Exchange Rate Crisis? What Exchange Rate Crisis?

It’s a sorry state of affairs we seem to have ourselves in at the moment, with the gloomy news all around us that we are facing a financial crisis worldwide, with currencies flopping about like stranded fish, and exchange rates either going through the roof or sinking below the basement, depending on which way round you’re looking at it. Those businesses and investors who work on an international or global scale are struggling to identify the best way to work, and simply keeping abreast of the current exchange rates is almost a full time occupation.

It used to be the case that we would simply pop to our local shop or town and buy the items we needed in our local currency. We’d think nothing of it, of course. However, with so many of us now buying products online, we no longer even think about the country that the company is trading in. Often we see that the prices are listed in dollars, or Euros, and think very little of it. Some people change the currency to their own local one, but in fact if you do a quick, independent currency exchange rate check, you’ll often find that buying products in one currency will be cheaper than buying it in another, possibly your own. Since some companies online have their converted prices fixed for a few days at a time, a significant change in rate can make a big difference.

Buying property, particularly overseas, can be a very great challenge at the best of times, but when you have to juggle the difficulties of getting your head round the exchange rates as well, it becomes a whole different ball game. A deal or price that seems good one day, and allows you to balance the books perfectly well, could look set to fall through just a few weeks further on as a direct result of the exchange rate. Remember, an exchange rate change of just a few pence to the Euro, or vice versa, could end up being the equivalent difference of several thousand pounds in the net price of the property you’re after. Moving quickly isn’t always possible when investing abroad, and so problems like these can be a real headache.

It isn’t all bad news of course, and there are companies and opportunities which seem to either help you take advantage of the challenges which put others off, or simply challenge the rates themselves, to help offer you a better deal at what would otherwise be a tough time. I recently came across a company that helps people to invest in overseas property, and is currently offering an exchange rate which seems utterly absurd to anyone who’s recently looked into the current rates. I checked today, and the current rate is 1.26 to the pound sterling, which isn’t brilliant of course. However, the company I came across is still offering the same exchange rate that we saw back at the beginning of this year, at a staggering 1.40! To have what is equivalent to well over an 11% difference in exchange rates is phenomenal!

To put this kind of benefit into perspective, let’s say you were looking to buy a very reasonable 150,000 property over in Spain, but were looking at an exchange rate of 1.26 to the pound – which is normal. By taking advantage of the 11% difference in rates that this company is offering, you could make a saving of over 16,500! I defy anyone who’s considering overseas property investment to turn their nose up at such a chance!

Obviously when purchasing property overseas it is important to bear in mind the currency exchange rate, and it is always recommended that once you start to look seriously at the prospect of purchasing property abroad you agree an exchange rate with all parties and have this included in the written terms so that you don’t fall foul of any unpleasant shocks that hit the financial world later down the path. A major change in an exchange rate can result in costing you many thousands of pounds extra, so this is sound advice. Further sound advice would be to take advantage of a company who is hopelessly optimistic enough to offer an exchange rate that refuses to move on from the sunny times at the beginning of the year, and is still offering a rate that is considerably higher than anything offered by the banks. Such an opportunity makes moving abroad more like going on holiday!

Investing in property overseas shouldn’t be about gambling, but necessarily whenever purchasing property, you have to be aware that prices fluctuate, rates vary, and you could find that, whilst long term you’re bound to make a tidy profit, the short term is usually unpredictable. If you’re lucky enough to find a company like the one I have come across that’s offering an exchange rate drastically below that offered by banks or other financial institutions, then you immediately remove a large chunk of that risk – over 11% of that risk in this particular case. By saving yourself tens of thousands of Euros off the price, you could immediately sell the property on at the normal going rate of exchange and make yourself a quick 11% profit! Clearly that would be unlikely to attract many people, but what is attractive is the chance to create a safety net to help you get through the short term, and enjoy your long term investment.

Investing in property overseas is never entirely plain sailing for the first time buyer, since very often the ways and rules of buying property, particularly for foreigners, can vary quite a bit from those you may be familiar with back home. There can sometimes be extra costs involved such as lawyers’ fees and applications. A good company or agent should help you through all these requirements easily, but if you start off with a budget in mind, these fees can tip you a little further than you’d have hoped. Taking advantage of a really low rate such as this once I have come across helps you stretch your budget much further, and can help to make the whole process very much easier.