The pound had what we tend to call a “choppy” day yesterday; sharply up, sharply down, but basically going nowhere, and pretty chipper compared to most of the past three years.
Against the dollar, the general view seems to be that if the pound can stay over USD1.30 for long enough it will be “cemented in”, whatever that means. Against the Euro too, we seem to have settled in at a rate that most property buyers abroad would have bitten your hand off for at almost any date since the referendum.
That’s the currency side of things, and do watch out for our new quarterly currency forecasts which we will be publishing in the next week or so.
In the meantime you can speak to your trader on 020 8108 5337.
I also want to mention Brexit. Commentary has moved away from trade, potential delays to lorries at Dover, and the Northern Ireland back stop (remember that!?) and back to the fate of EU citizens in the UK and British citizens in Europe. There seems to be an incredible volume of unwarranted panic and scare stories out there.
Our view at Smart, based on what the government has said, so please do tell me if you have evidence that this is wrong, goes along these lines:
Property buying is unaffected by Europe. We have plenty of Australian, New Zealand and American clients who have bought in the EU completely unaffected by not being EU citizens.
Holiday home-owners are unaffected. The essential rule is that “third-country nationals” can spend up to 90 days in any 180 in the country without the need to get a visa. So if you want to spend all winter in Spain, no problem.
If you’re not planning on working in the EU, visas should be easily available. Attempts to limit freedom of movement and curbs on immigration are more focused on working people. Most of our favourite EU countries have a version of retirement or “non-lucrative” visa that allows you to live there freely if you can prove you will not be a burden on the local tax payer.
You should keep all your EU rights to healthcare and pensions if you gain residency before the end of the transition period. There is a lot of confusion about this, but it can help to see what the UK is offering EU citizens living here, as EU countries have said they will offer reciprocal arrangements. It comes down to “settled” and “pre-settled” status. If an EU citizen is living in the UK before 31 December 2020 and has been here continuously for five years (which only means at least 6 months in every 12, not full time), then they are settled, and can stay with all their EU rights. If they are in the UK by 31 December but have been less than five years, or not continuously, they will have pre-settled status (which after five years can be changed to settled). But either way, they keep all their existing rights.
Both those with settled or pre-settled status will be able to:
- work in the UK
- use the NHS for free as they do now
- enrol in education or continue studying
- access public funds such as benefits and pensions, if they’re eligible for them
- travel in and out of the UK
The rules about bringing family over, the status of children, and much more, is also much more lenient than you might expect given stories in the press.
We, and our friends at the website Propertyguides.com, will be keeping you informed throughout the Brexit process. But I do believe that the key is maintain a positive, can-do attitude and check the facts!
