BrightStar Credit Union Mortgage Interest Rate and Cost Review

Is BrightStar Credit Union a cheap or expensive mortgage lender? To help you shop for a mortgage, we compare the interest rates and closing costs charged by BrightStar Credit Union to those of other lenders for a comparable set of borrowers. Here is our review of BrightStar Credit Union nationally:

Review ItemBrightStar Credit Union
Interest Ratesimilar to other lenders (+0.06%)
Loan Related Closing Costslower than other lenders (-$521)
National Rate and Closing Cost Star Rating(3.5)

On average, BrightStar Credit Union’s interest rates were similar to those of other lenders (+0.06%). On the other hand, its loan related closing costs were lower than those of other lenders, with a difference of -$521. Overall, combining interest rates and closing costs we estimate that BrightStar Credit Union tends to be an average cost lender, and give it a National Rate and Closing Costs Rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars.

We maintain our independence by not accepting any money from the mortgage lenders we review. To visit BrightStar Credit Union, check out its website at: https://www.bscu.org.

BrightStar Credit Union’s Rate Review by City

Mortgage lenders often set different rates in different geographical markets. For our list of the top mortgage lenders by city, click here. In particular, among the cities we track BrightStar Credit Union was most active in:

  1. Miami, FL
  2. Port St. Lucie, FL
  3. Orlando, FL
  4. Tampa, FL
  5. Palm Coast, FL

BrightStar Credit Union’s Rate Review by Mortgage Type

Mortgage lenders also tend to charge different interest rates and closing costs depending on the type of mortgage. In our data, BrightStar Credit Union originated Conforming, Jumbo and VA mortgages for new home purchases. It also originated Conforming and VA mortgages for refinances. Its average interest rate and total loan related closing cost difference relative to other lenders for comparable borrowers by mortgages type is as follows.

Purchase/Refinance:
New Purchase MortgagesConformingJumboVA
Interest Rate Difference-0.03%+0.02%+0.00%
Loan Related Closing Cost Difference-$302-$38+$1
Cost Adjusted Rate Difference-0.06%+0.02%+0.00%
National Star Rating(4)(3.5)(3.5)
Refinance MortgagesConformingVA
Interest Rate Difference+0.13%-0.00%
Loan Related Closing Cost Difference-$718-$26
Cost Adjusted Rate Difference+0.03%-0.01%
Average Star Rating(3.5)(3.5)

As a summary, BrightStar Credit Union is cheap for Conforming purchase mortgages. It is similar to other lenders for Jumbo and VA purchase mortgages. For refinancing mortgages, BrightStar Credit Union is similar to other lenders for Conforming and VA mortgage refinance. Nevertheless, individual circumstances can matter a lot for mortgage rates, and we always recommend shopping among several of our top mortgage lenders in your area before signing.

Other information about BrightStar Credit Union:

Registered name: BrightStar Credit Union
Registered city and state: Plantation, FL, 33313
Regulator: National Credit Union Administration (NCUA)

* Source of the data is Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) and is for mortgages originated in the past year. Our comparable mortgages analysis controls for BrightStar Credit Union’s distribution of loan term (e.g. 30 year vs 15 year), loan-to-value (LTV), debt-to-income (DTI), loan amount, loan program (e.g. Conforming/FHA), loan purpose (e.g. purchase/refinance), and commuting zone. Cost adjusted rates were computed based on each percent of the loan amount in above average loan related closing costs being worth +0.15 of a percentage point in interest rate. Furthermore, the amounts are regularized using a Bayesian approach to control for small samples.