HOA Letters Delivered & New Website!

Attention Residents: HOA Letters are Rolling in! We have received our letters, and you will find the following information inside:

Announcement and Proxy Submission Form

Voting Ballot

Annual Agenda

Letter to Homeowners Re:Websites

Please be sure to attend the meeting! We as residents can not expect improvements in our community if we do not attend the meeting. Your participation is very important.

Take a moment to visit the New Official Bradford Chase Website at www.bradfordchasehoa.info. Their site is definitely a work in progress. We have be notified that they have started copying parts of our website and pasting it to theirs (and without even asking us). Take a look at the contact lists on their site HERE . It's copied from us word for word. We have asked the HOA Manager to give our site credit on their official site since we authored the lists. They have ignored our request. We sincerely hope these actions are not a representation of what our HOA has for our community's future.

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We would like to say a few words about www.bradfordchasenews.com . This site is a resident run site to provide information and updates about our community. You are our voice. We are happy that the HOA has mentioned us in their letter. Yes, it is true that we have not disclosed our identity to the HOA. We did this for good reason. Our site is all about us.. the residents! We feel that the homeowners who volunteer to moderate, edit the site, take pictures, send out postcards, write the articles and reply to email have the right to remain anonymous. Many residents who submit articles and pictures do not want their names disclosed, and we fully respect that. Every member of our team is a Bradford Chase homeowner. We have paid out of pocket for everything we do. Our site and efforts are NOT HOA funded. Why do we do this? Because we care about our community.

As always, we encourage everyone to get involved. We welcome your comments, suggestions, and input. If you have questions about the HOA or need to get in touch with them, please refer to your HOA letter mailing, or contact us at Bradford.Chase@ymail.com and we can relay your concerns to the HOA Manager (or provide you their contact info). We would be happy to help out in any way we can. Thanks for your support!

HOA Meeting Update

We have contacted the HOA Manager, and have asked for a meeting before the turn of the year. They have worked out their schedules to have a meeting on Thursday December 18, 2008 at 6PM. It will be at the Dubose Middle School Cafeteria. The HOA will be mailing out letters Monday, November 17 announcing this new meeting. Please make sure that you make every effort to attend this meeting, and if you can not attend, be sure to submit your proxy vote. Let's start off the year with by-laws that will keep our community beautiful, and protect our investments!

HOA Meeting Postponed

During our last HOA Meeting that occured in September, it was proposed that we have a follow up meeting on November 12. This meeting date has been postponed, and will convene in the month of January 2009. The HOA will arrange door to door proxy voting, and have a quorum prior to the next meeting. It is very important that everyone participate. If you have any questions or concerns for the HOA or the community, please contact the HOA Manager Diane Hommel or President Ray Walsh (Contact info at top left of this page). We will update the website as more information becomes available.

Winterizing Your Home

The temperatures have started to fall and you have pulled out the winter sweaters and coats to keep your family warm and protected from the cold weather, but what about your home?

Now is the time that you start preparing and winterizing your home for the upcoming winter! There are several things that need to be done to protect your home from the frigid conditions.

1. Get your furnace/heat pumps/HVAC inspected. Have a HVAC professional inspect and clean the ducts. Change your filters monthly for optimum performance.

2. Get your fireplace and/gas unit inspected. Inspect the cap and ensure that is not missing. Have your chimney inspected and cleaned, freeing it of soot and other debris. Check the mortar for stability. When purchasing firewood, ensure that it is kept away from your home and covered to stay dry.

3. Inspect the exterior of your home/doors/windows. Check for loose or damaged siding and repair/replace. Check for cracks or broken seals in windows. Prime/paint any exposed wood that has been worn.

4. Clean and inspect roof gutters/downspouts. Clean out debris from gutters and downspouts. Cover gutter with mesh screen to prevent debris from getting into them.

5. Prepare Lawn and Gardening equipment for the winter. Drain lawnmowers of gasoline, clean and store. Clean gardening tools and store. Clean out garden sheds.

6. Check your foundations. Check your foundations for cracks and repair. Remove vegetation away from foundation and trim back shrubs and trees if needed. Remove bugs/foreign objects from window sills.

7. Replace batteries in smoke and carbon dioxide detectors. Check the status of your fire extinguisher and/or purchase a new one if needed in case of emergency.

8. Check your plumbing. Ensure that exposed plumbing pipes are properly insulated. Drain your water heater to remove sediment that settled over the past year. Drain/store water hoses if not needed.

9. Clean up your Landscaping. Trim back trees and shrubs. Remove dead vegetation. Winterize your lawn with the appropriate fertilizer.

10. Pack an emergency kit. Just like in case of a hurricane, it's important to have an emergency kit for winter. Ensure a few warm blankets, matches, water, canned goods, batteries and flashlights are available. Be sure to create a checklist of important items/information for your family in case of emergency.