| The Comments |
Hi, I am trying to purchase a property here and need to transfer about 170,000 pounds to pay for it. Can anyone give me some advice on a reliable and reasonable way to do it? Am I safer doing it via the bank? I have a Caixa account.
0
Like
|
_______________________
There is enough in the world for everyone, but not enough for the greedy!
1
Like
|
I purchased a Villa 2 year's back.. and I transferred the money via my UK Santander account to my Spanish Santander account it cost me £15.00 to arrange the transfer ..you must first transfer your sterling into euro's in the UK .. then transfer the whole amount to your Spanish bank account in euro's otherwise the Spanish bank will charge you for receiving sterling...this is the second time I have transferred a significant amount over to Spain to make a property purchase ..the first time I did it was 15 years ago ..I did this through a money transfer company ...but I would not recommend this now due to a few of them going bust and people losing large amounts of money .. these money transfer companys are generally not regulated..I do use a company called Transfer wise to send over small amount on a monthly basis to pay the bills and so forth ..I would need to think about sending large amounts through Transfer wise.
1
Like
|
Presume you have asked your bank, if you are a UK person that is, if they deal with your Spanish bank, otherwise how else would you get the money to Spain? Cash in your pocket so to speak.
1
Like
|
Had a few property transactions over the years and wish I had taken advice at the outset. Like most folk I used my bank which was both expensive and slower, but learnt my lesson and realised the better route is through the specialist transfer banks.
Used HIFX (now Xe) and World First in the past and Transferwise more recently - they are all provide excellent service and have a far sharper pencil than any UK/Spanish high street bank, Trustpilot reviews say it all. With larger amounts for security I reckon it's good to send the money in tranches whoever you use, when possible.
_______________________
Don't argue with an idiot, he will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
1
Like
|
Hello acer
I did not know specialist transfer companies were banks and therefore offer full security.
_______________________
There is enough in the world for everyone, but not enough for the greedy!
1
Like
|
If buyer and seller are both form the UK, consider handing over a certified cheque at the notary. You could avoid two lots of transfer and exchange fees.
We did just this with a BS cheque when we sold our bungalow in Mazaron.
Unfortunately the pound weakened before we decided that we did want another property in Spain afterall!
1
Like
|
Sent mine via Transferwise to a client account with my lawyer. Sending in a few chunks as mentioned below, isn't a bad idea. I sent my cash over on a Thursday evening and it did take until Tuesday for it to reach my lawyer's account so it was a worrying few days. You also have a window to cancel the transaction prior to sending cash to Transferwise in case the rate improves. Could be an easy £50 if the wind is in your favour!
1
Like
|
That's a good call dcp21.
There's a typo in yours tteedd, I think you meant "from the UK" which seems a great idea when appropriate.
Yes I'm aware of the legal difference in status Kananagh - of course banks etc have the £80,000/€100,000 limitation under the FSCS scheme (etc) too.
Not sure there's a perfect solution, everyone must make their own choice, but personally I feel comfortable using one of the massive mainstream specialists mentioned and then sending the cash in stages where appropriate. But for sure, if you want a better exchange rate don't use your high street bank. The difference can be several thousand pounds.
_______________________
Don't argue with an idiot, he will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
1
Like
|
Hello AMND
Beware of misinformation.
The term ‘’specialist transfer banks’’ could be misleading. Apparently they do not exist. Specialist transfer companies have no compensation scheme if they go bankrupt.
_______________________
There is enough in the world for everyone, but not enough for the greedy!
2
Like
|
Kavanagh, you seem to nitpick a lot - do you have any positive comments to make?
_______________________
Don't argue with an idiot, he will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
3
Like
|
I don't know if people have been to their banks when the transfer of money is needed and have had a good chat with them because the last house I sold in Spain the sale proceeds went into my Spanish bank account, I had a talk with the lady bank person that dealt with transfers and basically she told me that the rate on this day wasn't as good as it was, lets say yesterday, we both agreed that I would come in about 11am every day or so to see what the rate was, I took a punt after about a week on the days rate, transferred the amount over and ended up with 800€'s more on the amount, and their charge was minimal.
I also closed down one account at a different bank, no questions asked, transferred over no problem.
I did once use one of the money exchange people and to be honest from my point of view it wasn't worth the hassle after I worked it all out, have never used them since, I use my UK bank now to transfer money to my Spanish account and they still even now beat others, it gets to Spain within the day also of course many people will differ, and it has to be said, truthfully, I hate banks, just my take on it, maybe I have been lucky.
2
Like
|
The OP has asked for guidance on a precarious subject, it is superior to tell the legitimacy even if off-putting than make ambiguous statements when it’s not your money.
You say a ‘’specialist transfer company’’ is the better route, can you assure the OP £170,000 is 100% safe as a bank to bank transfer which offers a compensation scheme?
_______________________
There is enough in the world for everyone, but not enough for the greedy!
2
Like
|