Applying for and obtaining a mortgage can seem like an insurmountable task to many. Not only is there a stack load of paperwork involved, but many mortgage providers also demand you jump through a number of regulatory hoops before they will even consider your application.

However, the advent of the online mortgage lender has greatly simplified the whole process. While some people still prefer the feeling of security and propriety that a brick-and-mortar mortgage provider brings, venturing online is becoming increasingly popular among would-be homeowners. Here is a handful of reasons why.

Convenience

Perhaps the biggest draw of an online mortgage application is how easy it is to navigate. Traditionally, a prospective buyer would have to contact their lender of choice to arrange an appointment, then prepare themselves by printing out all of the necessary documentation to prove their identity, income and other sensitive information.

However, with an online lender, you can fill out the requisite forms from the comfort of your own home, at a time of your choosing. You can even start the ball rolling in the middle of the night should the fancy take you! The ability to save your progress and revisit the application at a later date is another draw, as is the convenience of uploading bank statements and the suchlike directly to the lender’s website.

Choice

Because of the arduousness of the process in dealing with a traditional mortgage provider, many people have no desire to go through the process more than once. This means they might simply pick a company at random and go along with whatever they offer, oblivious to the fact that better deals are out there.

With online applications, it’s easy to compare the best mortgage lenders and track down the arrangement that’s most convenient to you. As well as narrowing down your search parameters to online consider lenders likely to approve your application, you can also sort and filter prospective providers by the fees, interest rates and term lengths they offer.

Price

Mortgage lenders which operate from a physical location necessarily have high overheads to contend with. The rent of the property they occupy, alongside its running costs and the wages of all staff on the payroll, can be quite a drain on their finances, which they will ultimately pass on to the consumer in the form of fees, charges and interest rates.

By contrast, online lenders generally do not have to worry about such concerns. This means that they can pass on those savings to borrowers buy reducing or removing upfront administration costs and other charges, resulting in a cheaper product for you. The same can also be the case with regard to interest rates. When it comes to a decades-long agreement (as most mortgages are), even a drop of half a percentage point in the APR can mean thousands of dollars of savings over the lifetime of the loan.

The statistics show that seeking a mortgage from an online provider is growing in popularity by the day – and it’s not hard to see why. As easier, cheaper and more widely available solutions to the problem, they’re a sound bet for your next mortgage application.