PSECU Mortgage Rates Review

The Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union (PSECU) is a credit union with over 400,000 members.

Headquartered in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, PSECU provides membership to state employees.

These include a variety of individuals, including the staff, faculty, and alumni of universities that make up the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and the Harrisburg Area Community College, the faculty and staff of Pennsylvania State University, local government employees, eligible individuals in the State Employees’ Retirement System (SERS) or Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS), members of other state-approved associations, and immediate family members of current PSECU members.

The organization was founded in 1934 to offer competitive rates to individuals in direct association with the state of Pennsylvania. They offer a variety of financial services, including checking, savings, loans, mortgages, online banking, and credit cards.

PSECU Mortgage Facts

• Offers competitive mortgages rates to members of the Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union and their immediate family members
• Provides fixed- and adjustable-rate mortgages to eligible applicants
• Includes the option of jumbo mortgages as an add-on to adjustable rate mortgages, with a cap of $1 million
• An online application that connects prospective borrowers with loan specialists, preventing time spent on hold
• Fast preapproval rates of one business day, so buyers can lock down their dream home quickly
• Services only individuals buying homes in the state of Pennsylvania
• A wide range of financial products, including mortgages, personal loans, checking, savings, credit cards, and online banking

States Serviced

PSECU offers mortgages to individuals who live in Pennsylvania if they are an active member or if they are directly related to a member.

Overall

PSECU is a credit union that services eligible borrowers in the state of Pennsylvania. They offer a variety of financial services, including, but not limited to, mortgages, personal loans, checking accounts and savings accounts.

Since PSECU offers its services to a specific group of people, its rates are extremely competitive in comparison to industry standards. They offer a limited amount of options for borrowing and refinancing, including fixed-rate mortgages, ARMs, and jumbo loans.

PSECU Loan Specifics

PSECU provides competitive rates to members on the most common types of mortgage and refinancing options offered by most U.S. lenders.

Eligible PSECU members can find significant savings when applying for a loan through PSECU instead of through traditional mortgage lenders.

Fixed Rate Loans

Fixed rate mortgages are ideal for homebuyers who plan on living in their home for a long time and those who want consistent payments that allow for easy budgeting over an extended period.

This is due to the fact that fixed-rate loans offer payment amounts and interest rates that do not change for the duration of the loan term. PSECU offers fixed-rate mortgages to members at lengths of 10, 20, or 30 years.

The amount of money members can put down on the home will provide them with points that lower their interest rate costs.

Adjustable Rate Loans

PSECU offers adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) products to eligible members are low starting rates. With an ARM, borrowers get a low initial rate for a set number of years before that rate starts fluctuating based on market trends.

Most lenders, PSECU included, will offer caps on these types of mortgages, which keep interest rates from exceeding certain thresholds.

PSECU offers ARMs with initial rates of one, three, five, and seven years. These types of loans are ideal for mortgage borrowers who plan on moving or refinancing in the next few years.

Jumbo Loans

Jumbo loans are nonconventional loans that cover more than the limits set by major institutions like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

PSECU offers jumbo one-year adjustable rate mortgages between $453,101 to $1 million at competitive rates. They also set rate caps, meaning your interest rate cannot increase or decrease more than 1 percent each year.

This also means that the rate will not raise or drop over 5 percent over the life of the loan. In order to qualify for a jumbo loan with PSECU, the property must be a 1- to 4-unit dwelling that is titled in the name of the borrower.

PSECU does not offer jumbo loans for investment properties.

PSECU Mortgage Customer Experience

PSECU members can experience a relatively simple mortgage application process. They can submit an online application on the PSECU website, whether they are current or future PSECU members.

After submitting this form, a PSECU mortgage specialist will review your application and provide you with a preapproval letter if they deem you a fit candidate.

On this preapproval form, you can expect to see information regarding how much home you can afford, which can help you make a strong case to the home seller if you haven’t officially signed an agreement on a home yet.

Once you’ve gone under contract with your desired home, PSECU can start going forward with the mortgage process. A loan specialist will ask for more detailed information, including your current financial situation. Once submitted, PSECU’s underwriters will review this information carefully before offering you a rate on your preferred mortgage type.

If you plan on refinancing your mortgage with PSECU, rather than using this loan to buy a home, you will go through a very similar process to the one stated above. However, you won’t receive a pre-approval letter if you are approved for refinancing through PSECU.

PSECU is known for its speedy preapproval rates, making it a desirable lender for eligible members. When you apply for a mortgage through this credit union, you should get answers within a business day. However, it is important to note that preapproval is only valid for 60 days, so you may not want to apply before finding the right home.

PSECU also offers a variety of services for its customers, including online mortgage calculators that allow homebuyers understand how much they should put down on their home and how much they might spend on a fixed-rate or adjustable-rate mortgage with PSECU. They allow you to input crucial data, such as your debt, savings and income, as well as the cost of the house you intend on buying.

PSECU members who plan on taking out a mortgage or refinancing their home should expect to provide certain information such as their social security number, credit score, W-2 forms, recent pay stubs, government-issued identification, bank statements and settlement or closing statements. The underwriters at PSECU will take all of this information into account when deciding the rates for your mortgage.

Once they are approved for a mortgage or home refinance, members can manage their loan online. They can make payments, view monthly statements and set up alerts online through PSECU’s mortgage website.

PSECU has a relatively high rating for their mortgage products on the company website, at 3.9 out of 5 stars. Although PSECU is not accredited on the Better Business Bureau, they have an A+ rating and a 1-star rating by nine reviewers. There have been 20 BBB complaints against PSECU over the past three years.

PSECU Lender Reputation

PSECU is a credit union that has been serving residents of Pennsylvania for nearly 85 years.

There is no one specific National Mortgage Licensing System and Registry ID number for PSECU, as it’s a State Employees’ Credit Union.

Instead, different loan specialists who work for the various SECUs have specific NMLS and Registry ID numbers that you can search on the SECU site.

PSECU offers scholarships to high school seniors who are associated with the organization and who plan on attending a two- or four-year university.

Applicants do not have to attend a university in the state of Pennsylvania to be eligible for funding.

This credit union has also been recognized for its philanthropic efforts.

n April 2018, PSECU was a winner of the international Communitas Awards for Excellence in Community Service: Philanthropy category, due to the organization’s 2017 Hunger Action Month campaign that dedicated time and funding to the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank.

• Information collected on December 13, 2018

PSECU Mortgage Qualifications

PSECU follows many of the industry standards when offering loans to individuals. However, the main qualification is that borrowers must be a member of the PSECU or a direct family member of someone associated with this credit union.

Credit score is the main factor that loan specialists use when deciding whether or not an applicant is eligible for a mortgage with the credit union.

Borrowers should have a credit score above 670 to experience higher chances of approval, but lenders will likely offer the best mortgage rates to individuals with excellent credit scores above 760.

Borrowers with no credit history will have a difficult time securing a mortgage with any lender.

Credit Score	Quality	Ease of Approval
760+	Excellent	Easy
700-759	Good	Somewhat easy
621-699	Fair	Moderate
620 and below	Poor	Somewhat difficult
n/a	No credit score	Difficult

PSECU does not specify if they require borrowers to put 20 percent down on the home, but they will award borrowers who make larger down payments with lower monthly rates.

PSECU Phone Number & Additional Details

• Homepage URL: https://www.psecu.com/
• Company Phone: 800-237-7328 (main) or 800-562-6555 (for loan-specific information)
• Headquarters Address: 1500 Elmerton Ave, Harrisburg, PA 17110

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