What Police & Fire Federal Credit Union Offers

Police and Fire Federal Credit Union offers home equity loans and home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) in addition to its other mortgage products. Applications only take about 10 minutes, and a decision may be available in one business day.

Home Equity Loans

PFFCU offers home equity loans up to $600,000 with an 80% loan-to-value (LTV) ratio for up to 20 years. Or, you borrow up to $100,000 with 100% LTV for a maximum 15-year term.

There are no application fees, closing costs or points associated with PFFCU home equity loans. In addition, you don’t have to carry loan protection insurance to receive approval for a home equity loan.

PFFCU doesn’t publish annual percentage rates (APRs) on its website, but you can get a 0.25% rate discount when you sign up for automatic payments from an active PFFCU checking account or PFFCU direct deposit.

Home Equity Lines of Credit

PFFCU HELOCs come with a five-year draw period in which minimum monthly payments are interest-only, followed by a 15-year repayment period. Rates are based on the prime rate minus 0.75%. This results in a minimum APR of 2.99%, including the 0.25% discount for automatic payments.

Even better, PFFCU doesn’t have any HELOC application fees or closing costs—allowing you to access your home equity without paying out-of-pocket expenses. You can withdraw funds on an as-needed basis by telephone, at a PFFCU branch, through 24-Hour EXPRESSBanker, online banking or mobile banking.


Minimum Qualification Requirements

These are the minimum qualification requirements you must meet to be eligible for a PFFCU home equity product:

Credit Union Membership

To take advantage of PFFCU’s home equity offerings, you must first become a credit union member. Those who may qualify for membership include current and retired members of Philadelphia’s police force and firefighting crews. Relatives of these individuals are also eligible, including parents, grandparents, siblings and children.

In addition, members of several partner employee groups, associations and organizations based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area and South Jersey are eligible to join PFFCU.

Credit Score

PFFCU doesn’t publish minimum credit score requirements online. In general, though, you should have a credit score of at least 620 to qualify for a home equity product. Some lenders require scores around 680. Keep in mind that borrowers with higher credit scores typically qualify for the most competitive terms.

Home Equity

PFFCU doesn’t publish minimum equity requirements on its website. However, you generally should have at least 15% equity in your home to qualify for a home equity loan or line of credit. This means that your mortgage balance should not exceed 85% of your home’s value.


Loan Costs and Fees

PFFCU doesn’t charge application fees or closing costs for its home equity loans or HELOCs. That said, clients can pay $150 to upgrade their appraisal if desired. In addition, borrowers may encounter a $15 returned payment fee and a $10 credit card payment fee.

Late payments on home equity loans will incur a fee of 5% of the monthly principal and interest amount. PFFCU charges borrowers who make late payments on an outstanding HELOC 4% of the unpaid amount or $20, whichever is lower.


How To Apply for a Police & Fire Federal Credit Union Home Equity Product

You can apply for a home equity loan or line of credit online, via telephone or at a PFFCU Branch.

To apply online, navigate to the Real Estate Loans page on the PFFCU website and click “Apply Now.” Then, provide the necessary information, including the loan purpose, requested borrowing amount, preferred borrowing amount, repayment term and current mortgage balance(s).

Consumers who submit an application during regular business hours get a loan decision within one business day.

What To Do If You Get Turned Down

If you get turned down for a home equity loan or line of credit through PFFCU, contact the lender to determine why it denied your application. If you made a mistake while completing the application or if it was incomplete, correct those mistakes and apply again.

If, on the other hand, your application was denied due to insufficient equity or other financial realities, continue paying down your mortgage and other debts to increase your approval odds if you apply again in the future.

Additionally, if there are no other issues with your financial history, consider approaching another lender or considering alternative forms of financing. Compare options from multiple lenders and carefully consider if it will be financially beneficial before making a final decision.


What People Are Saying About Police & Fire Federal Credit Union

Police and Fire Federal Credit Union has an A- rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and is not BBB accredited. The financial institution has a 1.8-star rating out of five based on five customer reviews published through the BBB, and a 3.7-star rating based on more than 200 reviews on Google.

Not all customer complaints are related to the credit union’s home equity products, but some negative reviews focus on loan qualification requirements, closed accounts and aggressive collections practices. Your experience with the credit union may vary as these reviews only represent a small percentage of PFFCU’s customer base.


Methodology

We graded Police & Fire Federal Credit Union based on features that have a meaningful impact on the cost of a home equity loan and a borrower’s experience, including interest rates, loan options, accessibility, closing time and customer service.

We award bonus points if a lender doesn’t require closing costs on its home equity products, offers a specialty rate discount, a fixed-rate HELOC option, customizable terms for its home equity products and/or maintains a fully online application process.

Our scoring method is broken down as follows:

  • Interest rate. 25%
  • Time to close. 20%
  • Accessibility. 20%
  • Customer service experience. 20%
  • Loan options. 15%
  • Bonus points. Up to 25 points

We chose to focus on these core elements to bring forward lenders that offer the most competitive rates while also providing a satisfactory customer experience accessible to borrowers of all financial backgrounds. We believe this scoring system best reflects consumers’ top priorities when comparison shopping for mortgage lenders.

To learn more about our rating and review methodology and editorial process, check out our guide on How Forbes Advisor Reviews Mortgage Lenders.

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