The ‘where is the branch?’ trap

Does it really matter if your lender doesn’t have branches for you to walk into?

The reality is that if they have a physical branch you are very likely paying more for the privilege. In an age where everything you need to do with your home loan can be done online or over the phone, you have to ask what value the expense of a branch is giving you.

If it costs your lender money to maintain and staff a branch, that cost will be reflected in your loan.

In the same way, don’t be concerned about having your home loan with a different institution than the one you do your banking with. For most people when their home loan is set up they simply use internet banking to keep track of it and make any extra repayments or redraws. You can still use a bank with branches for your banking.