One of the things that I love the most about Austin is our community’s commitment to local businesses. That wouldn’t be possible without tons of great local companies TO support! By luck or by design, we’ve become a germinating ground where really cool, socially responsible, innovative, and community-supporting companies can flourish.

I decided that I’d like to shine a light on some of these companies, and my first one, as you may have guessed from the graphic, is University Federal Credit Union. Since it was established in 1936, I’m guessing the landscape of Austin looked very, very different when UFCU first opened for business. However, they’ve been a strong, not for profit, members-owned credit union ever since!

I shouldn’t have to extol the benefits of credit union membership to you; financial personalities such as Clark Howard have already done that. I will say that as a long-time member of UFCU, I have been personally impressed by their commitment to their members and their interest in bettering the Austin community, with great rates, financial education programs for kids, teens, and grown-ups alike, and more. Finally, and perhaps most importantly to our clients, they are often the best and least expensive source for their members to obtain a loan, whether that loan is for a car, education, or my favorite…the home of your dreams.

Other real estate and mortgage professionals can attest that this year has been an interesting time to shop for a loan. Even some buyers that last year we’d have thought of as “bullet-proof”, with high credit scores and cash reserves, have been the victim of overzealous lending practices as the market swings back towards more conservative lending practices in an effort to stem the tide of toxic loans. UFCU has been a voice of reason in actually speaking with their members (novel concept!), assessing whether or not the loan makes sense based on their complete financial picture, and finally, getting the deal closed quickly. You aren’t just a loan application number to UFCU, with a loan processor in another state. Your loan staff is here in town, working on your file, and available for you to speak to in person.

Had a good (or bad) experience with UFCU? I’d love to hear about it…