Hop on Over to the Andover Glen Easter-Egg Hunt!

By Debra Jones

All Andover Glen residents bring your children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces, nephews to the Easter Egg Hunt and see the Easter Bunny! 

Bring your Easter basket and be ready to hunt for eggs filled with treats and some eggs will have extra special prizes in them.  The kids will be divided into three age groups:

2-3 years, 4-6 years, and 7-10 years.

We will have a table located by the Gazebo where the kids will need to sign in so we can place them in the proper age group. Mom and Dad can also register to win a prize too. 

The Easter Bunny would love to have a picture taken with you, so have Mom and Dad bring their camera.

Refreshments will be served after the Egg Hunts. ~

Egg-hunters Mask Contest

 By Debra Jones

Kids, make a Egg-Hunters Mask (instructions are listed below) and the best decorated Girl mask and Boy mask will win a prize. The contest will take place after the Egg Hunt at the Gazebo.

EGG-HUNTERS MASK

Craft Materials needed:

2 lightweight paper plates

Pink construction paper or crayons

White glue

Stapler

Hole punch

Narrow elastic

Blunt nosed scissors (with parents help)

1. Cut one of the paper plates in half.

2. To make the ears, cut half-moon shapes from the pink paper, and trim them so

    they are smaller than a plate half.

3. Glue each half moon in the center of a plate half.

4. Position the ears on the other plate and staple in place.

5. Cut out openings for the eyes and trim around the mouth to shape cheeks.

6. Draw on a nose and Whiskers.

7. Punch holes on the sides near the child's ears and secure a length of elastic so

    the mask fits snugly on your child's head.

Variations:

Alternative, your child can color the insides of the ears pink.

These are basic instructions, have fun and be creative.

I want to thank Donna and Rich Foerster with Keller Williams who are co-sponsoring

this event.  If you have any questions, please e-mail me at debsew79@msn.com. ~

2007 Changes in the Real Estate Contract

 By Royal Shields

As your newly elected board member and appointed Chairman of the Architectural Control Committee, I feel that I need to make you aware of some recent changes in the Colorado approved real estate Contract to Buy and Sell.  You just might think they are important, whether it’s today or in the near future.  These changes mostly deal with FULL DISCLOSURE to the prospective purchaser(s) of your property.  Having written that, should there ever be any questions, from a real estate sales standpoint, with which I can help, please feel free to contact me since I have been a real estate broker for 34 years and taught real estate law and contracts for the state for 14 years (no obligation, of course).  This writing is long so I have broken it down into two parts.

PART ONE

Here are the basic highlights of these changes which will directly effect the sale of any property in Andover Glen, or anywhere else for that matter.  These are mandatory in 2007.

Should you ever enter the foreclosure “process”, which would seem unlikely, you must disclose this fact, in writing, to the purchaser.  If not, the contract might be void.  There are now specific forms/addenda which need to be used.  Seek legal counsel.

For the past ten years or so, there was always language in the sales contract stating that the Seller had to provide to the Purchaser the HOA “docs” and the Purchaser had the right to review same and either approve or disapprove them. THIS HAS NOT CHANGED!  If the Purchaser disapproved said “docs”, the contract could be voided by the Purchaser.  If the Purchaser proceeded with the closing, the Purchaser had to abide by the “docs” of the HOA. This is a contract within a contract.  NOW, there is a MANDATORY DISCLOSURE requirement pertaining the Homeowner’s Association of said subdivision (even if there is no mandatory monthly/annual fee).  Of course, in Andover Glen, there is a MANDATORY association fee.  If the homeowner(s) is required to join and required to pay the fee, the new contract provides that the Seller is mandated to disclose to the Purchaser these facts.  The Purchaser must sign that he received said form.  Even if the HOA is not mandatory, this contractual provision would still apply.  This disclosure is the responsibility of the SELLER, not the real estate agent nor the title insurance company, and the Purchaser must abide by said provisions if he elects to live in that community.  Seek legal counsel.

Continued with Part Two in next Column…

PART TWO

NOT NEW:  By signing this disclosure, the Purchaser acknowledges that he received, in a timely manner, the Declarations, By-Laws, Articles of Incorporation, the Financials, and the Policy & Procedures, etc.  Therefore, no owner can subsequently say that he didn’t know about the HOA fees and the provisions and requirements for changing any part of the exterior of the property, including, but limited to, the structure, landscaping, etc., without first applying for said change and receiving written approval from the Board of Directors of this association. The purchaser acknowledges any fines, risk of liens placed by the Association for non-payment, foreclosure, and/or penalties resulting from non-compliance. IT’S IMPORTANT FOR OWNERS TO REMEMBER THAT THE SELLER IS OBLIGATED TO PROVIDE THESE ITEMS AND DISCLOSURE TO THE PURCHASER BY A CERTAIN DATE SO STATED IN THE CONTRACT TO BUY AND SELL.  Seek legal counsel.

4.  In the CONTRACT TO BUY AND SELL, paragraph 7 d has been modified substantially as it pertains to the items stated above.  Should you want a copy of the changes, in contract form, please contact me and I will get you a copy of same.

This was never meant to be a course in real estate contracts.  However, if you ever attempt to sell your property, these are some things, as the Seller, which are required by law to disclose.  From that prospective, no Seller and no new Purchaser/Owner can ever say, “I didn’t know I had to do………”

One last thought:  even though your real estate broker is supposed to advise you of these types of things and, in fact, they normally do all of the leg work for you, it is the SELLER WHO IS ULTIMATELY AND LEGALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THESE THINGS TO BE DONE IN A TIMELY MANNER.  Seek legal counsel

As a footnote, please remember these things in reverse order when you buy any real estate.  As a purchaser, please read and re-read those things which you are signing and always remember—you always have the right to SEEK LEGAL COUNSEL.

I hope you had a pleasant and rewarding Holiday Season.  Should you ever have any questions regarding your responsibility pertaining to disclosure regarding the AGHOA  and/or questions pertaining to any changes to any part of the exterior of your property, please contact me and let’s visit.  As a reminder, I am not an attorney-at-law, just a real estate broker trying to make things a little more simple for our neighbors. ~

Special Feature Article:

Are you ready for Spring?

By Donna Foerster, GRI

Keller Williams Realty

Are you ready to spend time outside?  Are all of your inside chores complete?  Here are some home improvement ideas to complete in the month of April.

Continued at the top of the next column…

Clean your garbage disposal.  Grind two trays of ice cubes made from a mixture of one cup white vinegar to one gallon of water. ~

Springtime in the Rockies!

By Bob Meyer

Thankfully, the last of our snowdrifts has melted and we may go about our outdoor tasks without needing parka and boots. 

There may be the need to crack a window or door for ventilation, and a nice stroll on one of our balmy evenings is a treat we can all enjoy.  BUT…. please remember that there are still bunches of bad guys out there, so the usual precautions remain:

       1) Lock everything that you can, and use pins or doweling to secure openings to your home.   As we go about our daily tasks, be alert and aware of strangers in the neighborhood.  Do not be shy about directly observing anything that does not "look right".  Call a neighbor for help, if you wish.  Take down descriptions, license tags, and other information that may be useful.

2)      This is a great time to trim overgrown landscaping.  The bad guys like to use it for concealment.

3)      A cell phone is a great companion for your walks.  911 help is just a button away. 

“Springtime” continued on page 4

From page 3…

We are trying to get our overworked Aurora street sweepers to help clear the winter sand and debris from our streets.  Sweepers report being filled more rapidly this year, and thus spend more time returning to dump their load.  We shall try to give notice when they plan to arrive so that your cars may be removed from the street.  We may get only one pass this year, so let's make the best of it!  (Cars off the street is a great idea anyway.)   Stay alert, stay safe! ~

Reminder:

The next AG Board Meeting is Wednesday, April 18th, 2007 at 7 p.m. at Shalom Park. All AG residents are welcome.

Special Guest Editorial:

By Fred & Ethel Mallard

            We have recently been flying between our winter and summer home, and as has been the case over the last few years, we often stop in lovely Andover Glen. There are lots of nice people here!

                As we circled the Glen (as we like to call it), Fred looked down. “Oh my gosh Ethel,” he said, “We’ve come north far too early. It’s still Christmas!”

                Ethel looked down, and sure enough several of the wonderful homes had Christmas decorations up.

                How could this be? We pondered this mystery. We circled again and swooped down for a closer inspection. It was true.

                “Perhaps global warming has confused our bio-rhythms?” said Ethel.

                “Perhaps the there has been some strange cosmic event that has caused our migratory senses to be scrambled,” said Fred. “Maybe the hole in the ozone?”

                As we landed by a lovely fountain in one of the Glens spectacular backyards, the mystery was solved. We saw a sign that said “Happy Easter” on it.

Continued at the top of the next column...

Fred and Ethel, continued…

                “We are here at the right time of year,” said Ethel. “But some of these clever humans, in an attempt to further preserve the earth’s resources must now be using the same decorations for all their holidays!”

                “Oh, those clever humans!” said Fred.

                “Quack!”said Ethel. ~