Foreign exchange

Using a currency dealer instead of your high street bank can save you thousands of pounds.

In some parts of Turkey, such as Antalya and Alanya, properties are often bought and sold in euros. This means that you will need to exchange currency, and it is advisable to use a recognised foreign exchange dealer, such as Travelex, to do so. Not only will a foreign exchange dealer secure you a better rate of exchange than the high street banks, but they generally charge no commission on transactions over a certain value. Foreign currency can be bought and transferred within a matter of days, once you have set up a customer account.

Exchange rate fluctuations can have a serious effect on the cost of your property. This can be seen if you look at what happened to the euro in the first ten months of 2004. Sterling against the euro was as high as 1.5279 and as low as 1.4096. This means that if you were buying a property worth 200,000 euro it could have cost as little as £130,898 or as much as £141,884 - a difference of £11,000. It is possible to avoid this pitfall by buying and fixing a rate for your currency ahead of time through a forward transaction. Usually a small deposit will secure you a rate for anything up to 2 years in advance. By doing this, you will have the currency you need at a guaranteed price and know exactly how much your property is costing you.