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kimg
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I am completing on 5th November so the Notaire needs to be in funds by the end of October.  I have the funds in UK and proceeding via a Currency broker.  I am obviously being affected by the poor exchange rate, and I am being advised to commit myself at todays exchange rate as the view is it may not improve in the next month.

I know its a risk  and my gut feeling is to leave it as long as I can, for an improvement.

Any views are appreciated.

KIM

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[quote user="kimg"]
I know its a risk  and my gut feeling is to leave it as long as I can, for an improvement.
[/quote]

I tend to follow my gut feeling, so can sympathise with your inclination to delay as long as possible. So today on the site I watch the £ went from 1.422 euro to 1.435 which is not an earth-shattering improvement but it is an improvement nevertheless and it cheered me up.

I could be wrong - very, very wrong - but I am going to wait a little and see what happens. Mind you I am not buying a house, just transferring our quarterly living expenses.

Sue

 

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[quote user="kimg"]I know its a risk  and my gut feeling is to leave it as long as I can, for an improvement.

[/quote]

I'd agree - it's what I'd do. You could gain more than you lose.  Hard though. 

My view - settle on a number (either plus or minus current rate) that you can live with and instruct your broker to buy at that rate if it hits that sometime in the next 2-3 wks.

Let us know how it works out.

 

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I really sympathise with you.  We had a terrible exchange rate when we purchased (but still better than it is now) but since then we have been lucky.   Well .. partly lucky and partly obsessive about the whole thing.    Managed to change last lot of money just before the rate dropped and got a good rate.

Like spg, I am no kind of financial expert at all.    I agree with Gardian, at least that way you minimise your risk.     Alternatively leave it a few more days and check the money markets like a hawk.    Last time I wanted to change money I was assured by moneybroker that rate was likely to be stable (at reasonable but not terribly good level) and I went with my gut instinct and left it a few days, hawking over the computer every couple of hours.   Within a few days I managed to get a much better rate.

When you do move over, think of forward buying if the rate increases again to a very good level, as it has been on and off for some months now.

Good luck.

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Remember also to shop around, I know it sounds obvious, but it's surprising how many people chose a broker, and then don't check other rates when they want to trade.

If you are exchanging a lot of money, phone a few different brokers, and ask for their exchange rate.  Make it quite clear that you're shopping for the best rate.  Many will give you a better rate than they first quoted if they think they might otherwise lose your custom.

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Many years ago - probably in the 1980s - when we were anxious to transfer some money for a property purchase, my husband kept calling some special telephone number to get the latest rate (this was pre-Internet of course).  Eventually he rang his bank in Worcestershire and said: "Now is time; please execute the transfer now."
And the bank said: "Right.  We will put a first-class stamp on the letter to our Birmingham office..."   [:-))]

Angela

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Not a lot of use for transferring a large sum for a purchase I know but I keep the bulk of my money in a couple of UK bank A/C's and use a Nationwide Debit card to withdraw € from my local ATM in France as and when I need, and when the rate is reasonable.

Similarly to spg normally I'm only drawing monthly living expenses but I managed to move a few thousand when the rate was good late last year so I have enough in my French A/C to be able to afford to hang on until the rate is acceptable before making any further significant transfers.

If you plan to keep money in the UK and haven't already done so then it's worthwhile getting yourself a Nationwide A/C before you move. No charges or fees and withdrawls are at the bank rate [:D]

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I offer no advice but just a recount of my experience.  When we bought our first French house, 12 years ago, the franc rate was about 7.5 to the £ and had been for some while but with clever negotiation and eagle eyes on the exchange rate I managed to get - gasp - 8 to the pound by waiting until the last possible moment.  Oh what joy, what a saving we had made.  We congratulated ourselves, for about ten minutes, as a week later you could get 9 to the £ .  Sick as a parrot and all that, why hadn't we waited?  Etc., etc.  So what that taught me was that even if you get a fabulous rate, you will find there's a better rate later on.  So my advice there is:  once you have purchased at a rate that suits you, close the financial pages and don't look at them again for months or you will be pig-sick.

Having said that, on our last house purchase a month ago, I did a forward deal with Moneycorp and got 1.4750 as the exchange rate, having agreed that in July.  During August the rate was going up to 1.4850 and higher and I was getting despondent (again, when you have agreed the rate, don't look at the exchange rates again, just content yourself with the deal you have done).  But, when the deal came to fruition at 1.4750 the 'real' rate was 1.46 so I had made a fairly good gamble.

It's like selling houses, isn't it.  I keep hearing people say "oh I sold my house for xxxx hundred thousand and now it's worth more, why didn't I wait".  Well if you waited then you would be in a state of stagnation, you just have to make a choice based on the best information you have now and then live with it.  And if it doesn't turn out to be such a good thing - well you made the best informed choice that you could at the time. 

Oh for a crystal ball or, failing that, a lottery win.  But in the absence of either, I think you should made a comfortable deal with your broker at a rate you can live with and then don't look at the exchange rate again ...

Good luck, anyway.

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