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Limousin Local Reference INFOrmation

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Foreign exchange and owning property in France

Information on how best to make your money work for you when buying overseas property in a foreign currency: how market fluctuations can affect the price you pay, and how to protect your finances during the currency transfer.

The point at which a trade is made when buying a holiday home or investment property in France is crucial as currency markets are in constant fluctuation; trading at the right time means money goes further.

The Effect of Exchange Rate on the Cost of Property

Fluctuations in exchange rates can have a massive impact on the foreign currency (GBP, USD, CHF and so on) value of a Euro-based property. For example, a European property worth €250,000 would have cost £186,567 in January 2008 but by December of the same year would have been worth £30,824 more - because of exchange rate movements.

The effects of currency fluctuations can be accommodated by planning ahead; payments made at the last minute will be set at the rate that the markets offer at the time of transfer.

There are methods available to manage this:

Automated regular payments

An automated regular payment can be arranged to make regular international transfers to cover mortgage payments or maintenance costs. In this type of service the funds are collected by direct debit and automatically sent abroad. The option also exists to fix exchange rates for a set time period.

For more see INFOrmation Page Making regular international money transfers to France.

Re-mortgaging

Property owners are recommended to review their mortgage from time-to-time. Just as when first buying a property, it is important to take into account the currency markets when re-arranging a mortgage.

Selling an overseas property

When repatriating funds to another currency it is important to transfer the Euros back at the best possible time to ensure the best possible rate.

Information supplied by Moneycorp, 100 Brompton Road, London, SW3 1ER
Web: www.moneycorp.com Tel: +44 (0)20 7589 3000
Worldwide copyright © TTT Moneycorp Limited 2008