Mortgage lender · Yorktown, VA · LEI 5493003KBJMVUE7RQO90

1st Advantage Federal Credit Union review: approval odds, rates and grade (2025)

1st Advantage Federal Credit Union earns a B, better than most home-equity (HELOC) lenders. It turned down 28.0% of the applications it decided on in 2025, which ranks in the 40th percentile for approval odds. Its median loan was priced 0.93 points below the average prime offer rate, ranking in the 85th percentile on pricing. Compared against 412 home-equity (HELOC) lenders using 2025 HMDA filings.

1.1kApplications2025
61.8%Originatedof applications
28.0%Decision denial ratenational 22.6%
6.38%Median ratenational 6.63%
$133MLoan volume22 states

1st Advantage Federal Credit Union at a glance, 2025

Every figure is from the lender's own HMDA filing. "vs national" compares with all lenders combined.

25.5%Denial rate (all applications)+7.49 pts vs national
28.0%Denial rate (decided applications)+5.43 pts vs national
61.8%Origination rate+3.72 pts vs national
5.5%Withdrawn by applicant
3.7%Closed for incompleteness
6.38%Median interest rate-0.25 pts vs national
-0.93Median rate spread (pts over APOR)-1.18 pts vs national
$95,000Median loan amount
$4,820Median total loan costs
$108kMedian applicant income
73%Median loan-to-value
0High-cost (HOEPA) loans

How the B grade breaks down

Each component is a percentile rank among 412 home-equity (HELOC) lenders. Higher is better. Components the lender does not report are left out and the weights redistributed.

Approval oddsdecision denial rate, weight 45%

40th28.0% denied

Pricingmedian rate spread over APOR, weight 30%

85th-0.93 pts

Processwithdrawn + incomplete share, weight 15%

70th9.1%

Closing coststotal loan costs ÷ loan amount, weight 10%

14th5.07% of loan

Trend, 2023–2025

YearApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateDecision denialMedian rateVolume
202387253823.1%26.2%7.49%$68M
202492360621.7%23.4%7.24%$89M
20251,11969125.5%28.0%6.38%$133M

What 1st Advantage Federal Credit Union lends

Applications by purpose and loan type in 2025, with the denial rate for each. A lender's mix explains a lot of its headline rate: HELOCs and FHA loans are denied far more often than conventional purchase loans.

By loan purpose

Home purchase 90 8% · 13.3% denied
Refinance 172 15% · 16.3% denied
Cash-out refinance 18 2% · 5.6% denied
Home improvement 366 33% · 26.5% denied
Other / HELOC 473 42% · 31.1% denied

By loan type

Conventional 1,113 99% · 25.6% denied
VA 6 1% · 0.0% denied

Also: 756 home-equity lines, 0 reverse mortgages, 6 manufactured homes, 56 investment properties.

Why 1st Advantage Federal Credit Union denies applications

Primary reason reported for each of the 285 denials in 2025. Lenders can cite up to four reasons; this is the first one listed.

Debt-to-income ratio 103 36%
Other 88 31%
Credit history 70 25%
Collateral 18 6%
Unverifiable information 3 1%
Incomplete application 2 1%
Employment history 1 0%

How these reasons compare nationally →

Who gets approved at 1st Advantage Federal Credit Union

Decision denial rate by applicant profile. Groups with fewer than 20 applications are omitted.

Applicant incomeApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under $50k1285252.1%
$50k – $100k36120034.4%
$100k – $150k28218723.5%
$150k – $250k21315618.1%
Over $250k936315.2%
Applicant ageApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
25–34975829.6%
35–4418311826.8%
45–5426717026.4%
55–6427416628.8%
65–7420912629.3%
Over 74663534.4%

Where 1st Advantage Federal Credit Union lends

22 states and 98 counties in 2025. Click a state for the lender's full record there.

StateApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateMedian rateRank in state
Virginia1,06767224.7%6.43%#68
North Carolina14535.7%6.74%#579

Frequently asked questions

1st Advantage Federal Credit Union denied 28.0% of the applications it decided on in 2025. The national figure across all lenders was 22.6%. On approval odds it ranks in the 40th percentile of home-equity (HELOC) lenders.

The most common reason 1st Advantage Federal Credit Union gave in 2025 was "debt-to-income ratio", cited on 36.1% of its denials. Lenders report up to four reasons per denial to the CFPB; the full breakdown is on this page.

The median interest rate on loans 1st Advantage Federal Credit Union originated in 2025 was 6.38%, and its median rate spread over the average prime offer rate was -0.93 points. Rates on this page are what borrowers actually got, not advertised rates.

In 2025, 8% of its applications were for home purchases, 17% for refinancing (including cash-out), and 75% for home improvement or other purposes. By loan type: 99% conventional, 0% FHA, 1% VA.

Every figure on this page comes from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) Loan/Application Register published by the CFPB, which lenders are required by federal law to file. We add the grade and the comparisons; we do not add facts.

About this data. HMDA data is published once a year by the CFPB. The current release covers applications acted on in calendar year 2025. Figures describe applications the lender acted on, including loans it later sold. Interest rates and costs are medians on originated loans only; some depository institutions are exempt from reporting pricing fields, which is why a few cells read "—". MortgageGrades is not affiliated with 1st Advantage Federal Credit Union. Data sources · Methodology