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Best bank for Non Resident - Pre house purchase 2020

Best bank for Non Resident - Pre house purchase 2020

Postby Mooseh » Tue Mar 03, 2020 9:32 pm

Hello

I am confused as to which bank to use, I have looked at many options but still not sure which to use.

I am looking to buy in the Quesada area. I will be using Currencies Direct to convert GBP to euros and then moving the euros into an account to use to pay for the property, tax and all costs. I have been advised to use Sabadell because they don't charge for receiving euros but the reviews are terrible online. I looked into Starling but these have a limit of 10,000 euros.

Is there any bank that has no monthly costs or transfer costs for me to move funds and pay for the property with?

If not, which bank are most people using?

Thanks
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Re: Best bank for Non Resident - Pre house purchase 2020

Postby TonTri » Tue Mar 03, 2020 10:47 pm

I used Sabadell in Quesada. I had no problems with the transfer of funds and their service has been excellent. The only thing I did have to do was to take out their house insurance for the first year as they then waive the transaction fees. I'm still using Sabadell now for my banking in Spain with no complaints.
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Re: Best bank for Non Resident - Pre house purchase 2020

Postby Locknut » Wed Mar 04, 2020 1:37 am

I’m currently using Bankia they being very helpful no charges for transfer into account have made 4 x £25k via smart currency transfer
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Re: Best bank for Non Resident - Pre house purchase 2020

Postby Kenbo » Wed Mar 04, 2020 7:10 am

Mooseh

I have had a holiday home in Spain for 18yrs, once my Spanish bank account was opened there was something I had to accept, in Spain, generally speaking you will have to pay monthly or quarterly bank charges for them doing very little for you, ie, paying your direct debits for running costs.
Recently, some banks have hiked their charges further including my bank Bankia which I am in the process of closing.
I have moved my direct debits to Transferwise, there are no charges for running this account.
It would also be a good idea to consider them for moving your lump sums, they are a similar company to Currencies Direct but you will find them to be very competitive in terms of the amount of Euros that end up in your Euro account.
This would seem like a one stop solution, customer service is good, based in London, you could have a chat with them to see what they could offer.
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Re: Best bank for Non Resident - Pre house purchase 2020

Postby PGA » Wed Mar 04, 2020 8:34 am

Assuming that your sellers will want a bankers draft, pay close attention to the sum whatever bank you look at will charge for issuing one. I found out the hard way with a Santander account and by the time it came to light it was too late and the bankers draft cost me 0.7%. Some banks are as low as 0.4% on research. That difference can add up to considerable sums on a house purchase.

I don’t have any issue with the Santander zero account otherwise, but that left a somewhat sour taste in my mouth and at a significant cost that I hadn’t planned for in my buying figures (I assumed a bank transfer would be the way of paying, being the modern age!).
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Re: Best bank for Non Resident - Pre house purchase 2020

Postby GLASSMAN » Wed Mar 04, 2020 9:50 am

Kenbo wrote:Mooseh

I have had a holiday home in Spain for 18yrs, once my Spanish bank account was opened there was something I had to accept, in Spain, generally speaking you will have to pay monthly or quarterly bank charges for them doing very little for you, ie, paying your direct debits for running costs.
Recently, some banks have hiked their charges further including my bank Bankia which I am in the process of closing.
I have moved my direct debits to Transferwise, there are no charges for running this account.
It would also be a good idea to consider them for moving your lump sums, they are a similar company to Currencies Direct but you will find them to be very competitive in terms of the amount of Euros that end up in your Euro account.

This would seem like a one stop solution, customer service is good, based in London, you could have a chat with them to see what they could offer.

I thought they were based in ESTONIA, were the company creaters are from,and have offices world wide,
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Re: Best bank for Non Resident - Pre house purchase 2020

Postby GLASSMAN » Wed Mar 04, 2020 9:54 am

if you transfer electronicaly large sums via Sabadell, to Sabadell, no charges ask your house seller or solicitor/abagardo who they bank with , could save you money, I think Sabadell do a free banking account for pensioners if you pay in over a certain amount per month,
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Re: Best bank for Non Resident - Pre house purchase 2020

Postby Mooseh » Wed Mar 04, 2020 10:27 am

Locknut wrote:I’m currently using Bankia they being very helpful no charges for transfer into account have made 4 x £25k via smart currency transfer


What are the monthly account charges with Bankia?
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Re: Best bank for Non Resident - Pre house purchase 2020

Postby Mooseh » Wed Mar 04, 2020 10:30 am

Kenbo wrote:Mooseh

I have had a holiday home in Spain for 18yrs, once my Spanish bank account was opened there was something I had to accept, in Spain, generally speaking you will have to pay monthly or quarterly bank charges for them doing very little for you, ie, paying your direct debits for running costs.
Recently, some banks have hiked their charges further including my bank Bankia which I am in the process of closing.
I have moved my direct debits to Transferwise, there are no charges for running this account.
It would also be a good idea to consider them for moving your lump sums, they are a similar company to Currencies Direct but you will find them to be very competitive in terms of the amount of Euros that end up in your Euro account.
This would seem like a one stop solution, customer service is good, based in London, you could have a chat with them to see what they could offer.


Could i use transferwise for the complete process of buying and running a house or would i also need a spanish bank account?
Mooseh
 
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Re: Best bank for Non Resident - Pre house purchase 2020

Postby Mooseh » Wed Mar 04, 2020 10:33 am

GLASSMAN wrote:if you transfer electronicaly large sums via Sabadell, to Sabadell, no charges ask your house seller or solicitor/abagardo who they bank with , could save you money, I think Sabadell do a free banking account for pensioners if you pay in over a certain amount per month,


So to confirm, if i moved a 25k euro amount from transferwise or currencies direct into a sabadell account i wouldnt be charged. But i may then be charged for making payment of a property purchase using my sabadell account?
Mooseh
 
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