PedFed Credit Union Review | Mortgage Refinance

PenFed's mortgage refinance program provides a large selection of options for term lengths and loan types when compared to non-credit union lenders, and all feature the competitive rates that are common to nonprofit credit unions.

The mortgage department is a crucial part of the credit union's services to its members.

To that end, it offers a variety of tools on their website, including a refinance calculator and an affordability calculator, though its online capabilities are somewhat less robust than those of many of its competitors.

PenFed also features a good amount of articles and how-to’s for mortgage refinance, discussing the benefits or disadvantages of different types of refinance loans. This is all part of PenFed’s Mortgage Learning Center.

It can also be difficult to find a comprehensive list of all the different loan options PenFed offers since the company prefers that borrowers contact them directly.

Though it does charge an origination fee, PenFed will waive it if the customer uses partner services such as PenFed Realty or other preferred title partners.

The application can be completed online, but it doesn't have a paperwork e-signature available, so there will come a point when customers will need to wait for a representative to contact them.

A mortgage loan processor is assigned to each borrower, to make sure all the relevant paperwork is available and let the consumer know if any extra documents will be required. This processor will also order an appraisal of the home and go through any additional follow-up which may be necessary.

Lastly, once all the conditions for the loan have been met, borrowers must contact an attorney in their area to be able to close the loan, and order title work and survey, should one be required.

Getting in touch directly with a branch office may be particularly difficult with PenFed, as--despite having members spread across every state, Washington D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico, Japan, and Portugal—the credit union’s physical presence is mostly in the Washington D.C. area, where it keeps 16 offices.

PenFed does provide a high degree of transparency, with its proprietary payment and closing cost calculator helping consumers get access to a sample of different loan structures, before beginning the application process

During the application process, borrowers can also access and download a pdf with all of PenFed’s service fees listed. The union’s membership disclosures are also available, both in Spanish and English.

Though it’s the third-largest credit union in the United States, PenFed usually originates significantly fewer mortgages than traditional banks, precisely because applications are limited to members who qualify, rather than any member of the public at large.

With eight decades in banking, Penfed has considerable experience in lending, even though as a credit union, it has fewer originations than other financial institutions like more traditional banks.

They serve their members in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, Okinawa, and Portugal, though as mentioned above, it may be a challenge to find physical branches in many locations.

PenFed has zero regulatory actions lodged against them, and they enjoy good reviews over several consumer review websites, with positive feedback concerning the quality of their customer service.

The company, however, has several consumer complaints lodged with the CFPB, though the percentage is considerably lower than its competitors at less than a quarter of its most relevant competitors by size.

One of PenFed’s most positive aspects for consumers is that, as a credit union, it is beholden to its members, producing annual reports. This means that members can learn how membership has increased per year, the state of total assets and net income, and the institution’s net worth ratio.

For instance, they might find out that in 2017 assets grew to $22.9 billion, from $19.5 billion in 2015; or that PenFed is solidly capitalized at 10.3 percent, far over the industry standard of 7 percent.

Financial stability is particularly important for credit unions, that often suffer from the outmoded idea that they are less trustworthy or even legitimate than other banking concerns.

Wanting to know more options for mortgage refinancing? Check out our review of the 10 Best Mortgage Refinance Companies of 2019.