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Should you hedge currency when renting out an overseas property?

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totallyproperty

Administrator
Staff member
I know that a lot of our members are looking at overseas markets for real estate investment and many will be renting out their properties in the longer term in the hope of selling when prices increase.

I was wondering if it is sensible to hedge your rental income in this situation (either short, medium or longer term) or do you leave your rental income to currency market fluctuations?
 
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Will_TorFX

New Member
Great question, although I tend to find the answer differs depending on the risk appetite of the individual.

If you are holding sterling and transferring in to euros, now would certainly be a good time to consider hedging, as the pound is at multi month highs against the Euro and seems to be peaking. (Check out a GBPEUR graph on one of the FX websites like XE or FX Street)
Having said that, nobody knows exactly what is going to happen and there's always a chance it could strengthen further and be boosted by some unexpectedly strong data.

If you have less risk appetite you may look to hedge half or three-quarters of what you have perhaps, leaving the rest in the hands of market movements. Most currency brokers will give you the option of fixing a rate up to two years in advance. As exchange rates are highly volatile this gives you the ability to not only budget for the future, but if done at the right time can maximise your money when it's time for delivery.

Ultimately everyone is different when it comes to risk, but whether you are going to hedge or rely on the market movements, it is key to keep abreast of the currency markets and what affects them. Examples of these include Central Bank decisions, geopolitical data, interest rates/inflation rates rising or falling or GDP data and similar.

While you can use your bank to manage these kinds of transfers, using a reputable FCA authorised currency broker will secure you a more competitive rate. What's more you will not be charged the transfer fees or commission charges levied by most banks, so you'll see even more savings; especially if you are making regular transfers.
Expert advice and timing are both crucial to ensure you are not losing out to poor exchange rates.
 
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totallyproperty

Administrator
Staff member
Personally I like to think of hedging activity as an insurance policy. Who would buy an expensive car and not insure it? So why would you not consider "insuring" your long term rental income?
 
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