How Technology is Making the Path to an Ideal Home Easier

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JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - “I don’t want to burden others. Rather than my younger brother and sister getting tired, let me be the one to look for a house,” said Yoga Sukmana.

That sentence sounds simple. But for Yoga, a private sector employee in Jakarta, the decision to buy a house is a form of responsibility as well as self-proof.

In 2022, he began searching for a house in Bekasi to stay close to his mother.

After comparing several options, he chose a house in Tambun Utara for around Rp 530 million with a 20-year term.

As a private sector employee, Yoga was initially worried about whether his credit application would be approved.

However, he had a clean credit history and no other installments.

Of the three bank options, BTN, Mandiri, and BNI, he finally chose BTN because of the tiered five-year interest rate scheme, which he considered more manageable.

The first to fifth year, the installments and their increases can be mapped out.

The difference with the previous two banks was not too significant, but BTN’s calculations felt much lighter.

“In my opinion, a mortgage is a marathon, not a sprint,” he said when speaking with Kompas.com on Tuesday (February 24, 2026).

For him, choosing a high initial interest rate without knowing his ability over the next few years is a risk.

He hopes for a salary increase, but doesn’t want to expect too much.

In addition, what surprised him was the speed of the process. From submitting documents to signing the agreement, it only took two weeks.

The entire process felt efficient, and the bank even came to the notary during the signing, so he didn’t have to go back and forth to the branch office.

His old perception of BTN as a conventional bank has changed.

Before becoming a customer, Yoga had the perception that BTN was “old-fashioned.” He remembered his mother’s experience as a customer, which was complicated and tiring.

He had to come to the branch office, which was small and always full of queues.

However, that perception immediately changed when he became a customer and was introduced to the ‘Bale by BTN’ application, which had been upgraded.

Around 2022, this application felt very unappealing. The appearance was still outdated and there were not many features that could be accessed.