Clé France

With the EU Referendum approaching we thought we would collect a few news stories and insights on the potential outcome and effects on you buying a property in an EU member country, specifically France. We will publish regular updates here in our "News in General" Blog pages on the Cle France website to keep you up to speed.

Here is our first recently published by one of our main advertising partners over at "A Place in the Sun".

90% of UK overseas property owners admit they are unsure how a Brexit will affect their overseas property

4 in 10 (42%) admit to having concerns about their overseas property purchase

7 in 10 said that leaving the EU would not prevent or postpone them from buying an overseas property

90% of British overseas property owners admit they are not aware of how Britain leaving the EU will affect their current property purchase, according to new research undertaken on the announcement of the referendum date.

However, only 4 in 10 (42%) of those surveyed said they were concerned about how a potential Brexit will affect their overseas property purchase. Currently, 2.2 million Brits live within the EU, outside of the UK, with a further 1 million owning a holiday home. Property investment overseas has seen a resurgence in the last two years, helped by a stronger pound and better value property.

A Place in the Sun Survey Results

A recent survey by A Place in the Sun found that 1 in 10 Brits aged 45 and over are already considering using their available pension pots to buy a property outside of the UK. However, the impending referendum has not seemed to deter property purchasers, with more than 70% of Brits saying that Britain leaving the EU would not prevent or even postpone any future purchases.

Recent research revealed that three quarters of Brits would choose to buy a property abroad for a better way of life, 70% citing warmer climates. 26% admitted that they felt that they would be in a better financial position by owning a property abroad, with 27% admitting that they would be enticed by thoughts of a nicer property.

Overseas property hunters are not being deterred by the potential Brexit, secured in the knowledge that based on whether or not Britain remains in the EU, the immediate effect on overseas property owners is likely to be minimal.

Managing Directors Comments

Andy Bridge, Managing Director of A Place in the Sun commented:

“I think the reason the majority of people surveyed state they are unaware of the impact leaving the EU would have on overseas home ownership is because they don’t identify the question as an issue. While there could be different tax treatment of non-EU nationals owning property, it would be detail at this level rather than any sort of restriction. A degree of concern is understandable and of course all buyers should take advice prior to purchase.”

Cle France Thoughts

At the moment nothing has changed of course and if the people of the UK vote to stay in then very little will change for at least a generation or two, even if Britain did leave Europe it wouldn’t stop Brits buying and living on mainland Europe. Sharon and David at Cle France lived and worked in France during the 1980's and 1990's when you had to 'jump through many hoops' before it was the 'free movement' we enjoy at the moment, they also lived in France from 1999 up to 2012 full time and at the start of that period you could not just 'arrive' you had to prove income and that you could 'support yourself financially' so going back to that type of scenario won't happen overnight, all it will really mean is a bit more paperwork!

Brits have always bought property as holiday homes and lived full time in France, Spain and other European countries before the formation of the EU and even if there is a Brexit for the UK this will still be the case.

One thing is clear and that is during these times, similar to the Scottish Yes / No campaign there is an air of uncertainty and this will no doubt be fuelled by any further comments from the Brexit brigade, this effect could seriously cause the cost of your property purchase to increase significantly, so for this reason many clients have purchased their euros in advance.

This method is called a 'Forward contract' and by doing this with FC Exchange it means you can fix your exchange rate for up to two years in advance, so you’ll know exactly how much you’ll get when you make your international money transfer. This makes budgeting a great deal easier and a lot of stress is removed.

Do you want more information ?

So if you need to buy or sell sterling and would like to be kept up to date with all the latest data releases and exchange rate movements then feel free to contact myself Ben Amrany. If you are buying or selling a house in France we will make sure your monies are in the right place at the right time, we work hand in hand with you and Cle France.

For more information on the currency service I can provide please feel free to contact myself...

Ben Amrany from FC Exchange follow this link or phone and ask for myself and quote "Cle France" on 020 7989 0000.

You may contact me directly using this form (click here) with your requirement and I will explain the options that are available to you in getting the best exchange rate.  

Blog submitted by: Alex for The French Property Network - Cle France.

For everything you need to know about French property visit www.clefrance.co.uk