Pay Your Property Deposit by 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!

What’s Hot & What’s Not in Property

Get the latest news on Currency Exchange and International Real Estate Agents.

An insiders views on the up and coming areas of the world with property hot spots, what to look out for when buying abroad, how to get the best currency exchange rates and news on events from around the world connected with emerging markets.

Selection of European Luxury Villas for Sale

Looking for that exclusive luxury villa?

 

Gatehouse-Elite have a large selection of worldwide luxury villas for sale including this beautiful mansion in Quinta do Lago, Portugal.

Available at €6.5m, this Quinta Property is a wonderful example of a beautifully appointed villa, sitting on the edge of the golf course, with golf rights included. As you might expect, this recently built villa boasts supreme luxury with a high quality finish. Set in tranquil surroundings with views straight down a beautifully manicured fairway in the highly exclusive resort of Quinta do Lago. The original stone features are balanced beautifully with the practicality of modern living. More information on this luxury villa…

The local office for Gatehouse-Elite is managed by Gary Thomas, who will be happy to provide a selection of luxurious Algarve properties to choose from. Gary offers properties for sale in the Algarve, including Quinta do Lago, Pinheiros Altos, Vale do Lobo, Vila Sol and Carvoeiro.

 t: 00 351 289 355 433.

To view a greater selection of properties for sale above €1m, visit Gatehouse-Elite.com.

Buying Australian Dollars when Emigrating

Emigrating to Australia on your own steam
The first step in emigrating, is to find out if you are eligible to live in Australia. You can do this by contacting your nearest Australia High commission who will be able to assist. They will send you the relevant information regarding your application process.
You should allow a minimum of 12 months for a successful application to be processed. It is absolutely crucial that any paperwork submitted to Australia House is done so correctly or your application will be returned to you, and you will, unfortunately, have to re apply. Fees will also vary dramatically depending upon the visa category you are applying under. With police checks, medical records, government fees, and more, the cost of the application can sometimes be a considerable expense.
Use an emigration specialist consultancy
A migration agent is like using a lawyer to represent you in court. They will initially give you a free consultation and will let you know straight away if you are eligible for migration. If you are, they will begin to advise on the fees and time limits involved. They will then advise you of all relevant forms, references and documents that you will need to obtain for them to submit the application on your behalf.
If you choose to use an agent your migration process can be a lot quicker. In some cases, they may even save you money as you can be certain that your application will be submitted correctly the first time. It certainly will take a lot of unnecessary stress away from the migration process. For that reason alone, we would strongly recommend to anyone who is considering emigrating, to use a Migration Agent.
Buying your Australian Dollars.
Whether you are buying your Australian Dollars with British Pounds, American Dollars, Euros or any other foreign currency, it pays to shop around.
The standard route, involved beating a path loyally to your local bank and asking them to make the money transfer on your behalf to Australia. This generally involves a few costs that you won’t have to bear elsewhere. You are likely to be charged extra for making the currency transfer, and for your Australian bank to receive the funds. In addition, a high street bank doesn’t necessarily give the best foreign exchange rate which is the biggest difference between the bank and a foreign currency exchange specialist.
Consider this:
Your bank offers you a rate of 2.10 Australian Dollars to £1. You buy £150,000 worth at that rate, believing that it’s the same everywhere and you end up with 315,000 Australian Dollars, before they have taken their commission!

OR, you use a global currency exchange specialist and they give you a better rate of 2.1549 Australian Dollars (as it is today) to £1, giving you net proceeds of 323,235 Australian Dollars for your £150,000.
Net result, you have saved yourself £3,821 ( or 8235 dollars) to spend on something else when you get to Australia like a second hand car, tax and insurance! No effort was required. It didn’t take any longer. You just end up with more money.
Save money when emigrating, buy your Australian Dollars here, or just visit the site to view the latest rate.

Dealing with difficult Tenants

A property with a problem tenant is the biggest risk facing landlords, as often it is a bigger liability to have a bad tenant than no tenant at all.

This is due to the fact that often problem tenants do not pay their rent & usually damage your property. Then follows the long drawn out process of the legal proceedings in order to gain possession of the property back from the problem tenant.

At Gatehouse Estates all of the tenants are fully referenced and in the event that you are unlucky enough to have a problem tenant they offer a rent guarantee & legal expenses policy which gives all landlords total peace of mind knowing a dedicated legal team are working to obtain vacant possession back from the problem tenant and handle the entire process. Plus the rent guarantee payment takes away the pressure of trying to fund the money to cover the mortgage payment supporting the investment.

For more information please visit www.gatehouserental.co.uk or call (01480) 433933/(01234) 345353.

Energy Performance Certificate for Landlords

From 1st October 2008 all rental properties with a new tenancy agreement in England and
Wales will be required by law to have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC).

If you rent out a property that does not have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) you could receive a £200 fine.

We can arrange for you to have a Energy Performance Certificate on your rented property by a fully accredited Domestic Energy Assessors.

Our EPC for rental properties prices remain the same regardless of location, size of the property or number of bedrooms your rented property has.

Please call (01480) 456520 now to find out our fantastic rates in order to get your Energy Performance certificate (EPC) in place before 1st October 2008.

Global Currency Rates of Exchange Today

• Global Currency Exchange Network, bring you daily currency exchange rates. For currency conversion, and money transfers, go to our website to create a free money transfer account
• Sterling fell again on Friday as growing expectations of a UK interest rate cut plummets the pound against a strong dollar and also slipping against the euro.
• Markets now expect the Bank of England to cut rates, currently 5 percent, by a quarter percentage point by the end of the year and probably again by February 2009.

GLOBAL CURRENCY EXCHANGE NETWORK – DAILY CURRENCY NEWS

Get the best currency exchange rate available today… Just call our Head Office on +44 (0) 1480 458 400 if outside the UK, or 01480 458400 ( in the Uk) and we’ll quote you the best exchange rate for Euro, usd, gbp, aed and more. Alternatively, fill in the short form below, and we will get back to you with the best foreign currency exchange rate.
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Buying Canadian Dollars with Pounds

Money Transfer from the UK to Canada

There are many ways to transfer your money from the UK to Canada. In the past, most people have called their own bank and asked them to change their GB Pounds to Canadian Dollars. Currently, there are so many more cost effective ways to do this.

If you choose to use your bank, it’s likely that they will not necessarily:

1. Grant you the best rate of exchange available at that moment
2. They are likely to charge you a commission
3. They will almost definitely charge a fee for making the money transfer to Canada

If you knew about a way to save on each of the 3 areas, it’s likely you would use it, especially, as the foreign exchange specialists are usually faster than the high street banks as it’s all they do!

Some Expats, or second home buyers, in Canada simply open an account with HSBC as they allow the client to have accounts in Canadian Dollars and GB Pounds.

• The advantage of doing this is you have flexibility to move the money between your accounts when the currency exchange rate suits you.
• The disadvantages are that HSBC don’t have as many branches as Canada’s own local main banks in the cities. And, you are unlikely to get a great rate of exchange each time you switch between accounts.

Foreign exchange specialists, like fx-foreignexchange.com are now the more likely route for a second property buyer, or expat, to use for larger currency transfers from the UK to Canada. They already have an account with HSBC in Canada and the UK.

The advantages of using FX-Foreignexchange to exchange your £’s to Canadian Dollars are:

•  The service is safe and swift.
• They generally offer a better rate of exchange (Saving thousands on larger transactions).
• They don’t charge a commission.
• They don’t charge a fee to transfer the money.
• You can also set a rate of exchange that you are prepared to deal at, and FX-Foreignexchange will contact you when the currencies meet that figure so you can buy at the best rate of exchange.

The disadvantage, when compared to a high street bank, is difficult to see as there doesn’t appear to be one!

If you are looking to exchange GB Pounds into Canadian Dollars, call FX-Foreignexchange on +44 (0)1480 458400 for a quote, or simply ask for an explanation on how to save money when transferring abroad.

Or go to the fx-foreignexchange site

Foreign Exchange Transaction in Thailand

Looking to buy, or sell, a condominium in Thailand using Thai Baht?

A “Foreign Exchange Transaction” will need to be recorded legally. See our previous article about the Foreign Exchange Transaction.

Here are some of the reasons for this and most of the processes involved. We strongly recommend that you seek out good, professional, advice before buying abroad.

• The Bank of Thailand controls the flow of foreign currency. Every Thai Baht must have a source and a reason, and the Land Department must perform due diligence, in accordance with this regulation. Every foreign buyer must transfer money from abroad.
• Non-residents of Thailand, who sell a condominium and transfer the money out of country don’t have to pay the remittance tax. Normally, the tax is around 30%.
• When transferring money out of the country, the tax-free amount is determined by the initial amount transferred in.

Transfer of the title deed:

Documents needed for an Individual property buyer in Thailand.

• Passport (copy if applicable, marriage/divorce certificate including a letter of consent from your spouse if marriage in Thai Language.
• Foreign Exchange Transaction certificate.
• Power of attorney. If anyone but yourself is representing you, in Thai script with a notarization by Notary public or overseas by the Thai Consul.

Documents needed for a Company buying property in Thailand.

• Corporate documents:
• Certified copy of the certificate of incorporation
• Certified copy of the memorandum of association
• Notarised certificate
• List of shareholders (in English, but must be accompanied by Thai translation)
• Minutes of directors’ meetings which have a resolution to sell/buy the property (specifying name and number and agenda dealing with the finance of the purchase if the company’s registered capital is less than the purchase price)
• Letter of advice regarding specific signature.
• Power of attorney, if the authorised directors do not make the transaction by themselves (Land Department)
• Free debt letter
• Foreign co-owner letter
• The certified copy of the I.D card of the authorized directors
• The certified copy of the house registration of the authorized directors
• Title deed of the condominium unit / property.

When transferring money into, or out of, Thailand, speak to the foreign currency experts at www.fx-foreignexchange.com Thai Baht is our speciality.

Buy or sell Thai Baht here.

Information on the Euro

The euro has been the single currency of the European Union since the 1st of January,1999. It was adopted by 11 European States and other Countries have followed since.The currency exchange rates were fixed for the Euro, along with the last day for the individual currencies of each of the Member States and they were:

Euro Banknotes and Coins Calendar:
· Mid December, 2001: introduction of notes and coins.
· January 1, 2002: new currency becomes legal tender. Old currency can no longer be used for non-cash transactions, such as bank transfers and checks. The individual currencies will remain as legal tender until the dates listed below:

June 30, 2002 was the last day for changing old currency to Euro at any bank for the original twelve member states. Thereafter: old currency can be exchanged at national central banks and some specially designated banks.
Euro Denominations:
Notes: 500, 200, 100, 50, 20, 10, 5
Coins: 2, 1, 50, 20, 10, 5, 2, 1

To buy, or sell, Euros at the best rates, without commission or transfer charges, contact us here:

Quote me the best currency exchange rate

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Property For Sale by Owner

More For sale by owner information and articles on individual properties and latest deals.

To view specific articles posted on this site under For Sale By Owner:

• Property for sale by owner direct:
  • Motivated seller of a villa in Portugal reduces price…
  • Luxury villa for sale in Crete with fantastic views…
  • Villas in Menorca for sale….. ,
  • Swiss property for sale by owner direct…. ,
  • Property for sale on Diani Beach in Kenya… ,
  • Beachfront apartment for sale, offplan, Jewel of the Sea, Calabria
• How to sell your own property:
  • The Credit crunch and how to still sell your property… ,
  • Finding Motivated Property sellers… ,
  • Advertise my property on a For Sale By Owner site… ,
  • Should you use online estate agents… ,

The power of advertising your home on the internet should not be under valued. It is estimated that around 85% of the UK’s estate agents list their properties for sale with ‘Rightmove’.

The fact that nearly all property for sale in the UK is advertised on one property web site says little for the confidence of your local High street agents in their own ability to market properties successfully without the internet.Very often, estate agency web sites look pretty, but function poorly in two ways. They rarely perform well when searched on the major search engines. And, they rarely take the visitor smoothly to what they are looking for. This is not surprising when you consider that most UK estate agents rely on property portals so much.

Consider this… If your house is advertised by your local estate agent, it is occasionally displayed in the local paper, advertised in the agent’s window display, on the agent’s web site and on a major portal such as Rightmove or Primelocation. What distinguishes your property from all of your local competitors? Very little!

For this, you are likely to pay the estate agent in the region of the national average of £4,000.

If you could receive the same marketing (with the exception of a small display in the agent’s window), but had your property advertised on many of the popular property web sites, for a fraction of the cost of the agent’s fee, would you? There are many ‘For sale by Owner’ sites available, but you need to choose one that works for your property market. ‘FSBO’ as it’s called in the US, has been around for many years and is very successful there.

Gatehouse Estates will soon launch a World Wide ‘For sale by Owner‘ (FSBO) site where you can advertise a property for just €149 ( about £115) and pay NO more if you sell it. No sales commission, no additional fees, just a one-off advert fee.

When you list in cyberspace, you offer buyers:

• The ability to quickly learn all the important facts about your property from its size, to the number of bedrooms and bathrooms to even any fruit trees you might have growing in back.
• The opportunity to see your home, through the many pictures you can post on a web site.The option of looking into the local school ratings, neighbourhood crime statistics and demographics, the proximity of your property to shopping, transportation, road networks and much more.
• The best part is that potential buyers can do all of this from the comfort of their own home. They don’t have to undergo the stress of touring house to house in the traditional manner of looking for homes. They simply use their computer and mouse to find out what’s out there. Then they can pick and choose which homes they want to see by calling you direct.

This means that when you get a call from an Internet buyer, chances are that buyer is already educated about your house. In fact, most of the informational part of selling has been done for you. Now the buyer wants to see your home to confirm that it’s a place he or she wants to purchase.

If you’re thinking about putting your home up for sale “by owner,” don’t forget to use your strongest suit, the Internet. We will shortly be lauching our worldwide ‘for sale by owner’ web site, buymyvilla.com.

Read other articles on property for sale by owner, or online property marketing.

Buy Thai Baht for Property purchase

Buying Property in Thai Baht.

Buying Thai Baht at the best currency exchange rate is a relatively simple exercise. Call your broker!

However, buying Thai Baht at the best exchange rate in order to buy property in Thailand, as a foreigner. That’s not such a simple task. Choose a broker who understands the Thai property system as there is a specific Act, the 1991 Condominium Act, which applies to non-residents who aim to buy a condominium in Thailand.

If a non-resident person wishes to transfer money into Thailand to buy a property there, they must obtain a Foreign exchange Transaction Certificate for each payment. This certificate comes from the beneficiary bank and every certificate will need to be shown to the Land Department in order to register the title of the condominium. As an aside, the currency exchange transfer instruction needs to state that it is for the purpose of buying condominium.

There’s a catch though. If you transfer money into Thailand for this purpose, you need to ensure that each currency exchange is for US$20,000 as a minimum, otherwise you would need to obtain a credit note from the bank instead.
Transferring money to Thailand:
1. The money must be T/T (Telex-Transferred), with a document identifying the name of the purchaser in the form of either the sender’s or receiver’s name. For example:

Mr. Jones wants to buy a condominium in Thailand. He has his own account at an overseas bank to buy the condominium, he has to instruct the overseas bank to issue the document in his name as the sender of that amount to his (savings) account in Thailand, or any law firm (with the permission from the particular firm) after which the appointed company will buy that condominium for him,

(or)

It is possible for the buyer to ask a third party to transfer the money for him to buy the property by identifying himself as the receiver. This could be done by using a currency exchange Company such as fx-foreignexchange, who would offer the best rates at that moment for buying Thai Baht and would then organise the money transfer to Thailand.

2. The purchaser has to include the transfer instruction indicating that the purpose of this money is to buy a condominium unit.

The bank that receives money in foreign currency will issue the document (Foreign Exchange Transaction) which contains the following information:
- The transferred amount in foreign currency
- The transferred amount in Thai Baht
- The name of money sender

In order to get the best currency exchange rate in Thai Baht, whether selling Australian Dollars, US Dollars, GB Pounds, AE Dirhams or Euros, contact the experts, Fx-Foreignexchange.com and they will quote the best rate for the Baht today.
+44 (0)1480 458 400