{"id":6333,"date":"2025-04-25T13:59:04","date_gmt":"2025-04-25T18:59:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tomo.com\/blog\/?p=6333"},"modified":"2025-08-24T08:26:18","modified_gmt":"2025-08-24T13:26:18","slug":"review-elements-financial-federal-cu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tomo.com\/blog\/review-elements-financial-federal-cu\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 Mortgage Review: Elements Financial Federal CU"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Elements Financial Federal Credit Union is a member-owned, not-for-profit financial cooperative and direct mortgage lender headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. With more than 100,000 members and over $2.2 billion in assets, Elements Financial serves individuals and families throughout Indiana and beyond, offering a comprehensive range of banking and mortgage solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>See today\u2019s mortgage interest rates on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/tomo.com\/mortgage\/interest-rates-today?utm_source=tomo_blog\">TrueRate<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Elements Financial Federal CU compares to other lenders<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Headquarters <\/strong><\/td><td>Indianapolis, Indiana<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Website<\/strong><\/td><td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.elements.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" title=\"\">https:\/\/www.elements.org\/<\/a><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Rate<\/strong><\/td><td>0.18% less than the median rate<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Lender fees<\/strong><\/td><td>$995 (median)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Savings after 1 year, compared to the median interest rate<\/strong><\/td><td>$938<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Savings after 10 years, compared to the median interest rate<\/strong><\/td><td>$6,034<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Added cost after 1 year (<a href=\"https:\/\/tomo.com\/blog\/reviews-tomo-mortgage\/\" title=\"\">vs. Tomo Mortgage<\/a>) <\/strong><\/td><td>$1,640<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Added cost after 10 years (<a href=\"https:\/\/tomo.com\/blog\/reviews-tomo-mortgage\/\" title=\"\">vs. Tomo Mortgage<\/a>) <\/strong><\/td><td>$5,151<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For a $400,000 mortgage, Elements Financial Federal CU \u2019s rates and lender fees will likely result in savings of over $900 in the first year and around $6,034 after 10 years compared to the median lender. Borrowers should rate shop and compare EFCU to lower cost lenders such as Tomo Mortgage to see if even greater savings can be achieved.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What customers are saying<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Elements Financial Federal Credit Union\u2019s mortgage lending receives predominantly negative sentiment on third-party platforms. Yelp reviews frequently cite poor customer service, with borrowers describing rude or dismissive staff, lack of transparency, and unresolved issues during the mortgage process. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) features complaints about unresponsive support, difficulty obtaining loan documents, and problems with loan servicing, including double payments and a lack of communication regarding critical account changes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On Reddit, multiple users specifically state they would not use Elements again for a mortgage, citing uncompetitive rates and a less-than-stellar experience compared to other lenders, though some praise general banking services. Positive reviews are rare and generally limited to individual staff efforts or general banking rather than mortgage lending. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to compare mortgage lenders<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Interest rates.<\/strong> Comparing rates between lenders isn\u2019t always straightforward. Many promote low headline rates that require paying \u201cpoints\u201d upfront to buy down the interest rate. To make a true comparison, focus on the par rate (0 points) and the APR, which reflects both the interest rate and any lender fees. Even small differences can translate into significant savings over the life of the loan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lender fees or loan origination fees.<\/strong> Many lenders charge fees that add thousands to the cost of a loan. It&#8217;s important to look at both the rate and the fees together to understand the true cost of borrowing. For a $400,000 mortgage, avoiding even a $1,000 fee could contribute to meaningful savings in the first year and over the long term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>On-time close rate.<\/strong> Most lenders do not publicly share their on-time close rates. However, it\u2019s a critical factor\u2014especially if your home contract has tight deadlines. Asking about their process for meeting close dates, including underwriting and document review timelines, can give you more confidence when choosing a lender.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Pre-approval and offer letters.<\/strong> Some lenders offer fast pre-qualifications that may not be fully underwritten, which can weaken your offer in competitive markets. It\u2019s important to ask whether a lender\u2019s pre-approvals are fully underwritten and how credible their letters are when presented with an offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Customer satisfaction.<\/strong> If detailed customer review data isn\u2019t readily available, check third-party review sites or ask the lender for references. It&#8217;s important to understand how they handle communication, responsiveness, and issue resolution throughout the loan process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Employee reviews.<\/strong> Company culture often influences how clients are treated. A lender with strong employee satisfaction typically delivers better service, more organized processing, and a smoother overall experience for borrowers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>To better understand how we compare mortgage rates fairly, see our <a title=\"True Rate Methodology\" href=\"https:\/\/tomo.com\/blog\/true-rate-methodology\/\">TrueRate Methodology<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/tomo.com\/mortgage\/your-quote?utm_source=tomo_blog\">See Tomo Mortgage\u2019s rates for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);margin-left:0;margin-right:0;\" class=\"has-link-color wp-elements-c54b177fd5d2f341f8967a20726f2ac0 wp-block-post-author has-text-color has-contrast-color has-background has-tertiary-background-color has-large-font-size\"><div class=\"wp-block-post-author__content\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-author__name\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tomo.com\/blog\/author\/truerate-analyst\/\" target=\"_self\">TrueRate Analyst<\/a><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-post-author__bio\">Our team uses TrueRate to analyze hundreds of thousands of real loans, apples-to-apples, so that we can give people a clear and objective view of a mortgage lender&#8217;s history. We also look at customer reviews on websites like the Better Business Bureau, Yelp, Google, Bankrate, Zillow, court filings and official actions, and a wide range of other objective data. The goal is simple: show who\u2019s been fair historically, and who hasn\u2019t, so homebuyers have the information they need to save as much money as possible.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re ready to start your journey to homeownership, <a href=\"https:\/\/tomo.com\/mortgage\/app\/preapproval?utm_source=tomo_blog\">get pre-approved with Tomo Mortgage today<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Elements Financial Federal Credit Union is a member-owned, not-for-profit financial cooperative and direct mortgage lender headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. With more than 100,000 members and over $2.2 billion in assets, Elements Financial serves individuals and families throughout Indiana and beyond, offering a comprehensive range of banking and mortgage solutions. How Elements Financial Federal CU compares [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":6355,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[286],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lender-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/tomo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/elements-financial.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tomo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tomo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6333"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/tomo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6333\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6914,"href":"https:\/\/tomo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6333\/revisions\/6914"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tomo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tomo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tomo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}