Property Sale cash UK to Germany
Biggi
Posts: 5 Forumite
Hi there
I am about to sell my property in London and I am planning to then invest it into building a family property in Germany.
1. what kind of account do I use here in the UK to get the cash (most likely in £ Sterling) initially paid into? It will only stay in the account for a short time as I leave the country straight away. It will be under £100,000. Will a current account be best? My solicitor told me that it has to be a UK bank account.
2. how do I best avoid high losses through converting £ into Euro?
3. I wonder if I can cut out a step in between and use just one bank, which has headquarters in the UK and Germany? Any idea if this works?
4. I checked tax issues but I haven't come across any mention of UK tax on the money I take over to Germany after the sale, if I can show evidence it comes from a property sale. Is anyone aware of any other taxes that might affect me?
Your help is much appreciated.
Biggi
I am about to sell my property in London and I am planning to then invest it into building a family property in Germany.
1. what kind of account do I use here in the UK to get the cash (most likely in £ Sterling) initially paid into? It will only stay in the account for a short time as I leave the country straight away. It will be under £100,000. Will a current account be best? My solicitor told me that it has to be a UK bank account.
2. how do I best avoid high losses through converting £ into Euro?
3. I wonder if I can cut out a step in between and use just one bank, which has headquarters in the UK and Germany? Any idea if this works?
4. I checked tax issues but I haven't come across any mention of UK tax on the money I take over to Germany after the sale, if I can show evidence it comes from a property sale. Is anyone aware of any other taxes that might affect me?
Your help is much appreciated.
Biggi
0
Comments
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Ok it might not be feasible but how about applying for a 0% card for spending eg Halifax Clarity have the direct debit set up on the current account where the money sits and you withdraw X amount a day and pay it into an account in Germany.
Depends if your going to keep a UK address here and if you can get a card that will have a high enough limit.
Open up a Starling account, have a standing order see up for X amount a day or week until it reaches 0 and you withdraw the money the draw but there's likely to be a limit per day with Starling.0 -
Thanks for your swift response.
I am German, have lived here for 20 years and am now returning permanently to Germany.
I will literally try to leave as close as possible to the exchange date, thinking within a week, if job wise a problem latest four weeks after the exchange.
I am planning to open a German bank account before I leave the UK.
I assume it is better to convert the big chunk than multiple smaller chunks here in the UK? But how do i best convert over here without losing too much money?
I am aware that the Deutsche Bank accepts in Germany £ Sterling to sit in a bank account and then I could gradually convert it over there when I think the rate is favourable. Not sure if this is the best option though.0 -
I would not use a bank to send your money abroad as the exchange rate will be poor.
This might help:
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/foreign-currency-exchange
Once you decide a method, find out if the solicitor can send the money direct to them.0 -
Brilliant, thanks a lot.
I will have a look at this and see what the solicitor will say.
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Don't allow the conversion of your pounds to euros to be done by any bank, they will take ~3% on the exchange rate or perhaps a bit less with negotiation. An exception is Fineco Bank UK who give you close to the interbank rate and you can choose to have a euro debit card, this should be acceptable for receiving the sale funds to an account in your name.
But you can use any UK bank account for that, then choose the most suitable exchange broker to send the funds to your German account, quite simple.Evolution, not revolution0 -
Heya eDicky
Thanks a lot for simplifying it.
Thanks to all of you (18cc and DCFC79), i am finally getting an idea ... feeling a lot less stranded.
If you don't know where to look it seems a hugely complicated challenge to get your head around, particularly because I am communicating at both ends UK and Germany and when it came to interlinking both sides I couldn't really get anywhere.
Looks a lot clearer now.
Thank you. 0 -
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Very nice, thank you. 0
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