DON’T PANIC YOU CAN STILL BUY !!!
October 19, 2016
OK don’t panic, you were going to buy a small property in Spain for about ??? euros but now the pound to euro rate is poor. This of course means that your budget won’t go as far. What can you do?
- Don’t buy
- Wait and see what happens
- Buy anyway
- Look for alternatives
- This is the simplest answer though you may be disappointed. Or you may need to buy a smaller property or more basic property than you planned.There are still plenty of cheap options available though they may not be in the location you were thinking about.
- Waiting to see what happens could mean you have to wait until Brexit is completed and the dust has settled. On the other hand the pound may strengthen and we will be back to square one! Even economists have no idea what or when things will happen as with the best will in the world exchange rates don’t do what is expected all the time! Waiting could mean that prices in the Spanish property market will rise while you are waiting so you are still in the same boat! British buyers may have problems, but for those buying in euros anyway, things won’t have changed. The property market will continue with its ups and downs. At the time of writing pricesareup. As new phases are built, many developers are also charging higher prices.
- You may feel you might as well buy anyway. If your budget is small it may make the search for a property you can afford more difficult. This is where a Spanish Property specialist will be able to advise where the best deals can be found. Often they will have access to properties not on the open market. You may, if you can, need to find some extra money in your piggy bank to fill the gap caused by the exchange rate. Take care not to over-stretch yourself as money worries will take away some of the pleasure the property gives.
- Look at different ways of buying ( see also number 1). We recently wrote a blog about clubbing together with friends or family to buy in Spain. This could be one solution. Another possibility is using your money as a deposit and having a mortgage. There is still availability on certain properties to have a 115% mortgage. This means thatall fees incurred with the purchase are accounted for. Mortgage payments may be relatively small. So, though you may finish up with a larger more expensive property you get the use of it straight away by using your budget to cover mortgage payments. Plus you avoid any price rises you may have incurred while waiting to buy! There is of course the possibility of re-mortgaging your own property in the UK. This again is where specialist advice will be needed to get the best deal.
With resales if you see a property you like and the vendor is British, we can make the negotiation quite simple – he/she as vendor is at present going to get more pounds for the euros which buy the property, whilst the cost to the purchaser who has the monies in pounds will see that this effectively cancels out the drop in the exchange rate of pounds/euros. Everyone’s happy!!
ASK US FOR MORE DETAILS OF HOW IT WORKS
You May Also Enjoy
Rental demand remains resilient in 2026
The latest research from Benham and Reeves has found that around a quarter of all rental homes currently listed across Britain have already secured a tenant, highlighting continued underlying demand despite ongoing regulatory uncertainty. Benham and Reeves analysed current rental market listings to highlight current rental demand, the size of rental properties currently most in-demand…
Read More 
Buy-to-let lending growth matches FTBs and homemovers
The latest market analysis from Alexander Hall has revealed that buy-to-let mortgage lending has grown at an average quarterly rate of 7% over the last year, matching the pace of growth seen across both first-time buyer and home movers, as improving mortgage market conditions continue to support borrowing demand for rental properties. Alexander Hall analysed…
Read More 
Prices stand still in February but still strongest start to a year for prices since 2020
The average price of newly listed homes for sale is virtually flat in February , down by just £12 (-0.0%) to £368,019 Despite the standstill in prices in February, January’s record asking price increase for the time of year means that it is still the strongest start to a year for asking prices since 2020,…
Read More 
Game-changing online letting platform set to slash landlord costs
New AI-enabled technology service promises to save London landlords thousands A new online letting platform is set to disrupt the capital’s property management sector, offering landlords significant savings per property. Prop247, launching this month, combines cutting-edge technology with on-the-ground agents to deliver what its founders claim is the UK’s first truly end-to-end remote letting service,…
Read More 
Breaking Property News 13/2/26
Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X. 96% of proptechs fail to get to series A funding – here is why Thought Leadership by Andrew Stanton, CEO Proptech-PR The proptech sector has never been short of ideas. From AI-driven valuations and digital conveyancing to smart buildings and tokenised real estate, innovation in property…
Read More 
Landlords unprepared for the Renters’ Rights Act
Three quarters have made no preparations for the end of Section 21, despite major reforms taking effect from May 2026 New research from Inventory Base has revealed widespread lack of preparedness among UK landlords ahead of the first phase of reforms under the Renters’ Rights Act (RRA), due to come into force on 1 May…
Read More