If you’re thinking of buying a place of your own abroad or investing in foreign real estate, it can pay off to have a good idea of your FX options and solutions available that can help you lock in a preferable rate.
Smart Currency Exchange is a leading foreign exchange provider that specialises in assisting clients with international property purchases. That’s why we have a range of services that can be useful to aspiring property buyers.
I’d like to introduce you to Forward Contracts and Spot Contracts, two services we offer that can help you get the most from your money.
Before you start…
Sign up with Smart Currency Exchange to be assigned your own personal trader. They can help you determine the best approach to minimize your currency risk, maximise your budget and understand the solutions.
Lock in an exchange rate
Our job is to monitor the currency exchange market, so you don’t have to. That’s why our marketing communications are succinct and clear, to help you make the best decisions with your money.
Alongside our daily and weekly currency notes, which you can opt in and out of, Smart Currency Exchange customers will receive an email with the subject line ‘Rate alert’ should the pound-to-euro and pound-to-dollar exchange rates move substantially.
Should an exchange rate move in your favour, it presents ample opportunity to lock in the rate on the day or for a period of up to 12 months.
Our solutions
1. Spot contract
A spot contract allows you to make a single currency transfer ‘on the spot’, at today’s exchange rate. This can be beneficial for those who need to make a payment today or within the next 48 hours.
“Excellent service from start to finish. We used a spot contract and getting our quote to our funds arriving in our solicitors client account in Spain took less than 48 hours.
We were kept informed at every stage by a highly knowledgeable and customer-focused team. I would highly recommend.” George Sharp, via Trustpilot
Enquire about a spot contract today
2. Forward contract
As the name suggests, a forward contract is an agreement to buy a certain amount of currency at a fixed exchange rate, for payments up to 12 months in advance.
This can help you gain control of international payments by protecting you from potential losses due to currency fluctuations, which is important in times of economic uncertainty.
Example
Suppose you are buying a villa in Spain for €200,000 but won’t be paying the money for a month or two while the lawyers sort out the legal side. If you are paying for it in euros but are currently holding your money in pounds, any rate changes in the meantime will change the price of the property. Even a 1 per cent loss in the value of the pound – and that can happen in a day – will send your property rising in price by thousands of euros.
Enquire about a forward contract today
For more guidance on managing your currency risk, don’t hesitate to contact your personal trader on 0808 163 0102 or if you’re a new customer, register with Smart today and we’ll be in touch.
