Our partner, Property Guides, recently conducted a survey to find out about property buyers’ plans for moving abroad. The results are encouraging. Most protect their currency, and the majority are not just using their bank. Find out what their tips and tricks are (and make sure you’re not in the 30% with unprotected funds).
How are overseas property buyers planning their money transfers?
When Property Guides shared the results with us, we immediately noticed how positive the response was. We always keep our clients informed and up-to-date with the risks of sending money overseas, and a big part of that is understanding how a suddenly changing exchange rate can affect your budget – and how to protect against it. Clear, Property Guides’ readers are largely aware and planning for this, which is very encouraging (and sensible, in a time of political and economic volatility). Here’s what they told us:
Two out of three people say they’re confident they understand currency risk.
This is excellent news, indicating that the risks of buying overseas without protecting your rate are getting through. For many, this will mean using a forward contract to secure a fixed rate for up to twelve months.
Most people said they would be using a currency specialist like us, rather than their high street bank.
Also excellent news, of course! The average budget was around £150,000, with most people using savings, pensions or money from the sale of a property. Again, the message is clear, that buying through us is the safest option for your life savings. Sending your money on the day through your bank just doesn’t offer the same security over the markets suddenly moving.
A third said that losing 5% to exchange rate volatility would put their purchase at risk.
Could your purchase go ahead if after agreeing a price you had to find an extra 5% or more? If not, we need to talk about protecting yourself via a Forward Contract. Nb. In the past three years the pound has dropped considerably more than 5% between spring and summer.
Nearly half of respondents said they were considering buying “off-plan”.
This means buying a property that’s not built yet, and which they’ll pay in stages as it goes up. Here the currency risk is even higher because the timescale between paying a deposit and the balance is even longer. Again, this won’t be a problem if you use a forward contract, perhaps as part of a regular payments plan.
Everyone is looking forward to a better quality of life overseas.
The most popular answers for moving overseas were retirement, a healthy lifestyle and then relaxation. We understand the desire for a relaxing holiday home, or a retirement with the lifestyle that you’ve worked so hard for. And the most important way to ensure that is to ensure your money is safe.
So please do speak to Smart about any aspect of your overseas property purchase or your continuing lifestyle and payments abroad. Give your Personal Trader a call on 020 7898 0541 today to discuss a solution for your needs.
