Buying an overseas property is being made more expensive by ill prepared buyers not accounting for hidden costs associated with buying a property abroad. Figures revealed in a survey conducted by currency specialists Moneycorp show that 24 per cent of buyers spent more than they had planned on hidden costs.
The UK buyer has a huge appetite for overseas property and the trend is set to continue. UK Estate Agents Knight Frank who specialise in the sale, purchase and rental of high quality residential and commercial property reported an “explosion” of interest in overseas property investment. Knight Frank claims that more people are now looking overseas to find investment opportunities, with estimates showing that anywhere between 250,000 to one million people have some form of property investment abroad
Moneycorp report was based on a poll of 850 UK overseas property buyers and indicated that buyers spent GBP 2 billion over a budgets in hidden extras including, bank charges, legal fees, taxes, and poorly-handled foreign exchange deals.
Moneycorp’s Nick Bull “Our research has found that Brits who don’t shop around for the best exchange rates are being hit hard in the pocket by concealed foreign currency costs. Specialist services such as Moneycorp make it easier – and of course cheaper – to buy abroad, thanks to the ability to provide better exchange rates than the high street banks.”
The average overspend is broken down as follows:
Foreign exchange costs GBP 3,039
Building work GBP 3,777
Taxes GBP 2,664
Legal costs GBP 2,207
Bank charges GBP 120
Estate agent fees GBP 2,049
Travel GBP 2,199
Fittings & furnishings GBP 3,106
Total GBP 19,161
Homesgofast.com overseas property portal CEO Nicholas Marr ‘ When buying property abroad , making regular payments overseas or other overseas money transactions it is important to receive specialist currency advice. FX dealers who specialise in giving both individuals and corporate clients currency exchange advice can literally save you thousands when buying property abroad
More Here