to your Personal Trader before going on your viewing trip, you can send your money as soon as you find the property. Time is crucial here – once the deposit is paid, the seller can’t pull out, so this guarantees someone else can’t counteroffer on your dream home.
Then, it’s normally up to four months to completion. Having secured a fixed exchange rate, you can sit back and focus on planning your move, knowing exactly how much the final euro sum will cost you in your home currency
HOW DO I TRANSFER MONEY WITH SMART?
- To start, your Personal Trader will be in touch to find out about your requirements and work out a transfer solution that is right for you.
- Your trader will quote the exchange rate and how much your funds will be worth in the destination currency.
- When you agree to the quote, your Trader will purchase the currency on your behalf. At this point, the transaction is legally binding.
- You will receive confirmation (via email) that your trade has been booked, along with payment instructions. If you don’t receive the confirmation please inform us immediately.
- You will then need to notify Smart which beneficiary account you want your funds paid into (by email, fax or post).
- Once your funds have cleared they are sent to the international beneficiary bank and normally arrive within 48 hours. The receiving bank will then allocate the funds to the beneficiary account.
For more details contact Smart CurrencyÂ
