Bank fees.......

Welcome to the Forum

I can recommend when transferring money use something like Transferwise. I have used them a lot in the past and not hit hard with fees that bank charge.

SimCityAT wrote:

use something like Transferwise

For Americans and USD things can get complicated very quickly:

https://transferwise.com/help/topic/760 … -transfers

Fast ACH payments have daily limits sending from the USA (so having to send large sums over several days may not cost any less):

https://transferwise.com/help/article/2 … -in-the-us

And using different methods (e.g. SWIFT) means one may still need to contact their bank, as different US banks have different requirements (including some having requirements to visit a branch to even start a money transfer), and some have extra fees as well regardless of Transferwise:

https://transferwise.com/help/article/1 … nk-account

And all the above still does not mean a Hungarian bank will not charge you fees to receive the money, even if sent by Transferwise.

The best part of Transferwise is to try to lock in a good exchange rate when sending the money. And it is good for small transfers. But if you send a lot to/from a bank, you might also be able to request a rate lock as a "preferred" customer.

pillangousa wrote:

Can anyone recommend a Hu Bank that does not charge lot's of hidden

I would just contact some Hungarian banks:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_banks_in_Hungary

tell them how much you want to transfer, and ask what the total fees would be, how they handle exchange rates, conversion "fees", deposit fees, etc. and what fees you should expect. Ask for an answer in writing.

Do note, that the US bank Citibank no longer has consumer accounts in Hungary, only commercial accounts now.

Personally, I bank with one of the Austrian based bank with offices in Hungary.

pillangousa wrote:

Hi Everyone,

My husband and I are moving to Hungary in July.
We are going to buy house . We realize this requires moving a large some of money into a Hungarian Bank. Can anyone recommend a Hu Bank that does not charge lot's of hidden fees.
Thank You,
Katalin

What you could do is transfer money in foreign currency to a foreign currency account held at a HU bank - you can easily get HUF, CAD, USD, EUR, GBP accounts here. 

Then you can choose when to convert it.

All good advice from the other posters.
We were looking into just doing a online transfer of only $1,000 USD from our US account to our Hungarian dollar account. this past weekend.
They fee was $45. from our US bank and another $10. for other fess.
Very high for only $1,000.
Not going to bother with it because of the high fees.
Transfer wise looks good for some things.
Perhaps your property lawyer can
help find a easy way to transfer from wherever you are to Hungary with regard of a sale or property.
Be careful when buying though we were dumb, was very hard to find a apt. for cash that we had on hand 11 years back plus we bought fast, within a few weeks of deciding to buy in Budapest. Bought and left the country for a couple of years, just let the place sit tight.
We had limited properties to chose from so we opted to buy our present apt.Best of what there was on offer back then. When we were looking to buy there were only large places or very tiny ones on the ground floor or facing the yard. Ours was not ground level and faced the st., bright and sunny inside although there was allot  to fix otherwise as far as remodeling goes.
They seller had made a weird deal with the real estate co. so we had to split the cost of the agent with the seller. cost us a unplanned on $3,000. extra in cash when the deal closed.They told us about this "trick" last min. we could of run away but had to leave HU and had no time to mess around with it.
Will be more careful in the future, we felt ripped off but we also felt rushed into the deal.
Take your time before buying anything and look into all aspects of life, the town, crime rates etc. for wherever you buy.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Then you can choose when to convert it.

Given the downward trend of the USD in the past 30 days, and barring any unexpected or sudden change in those fortunes, converting from USD sooner than later may be prudent.