Take Advantage of the Exchange Rates to Maximise Your Property Budget

By law, all property transactions in France have to take place in euros – even if it happens to be a British client buying from a British seller, which we have seen many times. So if you are buying in France and you are holding funds in any currency other than the euro, it is essential that you check that you take into consideration the exchange rates and their volatility when managing your budget.

If you’ve read our previous articles you will have seen that exchange rates have been in flux during this time with economic uncertainties created mainly by the pandemic. If we specifically take a look at Sterling Euro, on December –before the BREXIT agreement was reached- £1 was equivalent to €1.09 (12 December) whereas now £1 now gives you €1.17 (5 July). If you were looking to buy a property in France with a £250,000 budget, you will now get an extra €20,000 for your pounds.

The volatility on the exchange rates can in fact pose a big risk to your budget and therefore it is important to account for it from the very beginning. However fluctuations can also present an opportunity to improve your budget if the rate movement is in the right direction. If that happens being able to act quickly to take advantage of that movement is key.

Exchange rate movements can happen quickly and last for a short period – even seconds!- so if you want to monitor the market to manage your budget you need to be ready for it.

What can you do to be ready?

If you haven’t done so yet, you should get in touch with a foreign exchange specialist like moneycorp and open an account early in the process and before you travel to France to view properties. Opening an account doesn’t involve any cost or obligation but will give you access to free expert guidance and currency tools to monitor the market and your budget.

If you find a property you can consult the rates straight away and as soon as the initial contract is signed you can plan the best way to manage the process until completion which could take a couple of months.

At this stage some clients decide to fix the whole budget via a forward contract as we explained in previous articles however others –optimistic on the direction the market is taking- might decide to target a better rate of exchange though a market order.

What shall I consider when placing a market order?

• With a market order you agree with your dealer a rate of exchange –higher than the current market one- and if such rate is achieved your order is automatically fulfilled and your Euros are bought at that price.
• The advantage of a market order is that it allows you to take advantage of a rate movement even if this happens quickly, briefly or whilst we are not at the office.
• Once the order is fulfilled you won’t be able to change it. This means that if the rate moves even higher after your level has been reached you won’t be able to change it.
• You can combine s market order with a stop limit order that allows you to protect your transaction to go below certain rate. This orders could be handy for those property buyers that have calculated their price taking into account a range below which the purchase price might become unaffordable or too costly.