Moroccan Banks

[Nick Malandrinos]

Can anyone supply a list of Moroccan Banks I might contact re financing a property purchase??
Thanks
Nick

[camel with three humps]

You will need the patience of a Saint and get ready for most obscure and weird paper work requirements.

Dont also forget that under Moroccan law you will need to pay 10% VAT on the interest rates. Yes you have read it correctly. e,g interest rate 5% +10% VAT so you will be paying 0.50% VAT to the Moroccan Government until your mortgage has been paid out.

You will also have to service the loan in foreign exchange under Moroccan law you cannot pay Dirhams. So if you intend to rent your property you will be sitting with lots of Dirhams in your pocket and where will you spend it ?

Finally, your rent will attract VAT of 10%. So its not correct to say the there is no Tax on Moroccan property rental.

[Nick Malandrinos]

Dear Camel With 3 Humps
This sounds very bleak indeed and on the surface I cannot imagine why anyone would want to pay a Moroccan Mortgage and buy/rent a property there. However, as Morocco is so popular at the moment, many people are investing there so there must be profitable.
Whilst what you say is very informative I would invite others to comment about your reply.
Kind Regards
Nick

Originally Posted by camel with three humps

You will need the patience of a Saint and get ready for most obscure and weird paper work requirements.

Dont also forget that under Moroccan law you will need to pay 10% VAT on the interest rates. Yes you have read it correctly. e,g interest rate 5% +10% VAT so you will be paying 0.50% VAT to the Moroccan Government until your mortgage has been paid out.

You will also have to service the loan in foreign exchange under Moroccan law you cannot pay Dirhams. So if you intend to rent your property you will be sitting with lots of Dirhams in your pocket and where will you spend it ?

Finally, your rent will attract VAT of 10%. So its not correct to say the there is no Tax on Moroccan property rental.

[camel with three humps]

Sadly, people do not do enough research for what ever reason. what happened in Spain is a good example for all of us.

People go on an inspection trip for a short time and take a decesion. If they are prudent they should do all aspects of the research before hand. Whilst the last thing should be the inspection flight.

[annelk]

re the comment 'under Moroccan law you cannot pay Dirhams'

I am in the process of buying in Saidia.
I had read that you couldn't repatriate profit if you originally paid in Dirhams so asked my solicitor and she advised that this is not so (gave me a very long answer on the phone, which I understood to mean that what I had read was not relevant in this case). I hope she is right because I am paying the deposits in Dirhams.
If anyone else knows different I woould be grateful for the knowledge now.

[Janoulaki]

you can't take dirhams out of Morocco

[annelk]

You say I can't take Dirham out, fair enough. But can I convert the Dirham to Sterling and take that?

A separate point about the comments above - that collecting rental in Dirham might give a problem. Some businesses in Morocco ask to paid in Euros so it wouldn't be unusual to do that, so avoiding the issue.

[Janoulaki]

is this answer ok?

The Moroccan dirham is the official currency. Bills come in denominations of 20, 50, 100 and 200 dirhams. Coins come in denominations of 1, 2, 5 and 10 dirhams (there are two kinds of 5-dirham coins). Dirhams are divided into 100 centimes; there are 5-, 10-, 20- and 50-centime (half-dirham) coins.

It is illegal to import or export Moroccan dirhams. Upon leaving Morocco, tourists can reconvert only up to 50 % of the dirhams for which they have exchange slips at the bank at the airport.

PS:

if you have moroccan bank account you can always transfer money back to UK

[Sunnyshores]

I have contacted BMCE bank in London and they offer mortgages to foreigners on rental properties in morocco. They speak relatively good english and you can take all your papers to their office in London for approval, so seems easy enough. Their fees and interest rates are reasonable if you contact them directly, through a broker they charge considerably more. I didnt pursue it as I dont need a mortgage yet.

BMCE Bank London
(+ 44) 207 518 8252
abdallah.alaoui@bmcebank.co.uk
26 Upper Brook Street
London W1K 7QE

Re - 10% VAT on interest rates, not sure how this works. Also I was told by BMCE that an individual can only get one Moroccan mortgage at a time. Thus restricting purchases via this route.

[adilchaoui]

Originally Posted by annelk

re the comment 'under Moroccan law you cannot pay Dirhams'

I am in the process of buying in Saidia.
I had read that you couldn't repatriate profit if you originally paid in Dirhams so asked my solicitor and she advised that this is not so (gave me a very long answer on the phone, which I understood to mean that what I had read was not relevant in this case). I hope she is right because I am paying the deposits in Dirhams.
If anyone else knows different I woould be grateful for the knowledge now.

Hi Annelk,

I live in the US and I am also interested in Saidia (off plan progect), however, I heard mixed messages and I am not sure what to do.
You seem to have researched this and if you have any advice, please share it. Unfortunately, I cannot post my email because I am a "junior member". However, you can use this: adilDOTchaouiATgmailDOTcom
As far as the currency, as a foreign investor, you should be able to open an account in a foreign currency (for me would be dollars) and you can convert and wire your money.

Let me know what you think!!

Cheers

Adil