ēCO News
Winter 2016
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What’s
Happening
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Tips for First-Time Home Buyers
Melissa Stewart • ēCO Credit Union Marketing Director
Buying a home, especially your first, is filled with emotions. Of course,
you are excited and anticipate all of the fun memories to be made in
your new home, but it can also be a nerve-wracking experience.
I recently purchased my first home and wanted to share a few tips that
helped my husband and me feel confident throughout the process:
1. Prepare your finances before you begin.
Have an emergency fund or savings account in place. Even if you choose a
100% financing option, the costs of purchasing a home add up. From a
home inspection to any repairs or updates you want completed before
you move in, having cash on hand can simplify the process and help you
feel more at ease.
Monitor your credit report. Your credit score can play a huge role in being
able to qualify for a mortgage. Be sure to check your credit report to confirm all is accurate. Also, if your credit score needs
some work, begin taking steps to improve it. If you don’t know how to access your credit report or would like
someone to review it for you, stop by any of our ēCO branches to talk with a branch manager.
2. Get pre-approved.
Before we even began our house hunt, we reached out to Judd Davis, ēCO’s Mortgage Underwriter, for a pre-approval
letter. Knowing how much home we could afford helped us get started. It also prevented us from falling in love with a
house that was out of our price range.
3. Choose a realtor you trust.
Before starting my own homebuying process, I had no idea how much having a realtor helps. My husband and I were so
thankful to work with someone we know and trust. From listening to our needs and setting up showings, to providing us
with comparable sales in our area to be sure we paid the best price for our new home, our realtor was on our team and
helped us get to closing quickly.
4. Finance with ēCO Credit Union.
ēCO helped make the process smooth and simple. Judd was patient to answer all of our many questions and worked hard
to be sure all was handled accurately and efficiently. ēCO also keeps all of their mortgages in-house and does not charge
PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance). To get started today, call 226.3902. You can also attend our eCO Savings Race University
course on February 7 to learn more about home buying and credit scores.
Click here to learn more about ēCO Mortgages!
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What’s
Happening
ēCO Savings Race
University
Vestavia Hill Library
1221 Montgomery Hwy., Vestavia Hills
January 21, 9 a.m.
Couponing & Car Buying
February 7, 6 p.m.
Home Buying & Credit Scores
March 7, 6 p.m.
Retirement & Wills and Trusts
April 1, 9 a.m.
Meal Planning & Budgeting
Alabaster Open House
& Ribbon Cutting
February 2 • 10 a.m.
We will celebrate our new Alabaster
branch with an Open House and Ribbon
Cutting. Light refreshments will be
served.
ēCO Annual Meeting
February 16 • 7 p.m.
Join us for our Annual Meeting. The
Annual Meeting will take place at
Homewood Middle School.
Scholarship Deadline
March 3
A.L. Bratcher and ēCO Credit Union
Foundation Scholarship Applications
are due.
Holiday Closings:
January 2
New Year’s Day
January 16
Martin Luther King Day
Even when your favorite ēCO branch
is closed, you can access your account
through ēCO Online, Mobile Banking,
and Voice Response
A Message From Your
CEO
By Joey Hand
When the calendar rolls over to a new
year, I like to take a moment to pause
and reflect on the previous year, while
also looking forward with anticipation
to the new year.
We are excited about all of the great
things that happened at ēCO in 2016.
We rolled out a new Mobile Banking
App and continued to update other
services to best serve our members. We
began construction on our Alabaster
branch, which will allow us to continue
to meet the needs of our members in
Shelby County. We helped three families improve their financial pictures by
more than $60,000 through the Fourth
Edition of the ēCO Savings Race, and
we’ve already seen great progress from
our Fifth Edition teams. We donated
more than ever before to Children’s of
Alabama. We also got to hear countless
stories of how ēCO’s products and services helped our members reach their
financial goals, and that’s what it’s all
about!
We already have great plans to continue
to meet the needs of our members and
the community in 2017. In the coming
months, we will be rolling out Remote
Deposit Capture through our Mobile
App. This will allow our members to securely make deposits while on the go.
Beginning in February, we will begin
a First-Time Home Buyers promotion
to help the dream of home ownership
become a reality for our members. We
have also ramped up our ēCO Credit
Union Foundation fundraising efforts,
which will allow us to provide more
financial education to our schools and
the community. We have increased the
amount of our scholarships, as well as
our scholarship offering to help meet
more needs. Great things are happening at ēCO Credit Union!
Thank you for continuing to trust ēCO
to meet your financial needs. We look
forward to continuing to better serve
you in 2017!
ēCO in the Community
After Hurricane Matthew impacted students from
Union Elementary School in Clinton, North Carolina,
Team Jackson, from the ēCO Savings Race, joined
together with their school, J. S. Abrams Elementary
School, and community to help gather supplies for
students who were affected.
ēCO was excited to be able to donate 1,000
pencils, 650 folders, and over 400 markers to
their supply drive. Their ēCO Savings Race coaches
delivered the supplies and met with Team Jackson
and school principal, LaRhonda Aikerson.
Through a partnership with Banzai, the
ēCO Credit Union Foundation provides
financial education materials to schools
located in the Shelby County area. We
were excited to drop off materials at
Calera Middle School, Columbiana
Middle School, Cornerstone Christian
School, Linda Nolen Learning Center, and
Thompson Middle School to help
students learn more about finances.
Thanks to the generosity of our members, vendors,
schools, the community, and a $10,000 CO-OP Miracle
Match, ēCO was thrilled to donate $47,571.32 to
Children’s of Alabama in 2016!
ēCO member, James Stovall, was
the winner of our Auto Loan
promotion. He received $1,000!
“Not he who
has much is
rich, but he
who gives
much.”
-Erich Fromm
2017
Did a financial goal make its way on your 2017 resolution list?
At ēCO Credit Union, it is our priority to help our members, as well as the community, reach their
financial goals. As we kick off the new year, we have a few ways we plan to help:
• ēCO Savings Race University: ēCO Savings Race University courses are designed to teach
attendees practical financial tips. We have a great line-up of courses that we will begin offering in
January. View What’s Happening or visit www.ecosavingsrace.org for all of the details. We hope
you will take advantage of these great classes.
• Resolution Loan: Did you rack up high-interest credit card debt during the holidays? ēCO’s
Resolution Loan is designed to help you pay it off and lower your interest rate. At 6.75% APR with
terms up to twelve months, the loan is a great way to get back on track.
• Social Media Tips: ēCO is on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Follow us to be sure you don’t miss
any of the great financial tips we share, including ēCO Savings Race Take Away Tips.
• Branch Staff: We are all about finding solutions at ēCO. Stop by a branch and let one of our great
employees look over your finances to see if ēCO can help or even, save you money!
We look forward to helping you reach your financial goals!
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ēCO Credit Union members can get up to $15 off TurboTax federal products. Get started today and save!
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and other important information.
Fourth Quarter
Dividends
The fourth quarter dividends
on savings (Share) accounts are
at the following levels:
ēCO Credit Union is thrilled to
maintain our Bauer 5-Star Rating!
Tier 1 ($100,000 or more):
0.40 APY
The Five-Star rating signifies strength,
reliability, and trust. Fewer than 10%
of the Nation’s Financial Institution can
claim this distinction.
Thank you for trusting us to
meet your financial needs!
Tier 2 ($75,000-$99,999):
0.30 APY
Tier 3 ($40,000-$74,999):
0.25 APY
Tier 4 ($10,000-$39,999):
0.20 APY
Tier 5 ($100-$9,999):
0.15 APY
Tier 6 ($0-$99):
0.00 APY
Locations and Office Hours
Alabaster Office
507 First Street North
Alabaster, AL 35007
Phone: 205.226.3951
M-F 9:00 AM-5:00 PM
Drive-Thru: 9:00 AM5:30 PM
Clay Office
2430 Old Springville
Road, Suite 100
Birmingham, AL 35215
Phone: 205.226.3940
M-F 9:00 AM-5:00 PM
Drive-Thru: 9:00 AMNew Location Coming Soon:
5:30 PM
791 Fourth Place Southwest
Gardendale Office
1233 Pecan Avenue
Gardendale, AL 35071
Phone: 205.226.3948
M-F 9:00 AM-5:00 PM
Drive-Thru: 9:00 AM5:30 PM
Homewood Office
* Jefferson County Board of
Education & Homewood City
Schools Board of Education
Employees Only
Phone: 205.226.3959
M-F 9:00 AM-4:30 PM
Closed from 12:30-1:00
McCalla Office
Colonial Promenade
Tannehill
4933 Promenade Parkway Suite 113
Bessemer, AL 35022
Phone: 205.226.3944
M-F 9:00 AM-5:00 PM
Riverchase Office
3746 Lorna Road
Birmingham, AL 35216
Phone: 205.226.3938
M-F 9:00 AM-5:00 PM
Drive-Thru: 9:00 AM5:30 PM
Toll-Free: 1.877.217.0513 | Member Services: 205.226.3900 | Voice Response: 205.250.6141 | Mortgage Department: 205.226.3902 | www.ecocu.org