Reports in the press would have it that Boris Johnson is a changed man. You can see it for yourself at Prime Minister’s Questions, where the grandstanding has gone along with the artfully dishevelled hair. The impression is that he’s knuckling down to the job, reading his briefs properly these days and taking everything very seriously.
It might just be that he got a comb for Christmas and a set of New Year Resolutions, and the new look will last as long as these things normally do. Maybe he’ll be back to spouting Latin and other colourful turns of phrase again by February.
However, more generally this does feel like the time to get moving with serious plans. At our offices here in London as well at our offices in Spain and Portugal, we’ve been getting many more calls from people who are determined to be settled in new homes abroad by the summer (thereby keeping their EU rights too).
For anyone planning to buy a property (or anything else) abroad, currency is the thing you should sort out first, not last. There are three reasons for this. Firstly, until you have spoken to a trader (and registered in accordance with UK finance rules), you will not know how much you have to spend abroad. A brief chat with your personal trader will give you the chance to understand what might be affecting currencies over the next months and year.
Secondly, when you go to look at properties abroad, we will be ready to help you pay a deposit cost effectively. It could be the difference between getting the property you want, and not.
Thirdly, if you agree a price abroad, that price will only be set in the local currency, whether euros or dollars. But until you pay the final amount, the price in pounds will be moving by a good percentage point or two every week. A swing of 5% or more is quite common during the buying process. You can avoid the risk that the price moves out of your budget with a forward contract. This fixes the exchange rate for up to a year ahead.
So if you’re reaching the business end of your purchase abroad, do please call your trader on 020 8108 5337.
