Homevest, a mortgage platform specializing in cross-border transactions, is making its debut in the Spanish market with a digital mortgage platform tailored to non-resident homebuyers. In collaboration with Hoteland, a respected law firm and mortgage broker based in the Balearic Islands, Homevest wants to provide a more streamlined and customer-centric property acquisition process.
Founded in 2021, Homevest was born out of the founders' experiences as expats living in London during the pandemic. Petru Dimulescu, co-founder, and CTO of Homevest, candidly shared, "Navigating the intricacies of securing the best deals with banks was an arduous process, and we want Homevest to be the solution."
Homevest has strategically partnered with some of Spain's foremost banks, including Santander, Sabadell, UCI, Unicaja, CaixaBank, and Cajasur, to offer non-resident property buyers a wide array of mortgage options. Their platform simplifies the application process, enabling applicants to interact with multiple banks competing for their business, ensuring highly competitive mortgage deals.
Maria Teresa Moreno Sánchez from Banco Sabadell expressed her satisfaction with the collaboration between Homevest and Hoteland, appreciating Homevest's innovative product.
"We jointly manage their mortgages, offering terms similar to residents, quickly and efficiently every day," she added.
The proptech startup's data indicates that Spanish banks on their platform are indeed offering competitive mortgage rates, closely resembling those available to local customers. Erik Edin, co-founder and CEO of Homevest, outlined his vision, stating,
"I'm convinced that mortgage financing can be made more accessible, and we are working tirelessly to make this vision a reality across Europe. We are already pushing Spanish banks to compete vigorously for non-resident business."
Homevest's data highlights a significant decrease in fixed-rate mortgage deals, with margins on variable rate mortgages falling below 1% this summer. Despite the European Central Bank's adjustments leading to increasing interest rates, non-residents using the Homevest platform in August secured variable rate mortgages as low as 5.00% effective rate and fixed-rate deals as low as 3.06%.
Since its inception in 2021 by ex-Wise employees Erik Edin and Petru Dimulescu, Homevest has started working with over 15 European banks and established partnerships with prominent property portals such as Immoscout24 in Germany, imobiliare.ro in Romania, and Hemnet in Sweden.
Homevest's vision extends beyond simply facilitating better deals; the company is on a mission to foster competitiveness and integration across Europe's fragmented mortgage markets. Despite the European Union's efforts to create a unified product market, financial services remain notably segmented. Homevest aims to bridge this gap and create a more accessible mortgage landscape for all.