Beckett unveils £400m FTB scheme

Financial benefits to be had by British owners of overseas properties
As George W Bush bids farewell to the G20 Group and Gordon Brown disguises himself as Santa Claus with his tax cuts, there is a voice in the wilderness - that of George Osbourne the Shadow Chancellor warning about the slide of the Pound.

Pity he only found that out. The Pound in 2007 could bring in 220 Japanese Yen when converted. Today it will convert at 145 Japanese Yen. The Pound has dropped by a third against the Yen – more or less against the other major currencies such as the Euro or US Dollar. This may not be happy reading for people planning to go abroad on holiday but it is music to the ears of British exporters.

It can also sound like a symphony to the ears of all those lucky British who bought abroad in the past 10 years. Now through the slide in the value of Sterling they will see their foreign assets grow in value. But that’s not all because there is more silver to be had for those who took out a foreign currency mortgage to purchase their home abroad. You may well ask how. Simple: convert your foreign mortgage to a Sterling one secured against your foreign home. The advantage for a UK based owner whose income is in Sterling will have eliminated the risk of currency fluctuation, benefit from lower interest lower in Sterling term and as mentioned above see their foreign based asset grow. For those owners whose income is in a major currency then the Sterling mortgage payment will also prove beneficial. However it is important to stress that in this latter case risk of currency fluctuation exists and can be sudden.