You Get A Better Mortgage From Credit Union Or Bank

Q: Gerald, my wife and I are in the market for a home. Should we go to our credit union or a bank to get our loan? Kenny, Raleigh, NC.

A: Credit unions are chartered to benefit their membership base so they’re more customer oriented than banks and they typically have lower mortgage interest rates than banks, but often take longer due to slower underwriting processes. Credit unions often keep their mortgages on their books whereas banks often sell off their mortgages—hence the better customer service at credit unions. You can normally get a mortgage loan faster at a regular bank than a credit union because banks are more likely to have automated underwriting processes and regular banks also tend to have access to a wider variety of types of mortgage loans to choose from.

So, to answer your question, where will you get a better mortgage, a credit union or bank? It’s a trade off—if you want speed and wider loan product variety, a regular bank may be best, if you want a lower interest rate and better customer service, a credit union is probably the wiser place to start looking.

Thanks for your question, Kenny, good luck.

For more real estate information and tips, visit my blog at geraldlucas.com.