French Currency Exchange Checklist: Your To-Do List
Essential Reading
If you’re planning to buy a property in France, understanding French currency exchange is crucial. Not only will this determine how you pay for your property purchase, but the exchange rate will determine how much you end up paying for the property.
French property sales can move quickly and advance planning not only means you’ll be ready to sign once you find your dream home, but it could end up saving you thousands. Leaving it to the last minute means you risk losing the property if you can’t get your deposit in on time, as well as being at the mercy of the latest foreign exchange rates. It’s an expensive gamble to make, so why risk it?
Our advice? Get your finances in order right from the start and make sure your money is ready to go. Follow our handy checklist to ensure you have everything covered.
Before You Start Looking for a French Property
- First things first—read our Beginner’s Guide to Currency Exchange in France to understand how currency exchange works and all the options available to you.
- Set up your foreign currency account with a specialist currency broker such as Moneycorp—it’s free to set up and you can do it all online in just a few minutes.
- Verify your account by providing a copy of your passport or ID and proof of address.
- Give the Moneycorp team a call for free advice on your upcoming property transactions. Their experts can advise you on exchange rate trends and the best times to buy.
- If you’re looking to buy straight away, consider whether it’s a good idea to fix the exchange rate with a forward contract. If your domestic currency is strong, this might be a smart move.
- If you’re looking to buy long-term, you might want to consider targeting a rate—ensuring you transfer your funds at the best time for you.
Completing Your Property Purchase
- Once you’ve found your dream property and have signed the Compromis de Vente, you can go ahead and transfer your deposit. This can all be done online up to a value of £100,000 or $100,000 (or equivalent in your domestic currency).
- While your property purchase is going through, use the time to prepare for future transactions…
- …perhaps lock in the rate for the balance of your property purchase, your French mortgage fees or notaire’s fees on your property.
- …or set up a regular payment plan to pay the monthly payments on your French mortgage.
Managing Your Second Home in France
- Make a long-term plan to ensure you are getting the best rates on all home-owner expenses such as monthly utility bills, annual property taxes, and renovations or maintenance costs.
- Sign up for currency exchange alerts to take advantage of favourable exchange rates.
- Keep an eye on the latest posts in our Currency Zone for currency FAQs, news, and market reports.
Need to Transfer Money to France? We’ve Got You Covered.
Whether you’re searching for your dream French property or planning a move to France, it’s never too early to start thinking about currency exchange. FrenchEntrée’s trusted partners at Moneycorp have more than 40 years’ experience helping customers get the best value on their international transfers. Opening an account is really easy and free of charge. Best of all, if you sign up through FrenchEntrée, you can benefit from our exclusive offer including free international money transfers for life.
Disclaimer: This guide is provided for general information purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice regarding any aspect of purchasing a French property or French currency exchange. If in doubt you should consult your currency exchange specialist. FrenchEntrée cannot be held responsible for the consequences of decisions or actions you may choose to take in connections with a property purchase or international money transfer.
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