A currency exchange specialist can help you with the many costs of buying a property in Australia

If you’re looking to emigrate to Australia and buy a property there, you might think that you have enough on your plate organising that and send the payments via your high street bank. However, working with a currency exchange specialist could save you money and simplify the process because there are a lot of discrete costs. High street banks can charge between £20 and £40 per transfer on average, and when you take a look at all the payments you need to make, those costs can really add up.

Even if you have the money to invest in the property without taking out a mortgage, you’ll need to make payments for both the deposit to secure the property and the final payment. You might think that the ease of working with your bank is worth the cost of those two transfer fees, but you’ll find that there are many more payments required. You’ll need government approval as a foreign investor in the form of permission from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) and that application will cost you a fee, depending on the cost of the property. Then you’ll have two forms of stamp duty – the standard cost and potentially an additional Foreign Citizen stamp duty. There are also all the costs that are entailed in purchasing a property including legal, valuation and conveyancing fees, pest and building inspections, title registration, removal costs, council and water rates, telephone and broadband set up. Think again about those fees from a high street bank, you could now be looking at a cost of hundreds of pounds to fulfil all these requirements.

Low fees aren’t the only advantage of a specialist currency broker. You’ll also have access to great rates, and a range of products which help you manage your funds across borders. For example, if you’re worried about fluctuations in the currency exchange market impacting your budget, you could set a rate at the beginning of the process and use this for all your payments by entering into a forward contract. Please note a forward contract may require a deposit.

A specialist may also offer regular payment plans to transfer funds automatically to an overseas bank account. This may be to fulfil scheduled costs or to provide regular income to your Australian account such as a pension payment or income from renting out a property. Funds can be collected using a direct debit, converted to Australian dollars and delivered to your local account. Again, if you’re worried about the impact of currency fluctuations, there are options to specify the amount of funds outgoing in sterling, or incoming in Australian dollars, or both if you choose to use a forward contract and lock in an agreed rate.

Before you go to your high street bank to organise payments for your property in Australia, it’s worth finding out about the alternative ways to move your money across borders. To make the most of your funds and stay in control of the process, it’s best to plan ahead and work with a specialist who can put the right tools at your disposal.

Moving to Australia or already moved – get started

moneycorp have helped thousands of people with their money transfers to and from Australia. It’s free to register for a moneycorp account and you can do this online by clicking here.

It only takes a few minutes to register – you can then start saving money on your overseas currency transfers. Once registered, you will be assigned an Account Manager who will be your main point of contact and they can provide quotes and information on the Australian dollar as and when you need it.

You can also read more information here on the Poms in Oz currency page – www.moneycorp.com/uk/campaigns/partners/pio/

Please mention Poms in Oz when contacting moneycorp so you can benefit from paying no transfer fees when transferring your money overseas. 

Moneycorp is a reference to TTT Moneycorp Pty Limited which is registered in Australia (business number 116612858). Its principal place of business is Level 15 Exchange Tower, 2 The Esplanade, Perth WA 6000, Australia. TTT Moneycorp Pty Limited is authorised to deal in foreign exchange contracts and buy/sell quotes to retail and wholesale clients as an Authorised Representative (reference number 445555) of Rochford Capital Pty Limited (AFSL License No. 361276).