Dream Home Benefiting Lawton Food 4 Kids Opens End of March!

Lawton, OK (March 7, 2012) – The Oaks Development Company’s fourth annual dream home will open at the end of this month, March 31 and April 1st. All proceeds from the $5 admission charge will go directly to The Lawton Food 4 Kids. The home is located at 6333 SW Red Oak Blvd. and will be open on Saturday, March 31 from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm and Sunday, April 1 from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

The Villa Style home is located in Oak Ridge Addition, south on 67th street past Lee Blvd., left into Oak Ridge.

Food 4 Kids is a wonderful program that provides chronically hungry elementary school children in Lawton Public School’s with backpacks full of nutritious food to take home over the weekends and on school holidays. Without this program many of these children would have little or nothing to eat aside from the free meals they receive at school.

Over the past three years, The Oaks Development Company has raised nearly $18,000 for Food 4 Kids through their Dream Home tours. The proceeds were able to supply many backpacks worth of weekend nutritious food for chronically hungry children.

The name of this year’s home is Villa DaVinci. This nearly 4,000 square foot luxury home will be fully furnished and staged by Darby’s Big Furniture. Visitors can view a fully equipped chef’s gourmet kitchen, an outdoor living room featuring a full service outdoor kitchen, fireplace and entertainment center, fully staged state of the art sound insulated home theater and all of the latest styles in home design.

Builder Ron Nance explains that he is excited to “give people the opportunity to see something they’ve never seen before in Lawton while supporting a truly worthy cause.” Nance continues to give back to the community as the builder of the Westbrook project for ABC’s Extreme Makeover Home Edition and recipient of Lawton Homebuilders “Builder of the Year” two years in a row.

Record Low Interest Rates and Increased VA Loan Limits

With interest rates at record lows the home of your dreams may be closer within reach than you realize. In 2012 the VA Jumbo loan limit was increased to $1million for qualifying veterans. A jumbo loan is defined as any loan greater than $417,000. Part of the great news is that down payments are minimal on these loans and interest rates are below 4%! For any VA loan up to $417,000 VA guarantees the entire amount and $0 down is required. For any amount over $417,000 the borrower is only required to put down 25% on the amount over $417,000. For example, on the Lakeside Chateau valued at $562,021, the down payment would only be $36,255. If you have this amount in cash, investment or home equity you are good to go! At 3.75% interest on a 30 year fixed loan the monthly principle and interest payment would only be $2,434. Imagine living in this Mediterranean Castle directly on a lake for such a low monthly investment. We will probably never see interest rates this low again in our lifetime! Now is a once in a lifetime opportunity to lock in a payment as low as it will ever be on the home of your dreams in The Oaks. Think 10 years from now, what will you wish you had done today? Don’t settle for less, come out today and join the many other families who are living their dream in The Oaks!

A message from Builder Ron Nance

"From saving for retirement to planning our children’s college education to booking our dream vacation, we plan for our future in many ways. But at the end of the day the question is this, do we plan adequately for our housing needs? The main reason many Americans can’t stay in their own homes in the later years of life is because their homes become inaccessible and no longer meet their needs. I’ve been working on a designation from the National Home Builders Association on Aging in Pace. That simply means I am up to date on all the latest ideas, products and techniques that will enable you to stay in your own home ad make the ‘golden years’ truly the golden years. Think about it, where would you rather be during the golden years of our life….spending thousands of dollars a month on a retirement community or staying in the comfort of your own home? Come talk to us about building a home with this very important but often forgotten element that we all need in our homes. “

Terminology: Construction Industry Terms

Many times our buyers of our custom homes would like to know more about construction methods and terms. I prepared the following to help understand some common terms. Ron

Terminology: Construction Industry Terms


Arc fault interrupter circuits (AFIC) - When an electrical short occurs, the AFIC interrupts the flow of current to electrical devices.

Door hardware: locksets, hinges, stops, and latches - Door knobs of various types: privacy (e.g., for bathrooms), passage (e.g., for closet or other areas not requiring privacy), dummies (e.g., for closets), and entry (usually operable by a key, sometimes with two locks).

Electrical devices: single pole and three pole switches (3 way) - Single pole switches are used to operate a device from only one place; three or triple pole switches permit turning on or off from more than one location.

Ground fault interrupter circuit (GFIC) - GFICs provide instantaneous stoppage of current flow. They are required by code for kitchens, baths, garages, and other places where water may be near electrical devices.

Header - A header is a horizontal load carrying member over wall, window, or door openings.

HVAC grills and registers - Heating, ventilation, and air conditiO:ning registers are typically openings that furnish air into rooms; grills are openings for return airs.

Jamb- A jamb is the side or top frame of a door or window.

Joist (floor & ceiling) - A joist is a horizontal structural member, often at 16" on center.

Load and non-load bearing walls - Load bearing walls are those present where there is occupied area above and over which structural members break or are spliced. These walls require additional structure if openings are made or enlarged. Non-load bearing walls can be interrupted without the need for shoring or adding structural members.

Plumb- Plumb is a term to mean "perfectly vertical."

Plumbing: supply, waste and vent lines - Supply lines are those carrying hot and cold water; waste lines are for sewage; and vent pipes are oriented vertically to allow downward flow of sewage.

Studs (jacks, trimmers, kings, cripples, plates) - A stud is a vertical wall board.

Subfloor and underlayment - A subfloor is a structural component of the flooring system designed to assist in carrying loads; underlayment is typically a leveling and/or smoothing layer. They are horizontal members typically glued and fastened to floor joists.

Threshold - The threshold is the bottom portion of a doorway, the member against which the door blank closes.

Merry Christmas from The Oaks Family to Yours!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in The Oaks! Starting in November Christmas lights started to go up throughout the Oaks. Neighbors were gearing up for our third annual neighborhood Christmas Light competition! Each night sounds of the season can be heard rising in the air and twinkling lights are shining bright!

On December 15 we enjoyed our annual neighborhood Christmas party at the home of builder Ron and Susan Nance. This was also the night that the winner of our Christmas light competition was selected and announced!

Aso Pogi, former professional football player and local resident of The Oaks, served as the judge. Pogi had his work cut out for him as so many homes looked gorgeous! Builder Ron Nance took Pogi around in his 1957 Chevy Nomad to view all of the lights on full display.

Oak Pointe Blvd. was graced with Santa Clause, life size nutcrackers and sounds of Christmas music rising in the air!

Ultimately Pogi narrowed it down to three homes. He named two runners up, The Jones home and The Duckett home. He then named Steve and Lynni Larsen as the first place winners of the competition!

The Larsen’s were honored to receive first place but called Rose Duckett up and said that they wanted to make an announcement. Steve said that when they moved to Oak Pointe Blvd. they instantly connected with their neighbors James and Rose Duckett. The Larsen’s and Duckett’s become more than just friends, they became as close as family.

In September James passed away and the entire neighborhood felt the pain. James was a good man who always kept a watchful eye on The Oaks. Steve said that last year he and Lynni had decided if they won the competition that they wanted to give their award to The Duckett’s. This year, they wanted to do the same and hand it over to Rose. It was a touching moment for everyone! We know that James was looking down smiling on the occasion!

During the evening everyone enjoyed Christmas Bingo and beautiful gift basket prizes made by our neighbor Linda Tessmer. Everyone enjoyed Christmas cheer and a good time with the neighbors!

From The Oaks family to yours, wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The Oaks Development Company Dream Home Weekend was a Success!

The Oaks Development Company's third annual dream home event wa a huge success for local children's charity, Lawton Food 4 Kids! Over 750 people toured the home throughout the weekend. $3,812 was collected from admission and builder Ron Nance matched that amount making the total raised $7,624. According to Dr. Linda Dzialo, this was the best dream home event ever.

Food 4 Kids provides chronically hungry elementary school children in Lawton Public Schools with backpacks full of nutritious food to take home over the weekends and on school holidays. Without this program many of these children would have little or nothing to eat aside from the free meals they receive at school.

The cost to fund Lawton Food 4 Kids will be approximatley $60,000 this year. It costs $200 to provide one backpack for one child for the year. The amount raised by The Oaks Development Company's Dream Home will provide one years worth of nutritious food for 38 Children.

In the dream home, also known as "The Lakeside Chateau", visitors were able to tour a 3100 squre foot luxury home reminiscent of a Mediterranean Castle. The castle turrett was a favorite of all who toured the home. Housing the study, this grand space is open to the sweeping curved staircase and grand two story foyer.

The dream home was fully furnished and accessorized by Brady's Design Center giving visitors the latest insight on interior home decor. Upstairs, visitors were able to relax in comfortable oversized theater recliners while experiencing a true home theater retreat staged by Audio Tech.

Builder Ron Nance has been an integral par of the Lawton business community for over a quarter century and contines to give back to the community as the builder of the Westbrook project for ABC's Extreme Makeover Home Edition and recipient of Lawton Homebuilders "Builder of the Year" two years in a row.

Oaks Development 'Dream Home Tour' to benefit Food 4 Kids - KSWO, Lawton, OK- Wichita Falls, TX: News, Weather, Sports. ABC, 24/7, Telemundo -

Oaks Development 'Dream Home Tour' to benefit Food 4 Kids - KSWO, Lawton, OK- Wichita Falls, TX: News, Weather, Sports. ABC, 24/7, Telemundo -