Compare Community First's published mortgage terms against a documented Freeman Douglas offer. Same loan scenario. Clear payments, points, lender costs and interest. Original sources included.
Independent comparison published by Freeman Douglas Corp. Freeman Douglas is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or an agent of Community First Credit Union of Florida. Community First information is third-party public advertising, reproduced here for consumer comparison.
Community First does not publish a rate or APR for this product on its website (checked November 1, 2026) — you must apply or call to get a number you can compare.
Douglas Wilkerson · Mortgage Broker | Branch Manager · NMLS #1680719 · Freeman Douglas Corp, DBA of Edge Home Finance
Community First does not publish a rate or APR for this product on its website (checked November 1, 2026) — you must apply or call to get a number you can compare.
Douglas Wilkerson · Mortgage Broker | Branch Manager · NMLS #1680719 · Freeman Douglas Corp, DBA of Edge Home Finance
Community First does not publish a rate or APR for this product on its website (checked November 1, 2026) — you must apply or call to get a number you can compare.
Douglas Wilkerson · Mortgage Broker | Branch Manager · NMLS #1680719 · Freeman Douglas Corp, DBA of Edge Home Finance
Community First publishes a conventional fixed-rate table on stated assumptions ($400,000 price, 80% LTV, 780+ credit) — and its first-time-buyer loan is not fixed at all (see below). Its VA and FHA pricing is not published as its own product at all. The Freeman Douglas column publishes priced VA, FHA and conventional 30-year fixed rates with dates and assumptions, at 0 points, for members and non-members alike — there is no membership to buy first.
A veteran doesn't win because a bank put a flag in an ad. A veteran wins when somebody puts the bank's rate, points, APR and lender fees on one side of the page and the same loan — priced across the market — on the other, before anything gets signed. Every dollar a veteran doesn't hand over in points and fees is a dollar that stays with their family. Publishing this comparison, on the record, every day, is how we truly help our military community: not with a slogan — with the numbers.
A first-time buyer doesn't win because an ad said "3.5% down." A first-time buyer wins when somebody shows them the whole cost — rate, APR, points, mortgage insurance and lender fees — next to the same FHA loan priced across the market, before they sign. That's how we truly help our first-time homebuyer community: not with a headline — with the numbers, where everyone can check them.
100% financing up to a $400,000 loan for buyers who have not owned real estate in the past two years — but the loans offered are a 7/1 ARM and a 10/1 ARM. 'First-time buyer, 100% financing' in the headline; adjustable rate in the terms, with the borrower paying all closing costs.
Same program, or the same outcome, here: A first-time buyer here gets the fixed-rate version of the same outcome priced in writing: FHA at 3.5% down, low-down conventional, and Florida Housing assistance (which Community First's own first-time-buyer guide points to) — 30-year fixed, the standard this page compares on.
A no-closing-cost option on fixed and adjustable mortgages, marketed as saving thousands up front. No-closing-cost pricing is a trade, not a gift — the costs move into the rate, which is why the only honest comparison is APR and total cost side by side.
Same program, or the same outcome, here: That same trade is available on any loan here — priced both ways, with and without lender credits, so the cost of 'no closing costs' is a number you see before you choose it.
Same program. Same guidelines. Way cheaper — because one bank gives you their price for it, and we price it across the market. Today's matched comparison is in the cards above.
Bank figures are taken from Community First's own published rate pages and disclosures, captured with the date shown and linked below. Freeman Douglas figures are that day's priced scenario: $450,000 loan, 30-year fixed, primary residence, single-family, borrower-paid compensation, 0 points; down payments VA 0%, FHA 3.5%, conventional 5%. Payments are principal & interest only, recalculated from the amortization formula, never copied from an advertisement. Discount points are never lumped in with origination charges; each cost keeps its own label. Rates change daily — when this page's figures roll forward, the date above rolls with them.
No — that is a different credit union with the same name in Appleton, Wisconsin. The Florida institution is communityfirstfl.org, headquartered in Jacksonville since 1935. Rates from the Wisconsin credit union have nothing to do with Jacksonville.
Yes — membership is required, starting with a $5 share account, open to people who live, work or attend school in its 19 Florida counties (including Duval, Clay, Nassau and St. Johns) and parts of Georgia. Freeman Douglas has no membership requirement.
Its mortgage pages publish no VA or FHA rates of its own; its first-time-buyer guide discusses those programs through Florida Housing. The Freeman Douglas column publishes both, priced and dated.
Request a documented, side-by-side financing review from Freeman Douglas — bring any Loan Estimate, or start with your own numbers.
