Mortgage lender · Santa Rosa, CA · LEI 549300767F7CDUJR8Q67

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

Community First Credit Union earns a D, weaker than most small mortgage lenders. It turned down 18.4% of the applications it decided on in 2025, which ranks in the 23rd percentile for approval odds. Its median loan was priced 1.50 points above the average prime offer rate, ranking in the 5th percentile on pricing. Compared against 1,883 small mortgage lenders using 2025 HMDA filings.

254Applications2025
63.0%Originatedof applications
18.4%Decision denial ratenational 22.6%
7.75%Median ratenational 6.63%
$24MLoan volume1 states

Community First Credit Union at a glance, 2025

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

15.0%Denial rate (all applications)-3.02 pts vs national
18.4%Denial rate (decided applications)-4.23 pts vs national
63.0%Origination rate+4.96 pts vs national
11.0%Withdrawn by applicant
7.5%Closed for incompleteness
7.75%Median interest rate+1.13 pts vs national
1.50Median rate spread (pts over APOR)+1.24 pts vs national
$105,000Median loan amount
$1,395Median total loan costs
$93kMedian applicant income
60%Median loan-to-value
0High-cost (HOEPA) loans

How the D grade breaks down

Each component is a percentile rank among 1,883 small mortgage lenders. Higher is better. Components the lender does not report are left out and the weights redistributed.

Approval oddsdecision denial rate, weight 45%

23rd18.4% denied

Pricingmedian rate spread over APOR, weight 30%

5th1.50 pts

Processwithdrawn + incomplete share, weight 15%

23rd18.5%

Closing coststotal loan costs ÷ loan amount, weight 10%

73rd1.33% of loan

Trend, 2023–2025

YearApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateDecision denialMedian rateVolume
202322714715.4%17.9%7.25%$17M
202424115318.7%22.1%8.25%$19M
202525416015.0%18.4%7.75%$24M

What Community First 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 50 20% · 4.0% denied
Refinance 17 7% · 29.4% denied
Cash-out refinance 187 74% · 16.6% denied

By loan type

Conventional 254 100% · 15.0% denied

Also: 92 home-equity lines, 0 reverse mortgages, 89 manufactured homes, 22 investment properties.

Why Community First Credit Union denies applications

Primary reason reported for each of the 38 denials in 2025. Lenders can cite up to four reasons; this is the first one listed.

Debt-to-income ratio 18 47%
Other 12 32%
Collateral 4 11%
Unverifiable information 2 5%
Credit history 2 5%

How these reasons compare nationally →

Who gets approved at Community First Credit Union

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

Applicant incomeApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
Under $50k351433.3%
$50k – $100k1046518.8%
$100k – $150k624215.4%
$150k – $250k32286.7%
Applicant ageApplicationsOriginatedDecision denial rate
35–4440289.4%
45–54452925.0%
55–64784720.3%
65–74503221.4%
Over 74271614.3%

Where Community First Credit Union lends

1 states and 10 counties in 2025. Click a state for the lender's full record there.

StateApplicationsOriginatedDenial rateMedian rateRank in state
California25416015.0%7.75%#332

Frequently asked questions

Community First Credit Union denied 18.4% of the applications it decided on in 2025. The national figure across all lenders was 22.6%. On approval odds it ranks in the 23rd percentile of small mortgage lenders.

The most common reason Community First Credit Union gave in 2025 was "debt-to-income ratio", cited on 47.4% 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 First Credit Union originated in 2025 was 7.75%, and its median rate spread over the average prime offer rate was 1.50 points. Rates on this page are what borrowers actually got, not advertised rates.

In 2025, 20% of its applications were for home purchases, 80% 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 First Credit Union. Data sources · Methodology