Currency specialists Halewood can offer you:

« Protection from currency risk (seen above), even if you don't have all the money available yet
« Excellent exchange rates
« Free priority transfer of funds to Spain*
« Earn interest on all funds held
« Patient, helpful consultants who will listen to your specific requirements

(*some Spanish banks may charge to receive Euros)

How does it work?

A deposit payment on the property is usually required and this will simply involve buying an amount of currency straight away. Halewood can offer you a 'wholesale' exchange rate in contrast to the 'retail' rate that might be offered by a high street bank. Buying currency and paying for it straight away is called a 'spot trade'. Halewood can then send the Euros direct to your lawyer, developer or to your own account in Spain by free priority transfer.

You will then be required to pay for the balance of the property. This will either be one final payment or several stage payments depending on the property you are buying. If your new property is being constructed the time frame could stretch into several months or even years and the associated currency risk as mentioned above could become very alarming.

If you have all of the money available you can simply buy all of the Euros you need and hold them in Halewood's client euro account (earning interest) until further payments are required in Spain. This eliminates the currency risk as you have already bought and paid for your Euros.

If you don't have all of the money available you can still fix an exchange rate for a future date by buying a 'forward currency contract' with your Halewood dealer. In layman's terms you are buying the rest of your Euros now but paying for them later. Please discuss this with a Halewood consultant to weigh up the most appropriate solution for you.

If you have strong views about future exchange rates or simply want to compare exchange rates, Halewood can keep an eye on the market for you and provide you with comparative quotations.

Always remember; you are buying a property and not speculating on the currency markets. Nobody can predict future exchange rates so our advice is to lock-in and layback! If you are happy with the cost at the time of purchase, don't let the currency markets upset your budget.

For more information on Prima Overseas Properties' access to this useful facility at Halewood, please click here

The information above has been kindly provided by Halewood International Foreign Exchange. Halewood are a completely independent company to Prima Overseas Properties and are solely responsible for any information or advice given.