Wednesday, December 12, 2007

A few words about Legal and Financial issues

Unless you are bilingual and have a good working knowledge of the French legal system we recommend the following companies to provide the legal and financial help that you might require when purchasing your property in France. Previous clients have been very pleased with the service offered by these companies and have found them to be reliable and value for money!

Legal Services

Headdon Consulting is a French registered, English owned company. They offer independent legal, inheritance, tax and translation advice to English speaking people around the world who have property in France.

Mortgage Services

UCB is a leading mortgage specialist in France and is part of BNP Paribas, one of the largest financial groups worldwide. After having integrated the specialised teams of Abbey National France, which was the leading mortgage lender for British buyers on the French side of the Channel, UCB can now offer the best of both worlds to English speaking customers wishing to buy a home in France. They have 50 years of unparalleled experience and have developed a deep understanding of their market.

Currency Services

Assuming you are considering moving to France or purchasing a property here, at some point you will undoubtedly need to transfer a substantial sum from the UK to an account here. It is perfectly possible to arrange this kind of transfer using one of the high street banks with whom you probably have an account (Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland etc.) however their exchange rates and commissions are significantly less favourable than those offered by specialist foreign exchange brokers. There are a number of companies who specialise in offering wholesale market rates to individuals and companies. Typically you will only be quoted a specific rate when you have indicated the sum you wish to transfer, and the broker has identified a purchaser for your currency. The quote is only likely to be valid for a matter of minutes.

We recommend the services of Foreign Currency Direct from personal experience. All our Sterling to Euro transactions at FCD are managed by Tom Holian, who has provided personal guarantees that customers of Heart of Gascony will receive a 5 star service. In our experience transactions arranged through FCD are always at the most competitive rates, and the service is fast and efficient. We estimate that typical savings with FCD over high street bank transactions are in the region of 1%, or £1000 saved for every £100,000 transferred. To start the simple customer sign up process just call Tom on 0800 328 5884 from within the UK or +44 1494 725 353 if you are already abroad, or create an account via the FCD website by clicking on the link below.