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| France Buying Guide Newsletter |
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“When it’s a question of money, everybody is of the same religion” – Voltaire. Hello there A warm welcome, as we fast approach the true winter months, to my November newsletter. The nights may have drawn in now but that has not stopped us from planning our various journeys to France, whether the journey is a short trip, a stay for a while, or a permanent move. When the idea of buying a property in France takes you over, it is exciting, motivating and sometimes a little scary: there are just so many things to think about and sometimes it is hard to know where to start, I do know! Voltaire may have lived in the 18th century but his words remain true today and when you start leafing through pictures of old picturesque shuttered French houses, it will not be long before your thoughts turn to money - your hard earned money – and how you will use it, how you will make it work FOR you and how best to safeguard it. So with that in mind we are going to look at French banks this month, talk about the French system and how it works, what to beware of, what to look out for and how to go about getting the best out of them. Everyone needs to know how to safeguard their pennies and we can help you with this: in addition to some hopefully invaluable information about French banks, the one and only Charles Purdy, from Smart Currency Exchange, offers you his expert and up to date opinion on the currency markets. Then still on the money trail I will be talking about CreditExpert, which alerts you to what is happening to your bank accounts as it happens. I also have a little tale to tell you about one of my readers who had several days of worry and stress when, the day before she was due to sign the final “Acte de Vente” the notaire appeared not to be able to find the money she had transferred to his account some two weeks earlier. We shall call her Lotta. Her story comes later on and I tell it so that you can learn from what went wrong – and happily was later put right – for her. More later…. As always, please email or call me if you would like my individual assistance with your plans: I am here to help! Alternatively, you might like to fill out our short property form with specific points you need me to help you with: http://www.francebuyingguide.com/property.htm Mailto:Alexis@overseasguidescompany.com Take care out there as the days get shorter and the weather closes in. Warm smiles and hugs to cheer you up from Alexis (& Kim). |
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Opening a bank account in FranceIt is of course preferable to have a French bank account whether you are moving to France permanently or simply buying a holiday home or investment property. It makes sense from all points of view, from paying your French mortgage, should you have one, to paying bills such as electricity and gas. These are normally sent out every 3 months on an estimated basis and can be paid simply by initially giving the providers your French bank sort code and account number, then signing the TIP (authorisation slip) attached to the bill at the bottom to allow the money to be taken directly from your account. You can also set up a direct debit, a “prelevement”. By having a French bank account with regular deposits you can limit your exposure to changes in the exchange rates every time you receive a bill (more on exchange rates from Charles later….!) It is easy to open a bank account in France: you must have 2 forms of identity and proof of your address in France. Some banks also require a recent credit card statement if you are non-resident in France. Here is what you will receive:
You should not expect to receive any interest on funds in your cheque account but if you do find yourself in the happy position of having larger funds to invest, there are several options open to you for savings accounts:
Banks are generally open between 9 am until 12 pm in France and then close for lunch until 2 or 2.30 pm, then are open until 7 pm on Tuesdays to Fridays and open between 9 am until 12 pm on Saturdays. They are closed, as are most shops, on Mondays. Do remember that debt is not tolerated in France! If you write a cheque that subsequently bounces, this is illegal and you may get blacklisted! There is a 12% fine that goes to the treasury and if the money is not paid within 30 days you are put on a blacklist and are barred from using an account for 5 years – best not to do that!! Also you must agree any overdraft facility (decouvert) as it is an offence in France to go into overdraft without agreement. Whereas cheques are rarely used these days in the UK, you will find the French often pay with cheques, even for small sums such as in restaurants. Having a French cheque book – carnet de cheques or chequier – will be a welcome practicality, especially in rural areas. Banking however has become highly automated in recent years and France is no stranger to online banking. Once your account is open you will be offered advice on how to manage your account online with any of the major French banks. These banks maintain branches across most of France: Credit Agricole For more information on banking, please click on: http://www.FranceBuyingGuide.com/links.htm#banking or send me an email and I will do my best to answer your individual question: |
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How to Minimise Bank Chargesby Smart Currency’s Charles Purdy.As we probably all know, banks are masters at making little - or indeed not so little – charges. What you think is going to be the cost is never quite so. One area where the charges can be “not so little” is for international money transfers. A UK bank sending funds overseas will charge YOU for processing the transfer AND for covering foreign bank charges if you so select. This is probably the best option as otherwise you will leave yourself at the mercy of the overseas receiving bank, which could then make a percentage charge of the funds so transferred. A lot of banks are very “happy” to charge 0.5% to receive your money. On a transfer of €100,000 this equates to €500! When sending funds back to the UK the foreign banks can again be masters at charging a percentage rather than a fixed charge. One person we spoke to recently had been charged €800 for the privilege of transferring funds back to the UK. How do you avoid these charges? Firstly, you have to be aware there ARE ways to minimise these costs. Secondly, you have to be aware that most banks will not be very helpful when you try to do this. Take, for example, the British banks, which seem to refuse to adopt European legislation that states that transfers under €50,000 should be undertaken for the minimum cost. Thirdly, be aware of these types of exemptions when transferring from overseas. For example, if you are bringing back €90,000 from Spain, do it in two transfers of €45,000. Seems illogical doesn’t it, but once you explain to them that you know that transfers of such amounts should incur minimal costs then they may well offer you acceptable charges for the full transfer. And finally, you need to use a currency company that understands the system. They will have a relationship with their bank that they can leverage on your behalf to eliminate these costs by absorbing them into the exchange rates they agree with you. These rates will, needless to say, be far better rates than the banks will offer you. To discuss how you
can minimise your costs when transfering money to France, please call
a member of the Smart team on 0808 163 0102 (freephone). Or for more
information on how you can save money through being Smart about your
currency exchange, please download the report provided at no cost from
Smart Currency Exchange at: http://www.SmartCurrencyExchange.com/freereport.htm
Euro Currency Update (by Charles Purdy)Sterling had a mixed week, losing ground against the Euro but gaining against other currencies such as the US$ and the high interest rate currencies such as the Australian $. The Bank of England kept UK interest rates on hold, which was expected, and we now wait for the minutes of the meeting to see what the emphasis of the meeting was and how close the vote was for keeping or reducing UK interest rates. UK data, including house prices and trade figures, were on the weak side and, as such, were a driver in the fall of sterling against the Euro. A lot of UK economic information out this coming week will make interesting reading with regards to inflation as this will be a significant driver for UK interest rates. The € is still top dog and sits against sterling at €1.418/£1 inter bank. The European Central bank kept € interest rates on hold. The market expects this to be the case for a while as the ECB battles inflation, which is over target, and a strong € exchange rate which dampens exports. However, the strong € has increased the downside risks to growth significantly and, as such, there will be a moment in time when the other currencies become stronger but don’t expect this any time soon. It is still a good time to bring €’s back. To get a Better-than-Bank
go to: http://www.smartCurrencyExchange.com/smartsquotation.htm
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A constructive tale from a France property buyerI mentioned Lotta earlier on. Lotta and her husband, now happily ensconced in their beautiful French home in the Dordogne, sent their money across to the notaire’s account through Smart Currency Exchange three weeks ahead of their due completion date. They were thrilled with Smart and you will see her kind words at the end of this newsletter. However, on the day before they were due to complete, the notaire said he had yet to receive the funds. Smart immediately put a trace on the money and were able to prove date of expedition, receiver’s bank details and account references. The money had gone to France – but WHERE WAS IT? Lotta called me in something of a panic and both the Smart team and I set about getting to the bottom of this. I found the phone number of the central bank in Paris where we were 100% sure the funds were lodged – we suspected under a slightly different name and therefore not correctly assigned. The agent dealing with the property sale, although English, was fairly new and was not “au fait” with French banking practice. What can I tell you: it turned out that the French bank had put Lotta’s surname on the document and not that of her partner, who had a different name, and the funds had somehow been assigned to another notaire in the same company (due to them providing the wrong details)! A little delving and we found the funds, the notaire was happy and Lotta even happier. Moral of this story? I think there are 3 things to be learnt from this:
Finally here is what Lotta sent to me regarding Smart – as I said this story had a very happy ending!
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Keep that hard earned money...with the help of CreditExpertby Carol Dunning, The Overseas Guides Company A little while back, my daughter had a suitcase stolen. It contained all her family’s passports, driver’s licences, bank account and credit account details…a nightmare scenario. The thieves then
embarked on a spending spree second to none. They opened up bank accounts
in my daughter's name, wrote out cheques that they couldn’t meet
…and it was sometimes much later Well…thank heavens she has found help – and I want to share that help with you. It struck me that any late payment, fraud or clerical error could easily damage your credit status and lead to lenders refusing you credit – for instance when you apply for that all important mortgage for your new property. This could prove both embarrassing and costly. So - she has joined up to CreditExpert . This alerts her to what is happening to all her accounts as it happens… I went into the
Internet to have a look at their website: from what I read, CreditExpert
is the UK's leading online consumer credit monitoring and identity fraud
prevention service. If you're thinking
It sounds great: I went in and followed the process – it is as simple as can be. My daughter highly recommends this very useful service – have a look at: WHEN you get to the CreditExpert WEBSITE, Just click on:
It's just above ‘Join 20 million consumers.' So there you have it – give it a try.
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Writing to you as I am on the first day of November, I am reminded that today is All Saints’ Day in France and a Public Holiday – one of many I may add! “Toussaint” as it is called in France traditionally has it that people visit family cemeteries and lay bunches of chrysanthemums on the graves of loved ones. Further on in November we can look forward to the traditional yearly welcome of “Beaujolais Nouveau” wine which makes its grand entrance on the third Sunday of the month. I think of how many pairs of hands were needed for this wine harvest, having taken part in my neighbours’ tiny harvest in October – more on this next time! That’s all for you for this month! Please let me know if I can be of assistance to you at all. If you are interested in getting in contact with any of the wonderful people that I have sourced for you around France to make your search easier, just click on: http://www.francebuyingguide.com/resources.htm fill in the form and I will respond with the name of someone who will contact you. We at the Overseas Guides Company take pride in the fact that the people we refer you to will look after you and help you make these all important choices. If you want to buy a property just email me on: Mailto:Alexis@overseasguidescompany.com or phone me on: 020 7898 0549 and let’s have a chat about it! Take care and all best wishes until next time, Alexis (and Kim) |
