Pound Rate Cut to Just 1.5 Percent
Rates cut to all time low by Bank of England.
Rates dropped today by 0.5 percent to 1.5 percent, the lowest in the Bank’s 315-year history.
The Bank has had to balance the immediate interests of the UK economy against the potential wider economic fall-out with the distinct possibility of the currency rise of the Pound yesterday against the Dollar and the Euro, being instantly wiped out.
This could have an immediate effect on the recent strength of the Pound. If you have Pounds to sell, it may be worth contacting our currency dealers now.
Keep a close eye on the currency fluctuations with our LIVE CURRENCY RATES CONVERTER . If you are considering changing money over the next few days, you may wish to consider using some currency tools such as a “stop loss order” or maybe buying your money in advance of when you need it at a point when the rate is best for you. This is called a “Forward Currency Contract”. Read more on types of currency transaction here, or just call us and we will gladly explain how we can help you.
- We trade commercial amounts of currency, at commercial rates.
- We don’t charge for transfers in excess of a monetary value equivalent to £5,000
- We don’t charge commission
- We DO give you an individual executive dealer to talk to
From outside the UK: 0044 (0)1480 458400
Currency Exchange for Larger Businesses
FX-foreignexchange have a small team of specialist currency dealers, together with a support team, who cater for larger business clients such as trust fund companies, larger conglomerates with separate businesses in different financial zones around the world.
Often, these businesses have a long term arrangement to make regular money transfers. The individuals involved have other tasks to perform within the operation so they regularly go down the line of least resistance. They use their banks! Clearly, if you are a good customer, the bank will offer you a favourable rate but rarely will a bank offer the level of personal service that fx-foreignexchange can offer.
We were recently introduced to a Finance Director who had the task of transferring in the region of 1.4M Euros every month to his European counterparts. He had negotiated the costs with his bank and rang them to negotiate the rate each time he needed to make the transfer, so he felt that he had got the best deal for his business.
We were happy to demonstrate over 3 months that he had saved in the region of 20,000 pounds with a combination of spot rate buying, forward buying and stop-loss orders.
Of course, he didn´t have time to keep an eye on the rates. And, he certainly didn´t get a call from his account manager at the bank every time the rate was favourable. He didn´t even get a daily FX rate update on his email from his bank. He DID get all of that from us.
It retained company profits and made his job easier. If you would like an informal discussion on how we can help your business to retain more profit when dealing overseas, please call us and ask for David Osborne.
Our UK number is : 0044(0)1480 458400 , or just go to CONTACT US.
For more information, please visit fx-foreignexchange.com
Pay Your Initial Property Deposit with a Card
How to beat the currency exchange system with credit card payments on property purchases.
Pay your overseas property deposit with a credit, or debit, card and get a better rate of exchange than you would by using the card abroad.
If you find yourself in the fortunate position of being able to buy that property abroad, and you need to place a deposit on the property to secure the one you want, then there is an answer.
Pay your initial deposit with your debit, or credit, card.
However, before you get too excited, consider this. I was in Spain recently and used my UK Bank debit card to draw some Euros at the “Hole in the wall”. I drew money on two consecutive days. The exchange rate between the pound and the euro had barely altered, but one bank gave me 1.19 euros to the pound. The other bank gave a rate of 1.23 euros to the pound. If, like me, you suffer from terrible thirst when it’s hot and you need £200 to pay for the drinks, the difference is €8. “Just €8!” I hear you say.
Well change that figure of £200 to £3000 as a house deposit and the difference between one bank’s foreign exchange rate and the other’s is now €120. Not a huge amount, but still worth saving.
FX-Foreignexchange have a facility, through their currency exchange partners, where you can now pay your initial deposit to secure a property abroad by using your debit or credit card. You get an even better rate than the banks can offer. It’s a safe way to pay and painless.
Just call FX-Foreignexchange on 0044 (0)1480 458400, (or email for them to contact you from here) , register your details with them, give them the details of where you want your deposit to go, and they take the payment in your local currency, change it, and send it to the account you’ve asked for it to be sent to.
Paying your overseas property deposit couldn’t be easier. You may even want to spend the money you save on a special dinner to celebrate how clever you are!
A couple of little things, FX-Foreignexchange can’t take card payments over £10,000, and they can’t take less than £2500. On the basis that most initial deposits for new homes abroad are €3,000, or £2,500, this shouldn’t present a problem.
The other area to consider is if you use the same company to change your further stage payments, the difference when using my example, is €1,200 when you change £30,000.
That’s a bit more interesting than the €8 I saved!
Mortgages and Financial Advice in Portugal
When buying a property in Portugal, it is worth contacting a Portuguese bank with regards to the mortgages available as they can often offer superior rates or conditions than your local bank.
We recommend that you contact an independent mortgage advisor prior to buying a property in Portugal. They can find the best deal for you. There are many companies that provide this service but, as with all matters in life, the quality of service and advice can vary wildly.Gatehouse International have been selling property in Portugal for over 15 years and we have an excellent local company that provides comprehensive advice on gaining mortgages & financial advice for those wanting to buy a property in Portugal. Read more
Sell your own property
Use an estate agent, or sell your own property (FSBO)With costs rising all around, we are looking to save money. The cost of selling your property can be significant. It’s not only the estate agent’s fees that are significant. The Government have introduced the Home Information Pack ( HIP’s) which most homeowners will now have to buy, before they can even place the property on the market. The conventional property lawyer’s fees are also significant and savings can be made here by using an online conveyancing service.
We are all now getting used to using online services such as banking, food shopping, clothes by mail order, gifts, books. Now it’s possible to buy a form of estate agency online for Read more
Online Conveyancing comes of age
On-line conveyancing
Save yourself a great deal of money. The traditional ways of having your house sale legally processed have long gone. With the advent of on-line shopping, banking, blogs, forums etc, we are all now used to secure server log-ins and generally feel more in control when we are able to track progress on-line.
House sale conveyancing has come of age. You can now order your free quote for selling, or buying, on-line. You can even order your Home Information Pack (HIP´s) and Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) on-line.
Gatehouse Estates are able to provide quotataions for HIP´s, EPC´s and Conveyancing packages. Once you have decided to go ahead with a Conveyancing deal, you will be allocated your own log-in username and Password. From this point forward, you will be able to remove a great deal of the frustration that people have had to endure in the past, namely waiting for an update about the next stage in the process of buying, or selling, your home.
Want to know more? Call 01480 434290 or email zoe@gatehouseestates.co.uk
