How Much Does Home Insurance Cost

2011-03-29T01:24:00.001-07:00

Insurance companies rearly reward loyalty and so I have found, after nearly 30 years dealing in international property, that it is essential to go to a home insurance quote comparison site before every renewal. Hundreds of dollars can be saved and its free to do.

The home is usually the biggest investment we will ever make and the cost of repair of damage after extreme weather or an accident in the home could cause financial difficulty or even potentially a crisis.

Of course cost is not the only factor as it is important to ensure that the level of cover of the home insurance policy is sufficient although this is the major component that determines the cost of the home insurance.

So I recommend that having determined the level of cover of the property and personal belongings it should be an annual event to go to a home insurance comparison site to get the best quote.

How a Guide Reader saved £11,504 being Smart

2009-05-28T03:30:00.000-07:00

This is an extract from the Greece Buying Guide which we highly recommend.

Paul and his wife Deborah had decided to buy a condominium in the USA. Their son had married an American girl and they were determined to be part of their lives and to get to know their new daughter-in-law.

Paul needed to send the equivalent of £135,000 to Florida at the end of September. Fortunately he had heeded the advice given on the Smart Currency website and phoned in early - June in fact - to discuss his needs. At that time, it was recommended that he look at reserving money (for purchase in the future) at that day’s exchange rate – Paul takes up the story:

“Who was to know that we were just about to fall over the precipice of the biggest recession in living memory? I was told by the Smart trader that, given how unpopular sterling was, the pound / dollar could go down the further along the year we went - he must have been psychic! His thoughts were that it may be best to arrange a ‘forward contract’ – to buy currency at today’s date for transfer in the future - as soon as possible, thus locking in the rate at the time to use at a given date in September. Suffice to say it’s the best piece of financial planning I have ever done,” says Paul gratefully; “not to mention that Smart made the whole transaction so simple, a couple of short pieces of correspondence and it was all set to go.”

Paul was able to reserve the US$ 264,600 that he needed to send to the USA at a rate of 1.96 GBP/USD on a forward contract from 02/07/08 to 26/09/08. In Sterling, the cost to Paul (when the contract matured in September) was fixed at £135,000 less the deposit paid. (US$ 264,600 ÷ 1.96 = £135,000).

Had Paul waited until September to buy the currency needed, which was his original intention, the rate would have been 1.84. This would have meant a cost of £143,804 (US$264,600 ÷ 1.84 = £143,804), making a loss for Paul of £8,804 over buying a forward contract.

Furthermore, this was not the only saving that Paul made. Had he traded with his high street bank rather than getting exceptionally good rates from Smart, it would have been approximately £2,700 more expensive for the USD purchased (or he would have received $5,292 less).

All in all Paul saved £11,504 by being Smart with his international payment for his overseas property!

Incidentally, with current rates at the time of writing at 1.46, if the requirement had been for now, and booking forward when Paul did, the saving would have been an outrageous £46,232 (US$264,600 ÷1.46 = £ 181,232 - £135,000 = £46,132).

These figures really bring to light the importance of using not only a currency company, but the right currency company – one where you get a really proactive service.

As soon as you know that you’re going to send money overseas, contact Smart Currency Exchange!

To read the latest market information on Serling and the Euro go to: http://www.GreeceBuyingGuide.com/Currency280509.htm

If you haven’t had a chance to discuss in detail what the alternatives are for your currency concerns then please give us a ring and we will be happy to talk about your possible options. Call on 0808 163 0102 or if you'd like to get a Better-than-Bank exhange rate quotation go to: http://www.smartCurrencyExchange.com/smartsquotation.htm

Why overseas property buyers lose money... and how you can avoid it!

This 10-page educational report outlines:

* Case Study: When Property Buyer, Mr Reed, Purchased an Overseas Property, he Made Three Mistakes that Cost Him £10,256...learn how you can avoid them...
* How the Banks make HUGE profits from their long-standing unsuspecting customers
* Ways to safeguard yourself against adverse fluctuations in exchange rates (or in other words, helping you to keep your money in your pocket)
* The entire process of moving money from the UK to any overseas location, so that you're armed with all the knowledge you need to make intelligent decisions about your money
* How you can ultimately save £100’s and £1000’s so that you have ample money to buy furniture and white goods…
* More case studies of people that lost money due to foreign currency strengthening against the pound, so that you learn from other peoples mistakes rather than your own!

To get a copy of the report at no charge go to: Smart Currency Exchange
http://www.smartcurrencyexchange.com/freereport.htm

Why we wanted to buy property in Greece

2009-04-25T03:30:00.000-07:00

Well it might seem obvious really!

How about sun, sea, sand and amazing food?

We had been holidaying in Greece for many years and got to love the climate and the culture. It is mediteranian like Italy, Spain, France, Turkey and the rest but, we believe, even more safe and relaxing.

So it seemed natural to buy property in Greece so that we could have even more reasons to go there and have free accomodation (well kind of!).

Buy property in Greece

How Much Does Home Insurance Cost

How a Guide Reader saved £11,504 being Smart

Why we wanted to buy property in Greece