Conti partners with A Place in the Sun

Conti heads for A Place in the Sun - 25th September 2008

Strategic partnership between Conti Financial Services and
APlaceInTheSun.com for overseas mortgages

Conti Financial Services, the UK’s leading overseas mortgage specialist, has entered into a strategic partnership with newly launched APlaceInTheSun.com, the online home of the popular TV series, best-read magazine and market-leading exhibitions.

The relationship means that the new international property portal will recommend Conti as its preferred overseas mortgage provider to anyone visiting the site who requires finance for their overseas property purchase, whether for a holiday home, an investment, or retirement purposes.

This latest extension of the A Place in the Sun brand* offers overseas property buyers an essential and informative property search engine, as well as unbiased advice and news about the world’s property markets that enables buyers to navigate the purchase process more easily. And, through Conti, it can also offer prospective buyers access to more than 225 mortgage products in more than 45 countries.

Existing owners of overseas property can also benefit from this new partnership, through Conti’s remortgaging service, which covers 15 countries across Europe, Africa and the USA.

Michael Axelrod, Commercial Director at Conti Financial Services Ltd, says:
"Undoubtedly, A Place in the Sun is an immensely successful brand and we’re absolutely delighted to be part of this new venture. I have no doubt that the new website will become the authoritative voice for overseas property, and we believe that Conti, as the UK’s leading overseas mortgage specialist, provides the perfect fit as a partner."

As a result of this partnership, visitors to APlaceInTheSun.com will be able to obtain details of the best current overseas mortgage deals and consult detailed guides to many of the main property markets and the quirks of securing a home loan within them. They can also access Conti's "quick quote" mortgage calculator to find out how much they can borrow and what their monthly repayments would be. And, at a time when securing a mortgage is no longer such a given, Conti provides an online AIP (Approval In Principle) within 48 hours, which means that a prospective buyer can start house hunting safe in the knowledge that, based on their personal circumstances and disclosure, Conti can secure the finance to help them buy it.

This will all be available through a co-branded microsite www.contimortgages.com which prospective buyers will access automatically if searching for advice or information about overseas mortgages on the main APlaceInTheSun.com website.

Once a buyer goes ahead with a full mortgage application, Conti will manage this procedure through to completion, making the process of buying their dream home as painless as possible. All mortgage applications will be processed and underwritten by Conti's teams of specialists, who know the exact mortgage application requirements for each overseas lender.

The nature of the partnership means that Conti will look to develop products and services that benefit users of APlaceInTheSun.com and will create opportunities to provide a greater range of facilities that match the demands of users of the website.

APlaceInTheSun.com currently offers around 80,000 overseas properties for sale in more than 78 countries. It reports that despite trying times in the UK home property market and the global credit crunch, it has been pleased to see that a high number of buyers are still active in the overseas property market.

Niall McOnegal, New Media Director, APlaceInTheSun.com, says:
"We are pleased to be launching APlaceInTheSun.com with Conti as strategic partner for mortgages and believe the relationship will offer great benefits to our users."