tugrin

Hi Everyone.
OK so the latest from daughters ghastly boyfriend concerns prices/euro/pounds conversion.
He is adamant that the prices for house will actually end up being the £s not the euros.
He says the excahnge rate isn't worth the paper it's written on and to take no notice just budget for pounds - this will make my choices very limited - is he right on this one???

Tweedpipe

Tugrin,
It's high time your daughter got shot of that plonker of a dipstick boyfriend.
Him being "adamant that the prices for house will actually end up being the £s not the euros", goes to prove once again that he is still talking out of his derriere!
An exchange of a nominal 100k pounds, would net approx 118k euros (with no transfer fee) using one of the leading foreign exchange brokers. Needless to say using a high street bank would net less (plus transfer fees).
In a nutshell, you should always be able to tell when that 'boyfriend' of hers is bluffing. You'll see his lips moving.........

dmu

Not quite sure what this fellow means by the price of a house actually ending up being the ££ not the €€.
A house for sale in Euroland logically means that you think in €€ - the vendor isn't going to alter the house price to suit a foreigner checking how much a $, £ or whatever, is worth in €€ that particular day.
Of course you'll be roughly converting all the prices into ££ (in your head) as you continue your search, so he is right in that respect, but at the end of the day, the vendor is paid in €€.
Or have I misunderstood, and am I as thick as he seems to be?

tugrin

LOL Tweedpipe - he is a plonker and no mistake - I am nursing a small hope that they are heading for the rocks from the way she is talking about some of the other things he says and does!
SO basically dmu. when I look at the euro price and then go to a currency converter to see how much I would need in pounds , but he is saying that the conversion isn't worth looking at - I should just change the euro sign to a £ on the advert and expect to pay that. But then, a Tweedpipe said. his lips were moving at the time!!

InVinoVeritas

Before jumping too hard on the BF (choose you translation) remember that the price shown for a house in France is normally before notarial fees which, after the 1st March increase, are 7.7%. The actual exchange rate you will get for your GBP can vary and it's worth shopping around to get the best rate you can but more important is to lock in a rate once you decide to buy - after all it's not so long ago the pound was at 1.15.

tugrin

Well I agree that is a sensible way of looking at things In Vino, however the whole kit and caboodle goes like this: House will cost in £s what it says in Euros in the advert and then I will then pay 20% on top of this in fees. This all seems to be based on his mother having a French friend. Certainly he has put forward no other sources to back up his advice. It is very difficult to keep quiet when he starts doling it out!

InVinoVeritas

Well no one is paying the advertised price in France as the market is very soft at the moment. You could easily get the price down 20% or perhaps even more.

tugrin

Ooh that's very good news InVino - has cheered me up hugely. I'll be keeping that one to myself though. If the BF stays I would so like to prove him wrong -tragically childish I know but he is SO pompous!