The mistaken beliefs that all banks are the same and there is little competition in the lending market could cost investors thousands.
In fact, in the past 12 months the differences between lenders has become quite stark and there is now a significant disparity between them on interest rates, fees and credit policies.
As Australians come to grips with the latest interest rate rises, now is the time for investors to shop around to compare deals and make sure they're securing potential savings.
There tends to be a widespread view that all banks are the same, offering almost exactly the same products and requirements.
When making comparisons between lenders, however, it quickly becomes clear they're not all the same.
One of the more significant differences between lenders, related to credit policy, is LVR (Loan to Value ratio, or value of the property).
On the upper end of the scale, there are lenders requesting an LVR of 88 per cent with a deposit of 12%, compared with a lender at the other end of the scale requesting only 5%.
Also, once the LVR is more than 80%, the LMI (Lenders Mortgage Insurance) premium kicks in - and this, too, varies between lenders.
The amount that can be borrowed also significantly differs between lenders. Someone earning $60,000 pa may only be able to borrow $250,000 with one lender compared with $300,000 if they approached another.
Lastly, while the difference between lenders on variable and fixed rates appears small, the variation warrants investors' attention.
The disparity between variable rates is roughly around a quarter of a per cent and for fixed rates it's roughly half of a per cent, depending on the term.
While this doesn't sound like much of a gap, if we look at 7.79% versus 7.59%, for example, and apply that to a $300,000 loan, you're adding up to $600 per year to the cost of servicing that loan.
Over five years, that may add up to $3000, which could make a difference to the out-of-pocket expenses associated with that investment property.