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Affinity Federal Credit Union

Are you considering Affinity Federal Credit Union for your next home loan? How does AFCU compare to the top mortgage companies for interest rates and fees? Here is my unbiased review of Affinity Credit Union services, mortgage rates and fees.

Affinity Federal Credit Union

Affinity Federal Credit Union claims to be the largest credit union in New Jersey, serving 134,410 members.

Should you trust Affinity FCU with your next mortgage loan or are their home loans laced with junk fees?

Rating by Robert Regehr: 1.0 stars
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Affinity Federal Credit Union Profile

Affinity Federal Credit Union claims to be New Jersey’s largest credit union. According to the NCUA, AFCU has 134,410 members and $2,139,801,102 in assets. They are a member-owned, non-profit, full service credit union with 17 branches in northern/central New Jersey. Founded in 1935, Affinity Federal Credit Union is headquartered in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.

Affinity FCU claims that just about everyone is eligible for membership. If you’re not employed by a one of the 2,000 participating businesses you can join a sponsored association or club to become eligible for membership.

Affinity FCU Contact Information

By Phone:

(800) 325-0808 24 Hour Live Representative
Fax: (908) 860-3883

Online:

www.affinityfcu.org

By Mail:

Affinity Federal Credit Union
73 Mountain View Blvd
Basking Ridge, NJ 07920

Affinity Federal Credit Union Review

The website is feature-rich and easy to navigate. The real-estate section claims to save you an average of $2,862 on closing costs. They claim to have no lender fee, rate lock fee, or origination fee on your purchase or mortgage refinance loan. Lender fees and rate lock fees are widely considered junk fees; however, the loan origination fee is standard and a reasonable amount to pay is one percent of your mortgage amount.

Zero origination fee is a plus for Affinity FCU. AFCU offers fixed-rate home loan with term-lengths ranging from 10 to 30 years. They offer the widest assortment of Adjustable Rate Mortgage loans I’ve seen including 1/1/30, 3/1/30, 5/1/30, 6/2/30, 7/1/30, 10/1/30, 3/1/40, 5/1/40, and 6/2/40. I would avoid 40-year term-lengths completely as choosing this type of home loan is a common mortgage mistake.

Purchase and mortgage refinancing rates are published on the website alongside the Annual Percentage Rate (APR) and do not include discount points. I was able to request a rate quote online and received a disclosure of fees. The website claims a zero origination fee; however, when I requested a quote I was presented a $300 loan origination fee. While $300 is dirt-cheap it is still not zero.

AFCU required a $450 appraisal fee, $175 attorney review fee, a courier fee of $25 (pure garbage), employment verification fee $16.40 (also garbage), credit report fee of $26.60 (really? Overcharged), and a tax service fee of $65 (more garbage fees). The quote I received was laced with junk fees despite the $300 loan origination fee.

Do you and an experience or an opinion of Affinity Federal Credit Union that you’d like to share? Please leave a comment below!

I would question why Affinity Credit Union claims not to charge a loan origination fee and then turns around and charges $300. The mortgage rates published on the website were also higher than I’ve seen from other lenders like Amerisave and Navy Federal Credit Union.

Overall I am unimpressed with Affinity Credit Union saying one thing and doing another. The fees you pay closing on your home loan make or break the deal you’re getting. The more you pay the less benefit you’re getting from today’s low refinance rates.

You can learn more about getting the best deal on your next home loan without paying unnecessary discount points or fees by checking out my free Underground Mortgage Videos.

{ 1 comment… add one }
  • AFCU Employee June 15, 2013, 4:18 pm

    The $300 origination fee is reimbursed once the loan is closed….it says it right on the bottom.

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