Police and Fire Federal Credit Union: 2025 Home Equity Review
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At a glance
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Loan amount
Up to $600,000
Min. credit score required
Undisclosed
Repayment terms
5-year draw/15 year repayment period for HELOC; 5-20 years for home equity loan
Funds available in
As little as 1 day
Police and Fire Federal Credit Union (PFFCU) offers both home equity loans (HE loans)
and home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) at low rates, on owner- and non-owner-occupied homes (the HELoans) and – most compellingly – without any major closing costs, including application fees. Pity that the footprint is so small: limited to three states and those in the titular professions and their familles, plus employees of a few local partner firms.
Police and Fire Federal Credit Union overview
A member-owned financial cooperative, Police and Fire Federal Credit Union was founded in 1938 to serve firefighters and police officers in Philadelphia. Since those Great Depression days, it has grown beyond the City of Brotherly Love. It now has $8 billion in held assets and more than 400,000 members across Pennsylvania, New Jersey and some counties in Delaware.
Home equity loan products offered
Police and Fire Federal Credit Union (PFFCU) offers two home equity products: a home equity loan and a line of credit (HELOC).
The fixed-rate home equity loan comes with two options. The first lets you access up to 80 percent of the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of your primary home, up to $600,000, with a 5–20 year repayment schedule. The second allows you to borrow up to 100 percent of your LTV ratio, up to $100,000, which you repay in 5–15 years.
Finally, PFFCU also offers HE Loans on investment properties, for up to 65 percent of the LTV ratio, up to $200,000, to be repaid in 5–15 years.
PFFCU’s HELOC, on the other hand, has a five-year draw period and 15-year repayment term. You can borrow up to $600,000 to finance up to 80 percent of the LTV ratio of your primary home.
Pros and cons of Police and Fire Federal Credit Union
Pros
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PFFCU makes their current annual percentage rates (APRs) available online.
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It offers competitive rates and no closing costs, plus discounts for auto-pay from PFFCU account.
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Borrowers can receive a decision about their HELOC or HE Loan in as little as one day when they apply during business hours.
Cons
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A limited group of people are eligible for PFFCU membership.
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PFFCU only operates in three states.
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HELOC has a short draw period, and no lock-in rate options.
How Bankrate scored Police and Fire Federal Credit Union
Affordability: 5/5
- APR: PFFCU offers competitive APRs, several percentage points below Bankrate’s national averages. HELOC rates, in fact, are discounted from the prime rate. These assume that the borrower sets up automatic payments using an active PFFCU checking or savings account or distribution from an automatically deposited paycheck.
- Fees: Police and Fire Federal Credit Union advertises that it doesn’t charge any closing costs or application fees for its HELOCs and HE Loans. However, you can choose to pay for an appraisal upgrade for $150 (basically, a new evaluation that confirms the value of a property if the initial AVI appraisal turns up a lower sum than you think it should). The credit union charges a $15 returned loan payment fee and a $10 fee for making payments by credit card. The late fee for home equity loans is 5 percent of the monthly principal and interest, and the late fee for HELOCs is the lesser of $20 or 4 percent of the unpaid amount.
Because PFFCU originates equity-backed loans with limited fees and highly competitive APRs, we gave it a full 5 out of 5 in terms of affordability.
Availability: 2/5
- Loan products: Police and Fire Federal Credit Union offers fixed-rate home equity loans for both primary residences and single-property investment properties. The credit union also offers HELOCs.
- Footprint: PFFCU only operates in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware — a very limited roster.
- Credit score: Police and Fire Federal Credit Union doesn’t disclose its credit score requirements, unlike some lenders.
- Loan minimum: PFFCU starts its HE Loan amounts at $25,000, a typical minimum. The lender doesn’t disclose a minimum or draw requirement for its HELOCs.
While PFFCU offers a variety of equity-backed loan products, its limited footprint and membership scope make that financing unavailable to most people. As a result, we scored it 2 out of 5 here.
Borrower experience: 3.5/5
- Rate transparency: PFFCU is very transparent about its APRs. Its website has a dropdown menu that allows borrowers to see different rates (or in the case of HELOCs, current rates) based on their loan term, size and LTV ratio. (Of course, your actual individual rate also depends on your creditworthiness.)
- Convenience: Borrowers can apply online or at one of 17 locations. You can access HELOC funds by phone, online/mobile Banking, ATMs or at a branch.
- Customer service: The credit union has a full-service live call center available from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET Monday through Friday and from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET on Saturday. Its location map also offers a click-through feature to see the operating hours and services of each branch.
- Fixed-rate options: PFFCU doesn’t offer the option to convert your HELOC balance to a fixed-rate loan, unlike many lenders.
Police and Fire Federal Credit Union is clear about its currently available rates but again, its limited footprint is its Achilles heel, as is its lack of a lock-in rate for the HELOC. So we scored it 3.5 out of 5 for borrower experience.
How to qualify for a home equity loan with Police and Fire Federal Credit Union
To qualify for either of PFFCU’s home equity products, you must first join the credit union. To be eligible for membership, you’ll need to be a current or retired Philadelphia police officer or firefighter (or an immediate family member of one), or an employee with one of several partner organizations in and around Philadelphia and South Jersey. Residents of select Delaware counties may also be eligible, if a family member can refer them.
Loans are available on both primary residences and investment properties. HELOCs are only for primary residences.
How to apply with Police and Fire Federal Credit Union
To apply for one of PFFCU’s home equity products, simply fill out the online application on the credit union’s website; it only takes about 10 minutes to complete. If you prefer to speak to a loan officer, you can call the credit union’s customer service center or visit a branch.
You can tap into your home equity — the difference between your home's worth and what you owe on your mortgage — with a home equity loan or a HELOC. With those funds, you can tackle a variety of expenses, like debt consolidation or home renovations.
However, before you dive in, it's important to figure out your loan-to-value ratio (LTV). Lenders use your LTV to determine how much of your equity stake you can actually borrow. (It’s typically 80 percent, although some lenders allow you to access as much as 90 percent.) The amount of equity they’ll let you tap is one consideration when choosing a lender. Be it a retail bank, online lender or credit union, it may offer different home equity loan rates and terms, too. That’s why it’s important to shop around for the best deal.
Police and Fire Federal Credit Union reputation
On its site, the credit union touts that it won the MemberXP 2020 Best of the Best for providing outstanding service and the 2023 Best Credit Union Community’s Choice Awards for Bucks County and Burlington County.
It only has a B rating with the Better Business Bureau, though, and it has 1.2 out of 5 stars from customer reviews there.
Police and Fire Federal Credit Union customer ratings and reviews
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