MelanieJS Posted October 18, 2017 Share Posted October 18, 2017 Hi, We have the money from the sale of our house in our UK bank account and will be moving it over to Oz when we buy a house here. However, with everything going on in the UK with Brexit etc. and the dropping £pound, is it better to move our money over now rather than wait in the hope the £pound gets stronger? Any advice? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gbye grey sky Posted October 19, 2017 Share Posted October 19, 2017 We have been waiting over a year to bring money over and invest it here in the vain hope that wise heads may ultimately prevail in the UK and an economic disaster of Britain’s own making may be averted. Wish I could be optimistic but the political news in UK is relentlessly bad. If the worst Brexit happens it is hard to know how much lower the pound could ultimately sink but I hope not too much lower. On the other side of the coin the AUD is particularly strong at the moment but the RBA would dearly love it to be weaker. The USD is struggling due to the chaotic Administration there and this helps strengthen the AUD along with other factors pertaining to China mainly. Much depends how long you can wait it out and what rate you need for your house purchase here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peachy Posted October 19, 2017 Share Posted October 19, 2017 We exchanged on our house on the day of Brexit!!! We actually bit the bullet and brought the money over - we timed it to coincide with a rate jump when there were various court cases underway re Brexit. You can lock in a rate with Moneycorp so that you can benefit from a rate jump in the UK v a decline in the strength of the AUD. Sometimes it jumps momentarily when a government announcement is made or similar. I am glad we did bring the money over. It has prevented the constant watching of rates and enabled us some financial security over here, albeit having lost a chunk of money. We worked out what we would be happy with rate-wise and stuck with that. I found the people at Moneycorp very patient with my enquiries so would have a chat with them about the options. P 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bristolman Posted October 19, 2017 Share Posted October 19, 2017 Just bide your time, let's not forget that not everyone thinks Brexit is a disaster by any means so dont be too concerned about doomsayers. The rate is currently $1.67, when we moved to the UK 5 years ago it was $1.44 and inbetween it was $2.20, nothing to do with Brexit. Basically you can either bite the bullet or wait. Over the last 5 years it has averaged out at around $1.80 so it's current rate isn't too bad, over the last 10 years it's averaged around $1.70 so you are pretty well on average now. Of course it would be lovely if it was $2 but in the last 10 years it only hit that level for a short period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desreb Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 I'm watching this closely too; we're currently selling our UK house with the intent to buy in Oz in 2-3 years, so that we have the flexibility to transfer GBP to AUD at a point when the exchange rates are good, or look like they're going to get worse. It seems hairy either way. We have a friend who's in FX for a Big4 AU Bank, and she seemed to think the GBP would lose another 10% against the AUD last time we asked her around a month ago. However, we see inflation heading up in UK and talk of a rate rise, which boosted GBP just on the sniff of a rise. And then the RBA wants the AUD to be lower, and there's little prospect of rate rises in AU - but the economy looks pretty solid, it seems. On the flipside, UK just reported lowest retail figures for 8 years, which could send them back down again, and if Brexit ends up as a no deal, that could punish the pound further. FX rates put everything you do to save and earn money into sharp perspective, don't they? If you have a £500k house in the UK, then right now you can buy AUD854k, which is somewhere far out west Sydney. If somehow it went to 2:1, you'd have AUD1m, and then you could be looking at a ocean-view house somewhere on the outskirts with a large mortgage. If it went back down to 1.5:1, you're looking at far west, or a two-bed unit closer to the city. Life-changing stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottieGirl Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 Exchange rate sure does make a difference but the days when $1m would buy you a house near the ocean anywhere remotely close to Sydney are long gone. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desreb Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 12 minutes ago, ScottieGirl said: Exchange rate sure does make a difference but the days when $1m would buy you a house near the ocean anywhere remotely close to Sydney are long gone. With a large mortgage, right on the edge, with a glimpse of the ocean, is still just about do-able! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bristolman Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 (edited) 20 minutes ago, desreb said: I'm watching this closely too; we're currently selling our UK house with the intent to buy in Oz in 2-3 years, so that we have the flexibility to transfer GBP to AUD at a point when the exchange rates are good, or look like they're going to get worse. It seems hairy either way. We have a friend who's in FX for a Big4 AU Bank, and she seemed to think the GBP would lose another 10% against the AUD last time we asked her around a month ago. However, we see inflation heading up in UK and talk of a rate rise, which boosted GBP just on the sniff of a rise. And then the RBA wants the AUD to be lower, and there's little prospect of rate rises in AU - but the economy looks pretty solid, it seems. On the flipside, UK just reported lowest retail figures for 8 years, which could send them back down again, and if Brexit ends up as a no deal, that could punish the pound further. FX rates put everything you do to save and earn money into sharp perspective, don't they? If you have a £500k house in the UK, then right now you can buy AUD854k, which is somewhere far out west Sydney. If somehow it went to 2:1, you'd have AUD1m, and then you could be looking at a ocean-view house somewhere on the outskirts with a large mortgage. If it went back down to 1.5:1, you're looking at far west, or a two-bed unit closer to the city. Life-changing stuff. 'The worst slump in Australian retail sales in seven years has damped emerging optimism about a recovery, highlighting how vulnerable the economy is to the toxic mix of record household debt, stagnant wages and surging utility costs.' The problem is you get one bit if news from one side that seems helpful then news that mirrors it on the other side which cancels it out. $1m in Sydney is apparently less that the average house price and you would be lucky to be able to smell the sea on a windy day for that money. It is life changing stuff unfortunately and the frustrating thing is we can do absolutely nothing about it. When we moved back to England it enabled us to buy a house outright, if it had gone up say $2.20 it would have been a very different story. The problem with exchange rates is they will never be advantageous to everyone. Edited October 29, 2017 by bristolman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottieGirl Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 3 hours ago, desreb said: With a large mortgage, right on the edge, with a glimpse of the ocean, is still just about do-able! Trust me if it was I would have done it. Where do you define as on the edge? Plus I assume you know you have to add 10% on to the advertised price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CarlosR Posted November 17, 2017 Share Posted November 17, 2017 The Governor Carney of the Bank of England and the members of the Monetary Policy Committee Broadbent, Cunliffe, Place and Ramsden also appeared on Thursday and their statements did not have the expected affection to define the direction of the pound. The pound is going through a difficult time, but all currencies always have bad times Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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