Get Ready to Go to France!

Whilst the UK took the positive move out of the covid era in early 2022, France stuck to their guns for a little longer with strict restrictions on covid passes and mask wearing policies.

As we start to see a drastic weather improvement in March, the feeling of holiday season starts to kick in. France’s covid reductions couldn’t have come in at a better time as last week they took the plunge into moving themselves out of the covid restricted lifestyle.

As of Friday 18^th march, you no longer need to test, fill out a passenger locator form or quarantine. You must however be fully vaccinated with your latest jab being no older the 9 months. If you have had two covid vaccinations but the latest is more than 9 months old, France will classify you as unvaccinated and you will not be permitted to travel unless for

These easing of restrictions will now make it much easier for potential property buyers to start their property search as they will not need to be inundated with PCR tests, quarantines. It is also less likely for a relapse in restrictions as the need for economy growth is as high as ever with current worldwide news affecting global markets in all areas.

Although restrictions are easing, the financial markets are seeing plenty of volatility and uncertainty due to international crisis, inflationary and post covid issues.

Should you be planning your visit to France, you must be sure that you have your finances in place. If you are lucky to find a property to buy you might need to act quite quickly on it. Furthermore you need to be aware that your offer –even if accepted- will only reflect the real cost once you add the cost of foreign exchange.  The real price you will be paying for the property will be entirely determined by the exchange rate applied at the time of making the payments.

And this is why it is really important to factor the exchange rates and their direct impact on the price since the moment you set foot in France.

How much is that property going to cost you in pounds? How can you make sure that the price that you have agreed is not affected by negative exchange rate fluctuations?

To avoid a nasty surprise at the time of paying, all you can do is plan the best way to exchange your funds and manage the different payments and timelines involved in the transaction.

You can open a free, no-obligation account with a foreign exchange company such as Moneycorp even before you have found a property.

The team of private client dealers at Moneycorp are used to working with property buyers from the earlier stages to help them become familiar with the rates and knowing their options with the purpose to protect or even maximise their budget.

In fact, one of the benefits of using a specialist is not only the access to competitive rates but also the ability to access currency tools to help you plan your transfer, so for instance you can lock the rate of exchange in advance –up to two years- via a forward contract or track a rate via a market order.

As soon as your account is set up, you will have direct access to your own personal dealer who will discuss in detail your requirement, the services available and will remain your point of contact throughout the whole transaction. You can rely on the guidance from moneycorp even before you find a property and contact your dealer before placing an offer in case you are not sure of the exchange rates at the time.