GeniB

That was YOU EMR.?.. With the camels

qianh

In my case, I opened a Portuguese bank account and transfered the money from UK using HiFx and currencies direct. They are both good and fast. Very easy to use. If you transfer big sum you should ring them up and haggle, but bear in mind the mid-market rate because broker won't offer better rate than that. Of course there are many currency brokers e.g. Transferwise, you can always compare the rate and check if they are protected by FSA. I would also use XE exchange rate app or similar to monitor the rate, if using broker, you can lock the rate as well. In terms of payment method, either for deposit or the rest of the amount , usually it's by cheque bancario pay to seller made by your bank for a small fee, much safer and convenient.

liveaboard

I wasn't here at the transfer date, so I transferred the purchase sum to my lawyer's client account and had her pay the sellers for me.

Everything went perfectly; and I'll never do that again.

I was totally stressed out, because there was nothing in the way of the lawyer stealing the money. It's rare, but it happens.
I should have transferred it to my own account, got on a plane for a few Euros, gone to my Portuguese bank, and had them cut a check for the purchase sum. Then signed the sale in person with the sellers.

Next time my life savings are in the air, I'll do it that way.

DM13

Thank you, really do appreciate it.

DM13

A messy mix of snow and frozen rain forecasted for Monday/Tuesday here... could mess up the BBQ'ing plans! lol

AliceCaroline

Does the bank just make up a cheque for you at the counter qianh, no appointment?
Is a cheque bancario the same as a cheque visado?

We have pencilled in a time for a second visit when we can hopefully sign the promissory contract if we find something we like. It would only be a flying visit though so the less we need to organise then the better. It would be two weeks after returning from our house hunting trip. I hope that's enough time to arrange the promissory contract, it's difficult for us both to get time off work.

I'd like to think we could trust our lawyer with our money though

qianh

I think the cheque bancario is same as cheque visado, yes you can do it over the counter but better notify the bank manager first. Basically it's a cheque paid by the bank, once it's done fund is out of your account to the bank. So for the seller, it's guaranteed. Yes I agree with the above that even you fully trust your lawyer but it's a lot of money and could be your life's saving! Also be careful when select the currency broker. Choose established ones and regulated by FSA, do small amount first to make sure everything is ok. I read somewhere if you have bank account with Caixa geral de depositos, you can transfer the money through them with mid market rate. I don't know if it's true but certainly worth investigating. They have branch in London too.