buying property with UK pounds

[pagnol81]

I have searched unsuccessfully, buy can anyone find  a thread where both seller and buyer were British and bought/sold a property in France with English pounds?

If not, can anyone explain how this works?

[pagnol81]

I have searched again and found the thread "selling to an English couple" back in 2007.

[Will]

This should help (and the earlier topic linked from there)

http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/2055599/ShowPost.aspx

[pagnol81]

Thanks Will

[tibbs]

I have done this, back in 2003, when I sold a house to friends of mine, and did this to save exchange costs. Some Notaires will do this but some will not due to the fact they might think you are paying some under the table so to speak, to save fees.

Anyway, we both signed CdeV and the Act de V was done by proxy. The money in Sterling was paid to me by cheque, but in the paperwork this figure was translated into the euro amount, and fees paid on this.

It was not a huge amount though and I would make sure I had the money banked before the AdeV was completed.

[nomoss]

I would recommend you check it out with your Notaire, as rules are changing all the time.

We just sold a property in Spain, the buyers were French. They wanted to pay us with a cashiers cheque drawn on their French bank, which was quite acceptable for ourselves.

BUT, under new money laundering regulations, they had to first transfer money to a Spanish bank, then get a cashiers cheque from there, together with a certificate for the Notary stating the origin of the money and that the cheque was issued for the purchase of property.

When I paid the cheque into my Spanish bank I stated where the money originated, as is usually required, but the cashier replied that she already knew, as it was on the computer.

Just possible that French property sales now have similar rules.

[Les]

Nomoss is correct rules have changed. I am trying to do a deal at the moment to receive payment in £'s Sterling, the notaire says  although she is willing to do it, the rules have changed recently and there are lots of hoops to go through. The buyers have to prove where the money came from and if they can't or it looks suspicious she now has to report it to the fisc.

I am also having trouble finding a UK solicitor willing to be the intermediary, apparently they are getting some stick because they acting like a bank. The only one I have found at this  time,  who is willing to accept the payment from the buyers and then transfer it to my bank account, will only do it, if I will also allow them to do the conveyancing on my new property. It appears that this is a way around  the problem, they can then be seen to be giving advice, and acting for their client.

[nomoss]

UK solicitors are having problems with the burden of their obligations to comply with the money laundering regulations, the costs this incurs, the penalties if they get it wrong, and investigations into what they considered routine transactions they made, where they simply accepted money from a high street bank account.

Apparently many feel that the demands being made on them are unreasonable, so I am not surprised they are loth to become involved in a transaction outside the UK.

It seems that despite whatever one thinks about banks, no-one has any choice but to use them, and pay their exchange and transfer charges.

 

[Stan Streason]

I did it in Feb 2009.  It was relatively straight forward.

Its always easy to think of things that make it difficult.   The rules may have changed but if you are legit its not much of a hoop to go through to prove where the cash comes from.  I had to show my latest tax assessment to prove my cash was legit (cant remember who I had to show it to).

For the amount to be saved from not changing a large amount of currency in and out again with the rate risk involved its well worth a little bit of hassle.

As my kids got tired of me saying when they were growing up "I'm not interested in reasons why you cant do something - go and find out ways you can"