Mortgage lender · Ottumwa, IA · LEI 549300WOW2HLRVN4O324

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

Community 1st Credit Union earns a D, weaker than most mid-size mortgage lenders. It turned down 15.5% of the applications it decided on in 2025, which ranks in the 33rd percentile for approval odds. Its median loan was priced 0.55 points above the average prime offer rate, ranking in the 18th percentile on pricing. Compared against 581 mid-size mortgage lenders using 2025 HMDA filings.

1.4kApplications2025
68.0%Originatedof applications
15.5%Decision denial ratenational 22.6%
1.00%Median ratenational 6.63%
$83MLoan volume2 states

Community 1st Credit Union at a glance, 2025

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

12.5%Denial rate (all applications)-5.45 pts vs national
15.5%Denial rate (decided applications)-7.14 pts vs national
68.0%Origination rate+9.97 pts vs national
17.0%Withdrawn by applicant
1.9%Closed for incompleteness
1.00%Median interest rate-5.63 pts vs national
0.55Median rate spread (pts over APOR)+0.29 pts vs national
$65,000Median loan amount
$2,313Median total loan costs
$78kMedian applicant income
72%Median loan-to-value
4High-cost (HOEPA) loans

How the D grade breaks down

Each component is a percentile rank among 581 mid-size mortgage lenders. Higher is better. Components the lender does not report are left out and the weights redistributed.

Approval oddsdecision denial rate, weight 45%

33rd15.5% denied

Pricingmedian rate spread over APOR, weight 30%

18th0.55 pts

Processwithdrawn + incomplete share, weight 15%

39th18.9%

Closing coststotal loan costs ÷ loan amount, weight 10%

14th3.56% of loan

Trend, 2023–2025

YearApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateDecision denialMedian rateVolume
20231,5181,1419.0%10.7%5.63%$98M
20241,4701,0898.6%10.3%1.00%$91M
20251,39795012.5%15.5%1.00%$83M

What Community 1st 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 336 24% · 2.1% denied
Refinance 1,048 75% · 15.9% denied
Cash-out refinance 9 1% · 11.1% denied
Home improvement 4 0% · 0.0% denied

By loan type

Conventional 1,396 100% · 12.5% denied
VA 1 0% · 0.0% denied

Also: 257 home-equity lines, 0 reverse mortgages, 24 manufactured homes, 46 investment properties.

Why Community 1st Credit Union denies applications

Primary reason reported for each of the 175 denials in 2025. Lenders can cite up to four reasons; this is the first one listed.

Credit history 102 58%
Debt-to-income ratio 51 29%
Collateral 10 6%
Employment history 8 5%
Other 3 2%
Incomplete application 1 1%

How these reasons compare nationally →

Who gets approved at Community 1st Credit Union

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

Applicant incomeApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under $50k28917122.9%
$50k – $100k61341815.8%
$100k – $150k28621610.4%
$150k – $250k1381047.8%
Over $250k372025.0%
Applicant ageApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under 2573576.6%
25–3425917014.9%
35–4434022019.3%
45–5431121115.1%
55–6421014814.8%
65–741288417.5%
Over 74604412.0%

Where Community 1st Credit Union lends

2 states and 60 counties in 2025. Click a state for the lender's full record there.

StateApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateMedian rateRank in state
Iowa1,38994612.5%1.00%#14
Missouri8412.5%6.81%#534

Frequently asked questions

Community 1st Credit Union denied 15.5% of the applications it decided on in 2025. The national figure across all lenders was 22.6%. On approval odds it ranks in the 33rd percentile of mid-size mortgage lenders.

The most common reason Community 1st Credit Union gave in 2025 was "credit history", cited on 58.3% 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 Community 1st Credit Union originated in 2025 was 1.00%, and its median rate spread over the average prime offer rate was 0.55 points. Rates on this page are what borrowers actually got, not advertised rates.

In 2025, 24% of its applications were for home purchases, 76% for refinancing (including cash-out), and 0% for home improvement or other purposes. By loan type: 100% conventional, 0% FHA, 0% 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 Community 1st Credit Union. Data sources · Methodology