Spring is the time of year when most homes are bought and sold and most home buyers need a home loan to finance their purchase.   Do you have a general question about getting a home loan or mortgage?  Ask it below in the comments area and we'll pick 10 of the best questions to post as a Top 10 Home Loan Questions list and will provide answers from the experts at Arvest Mortgage Company.

Your questions can relate to mortgage products, the application process or even what to expect at closing and everything in between.  Questions relating to rates will be redirected to an Arvest Bank lender who will get back with you.

Please do not include any personal information in the content of your question, if you have a question specific to your existing mortgage, please contact your local Arvest Bank location.

If you are interested in a rate quote or in applying for a mortgage, please contact your local Arvest Bank location or visit arvesthomeloan.com.  

Please submit your question by Friday and we'll post the top 10 questions and the expert answers next week!

Arvest customers have many options to reduce the amount of paper that is used during normal banking activities.  Earth Day is a great time to consider some new services or banking habits to help reduce paper waste.  All of the items in the list below are easy to do, easy to sign up for and are free to customers with personal bank accounts.

Please bank green and select one or more of the following 10 ways to conserve paper:

• Sign up for e.Statements on your checking, savings or money market account.  Stop that paper statement and get your statement online.  It's faster, easier and less clutter.  Call or visit the bank to register, or sign up here online.
• If you have an Arvest credit card, electronic statements are available to you too.  Sign up for credit card electronic statments through your online credit card account access.
• Pay your bills online or with mobile banking.  No need to write a check, buy a stamp and use the envelope to mail payments.  Use online BillPay or Arvest Mobile Banking to make your payments electronically.
• Instead of receiving a government payment or employment check by mail, sign up for a direct deposit into your account.  You'll receive the payment faster, and it is safer than the check arriving in your mailbox.  Ask an Arvest banker how to sign up for direct deposit.
• Most local utilities, loan payments or other recurring payments can be automatically drafted from your account, eliminating the need to receive a bill via the mail.  Sign up for this with your utility company, credit company or other billers to see if they offer auto-debit.
• Write fewer checks and use your Arvest Visa CheckCard for everyday purchases, travel or for some bill payments.  Even this small change can add up to make a difference.

Tuesday, April 21 is national Teach Children to Save Day, a day that serves as a reminder of how important it is to educate kids about making good decisions with money and the importance of savings.  For the past 11 years, Teach Children to Save Day has been used by banks across the country to help eductate kids and teens financial skills.

There are some online resources available to you to help you educate your children about the importance of saving, spending and managing money effectively:

Arvest has partnered with Visa’s practicalmoneyskills.com on a website called arvestmoneyskills.com — a site designed to help teachers, parents, students and business professionals develop and maintain better money management for life. To help today’s youth and consumers of all ages become financially savvy, Visa has joined with leading consumer advocates, educators and financial institutions, such as Arvest, to launch a national program to improve the nation’s financial skills.  This site has important tools such as:

• Financial education games and puzzles
• Lesson plans and handouts for formal education
• Podcasts and newsletters
• Articles by Jean Chatzky on financial issues

The American Bankers Association has a website dedicated to Teach Children to Save Day.  Resources available on this site include:

• Creating a beginner's budget
• Money tips for children and for teenagers
• Free financial newsletter
• Roadmap to savings

If you have an Arvest credit card, you can now sign up to receive your monthly statement online as an electronic statement, providing quicker access to your monthly statement and saving on paper waste.

The new electronic statement feature for consumer credit card customers now gives you three options to choose from:

1. Do nothing and you will continue to receive your paper statement as you do currently
2. Sign up for electronic statements and also keep receiving your paper statement
3. Sign up for electronic statements and turn off your paper statement

To sign up, you must be registered for online access to manage your credit card account.  If not registered, it is easy to do, just visit the website and follow the instructions under "Need to Enroll?" on the page.

Once registered, or for already registered users, log into your card information online and you should be presented with an opportunity to sign up for electronic statements.  Simply follow the instructions presented to set your statement preferences.

If you want to change your statement preferences or change them at a later date, log into your card information online and click "Manage Statement Options" located along the left of the page.

Please consider signing up for electronic statements and turning off your paper statement to conserve paper!  You'll benefit from quicker access to your statement and will be helping the environment.

On May 28th, 2009 Arvest Bank will be receiving the “Adelante Award-Corporate Partner of 2009” from the Tulsa Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Each year the Tulsa Hispanic Chamber of Commerce hosts the “Excelencia Awards” to honor outstanding organizations in the Tulsa area that embody the values and goals set forth by the Chamber. There are 3 awards that will be given out at this year’s ceremony:

1) Adelante Award~ Corporate Partner of 2009
The honor goes to a company that is active in the Chamber and it’s programs and has a solid record of working with Hispanic businesses, both locally and nationally.

2) Avance Award~ Small Hispanic Business of 2009
This award profiles a growing and successful Hispanic business contributing to Tulsa’s economic growth and expansion.

3) Bendaña Amigo Award~ Community Leader of 2009
Given for outstanding Community Leadership by illustrating the importance of embracing Tulsa’s Hispanic community.

Arvest-Tulsa is proud to support the Tulsa Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and honored to receive the 2009 Adelante Award for Corporate Partner of 2009!

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You can visit the Chamber’s website here to learn about exciting upcoming events and important Hispanic community announcements.
 

Arvest's next branch location set to open is in Nixa, Missouri and will be an in-store branch located inside the Nixa Walmart store.  This will be the 5th branch location in the Springfield area and one of over 220 branch locations in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas.

Grand opening is scheduled for May 16 and we are very excited to be in Nixa!

Read more about the opening on the Springfield Business Journal's website. 

Arvest Bank in Springfield, Missouri will soon begin construction on a new “green” branch. This new environmentally friendly, full-service branch will be a Silver LEED Certified location. The new branch is slated to open in early 2010 at the corner of National and Chestnut in Springfield. Arvest is thrilled about the construction of what will be our 4th “green” branch, following in the footsteps of the recently opened Fayetteville, Arkansas “green” branch and two other upcoming branches in Stillwater, Oklahoma and Oklahoma City area. 

Springfield customers don’t have to wait until the new branch opens to go “green” though! By switching to e.Statements, our customers can begin helping the environment and saving paper each month by receiving their statements via e-mail. To sign up for e.Statements, simply click here.

Arvest is proud to Go Green!
 

Arvest Bank recently opened its second full-service branch in Stillwater at 524 N. Main Street on Monday, April 6. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held on Tuesday, April 28.

The building features four drive-through lanes, including a commercial lane and an ATM drive-up lane. 

Lobby hours for the new branch will be Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.  The drive-through lanes will be open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“Arvest Bank is committed to the continued development of the Stillwater community,” said Don Gable, President Arvest Bank, Stillwater. “Our top priority is our customers and we believe an additional branch will better meet their needs. We look forward to offering the highest level of service in our new location.”

Arvest has served the Stillwater community since September 2007 when it opened a loan production office at 623 S. Main Street. The first full-service branch at 5215 W. 6th Avenue opened on December 15, 2008.