Got Tickets?

Get your tickets for the Ford’s Colony Eight Home Garden Tour!  Advance purchase tickets will go on sale on Wednesday, April 13th at the Garden Club Meeting.  Can’t make it to the meeting?  Simply leave a check at the John Pott Gate made out to “Garden Club Tour” and pick them up the morning of the tour at the Swim & Tennis Club!  Tickets purchased in advance will go for $8 each.  

Tickets will still be available for purchase on the day of the tour (May 14th) at the Swim and Tennis Club between the hours of 9am-noon, but you will pay a slightly higher price of $10.

Life and Music of Rodgers and Hammerstein, April 12th!

Do you love a good Broadway Musical?  Are you interested in learning more about one of the best songwriting duos in American music? 

Venture up to the Swim and Tennis Club on Tuesday, April 12th at 7:30 pm to be entertained by the Theatre Club, and to enjoy a night of some of your old favorites from The Sound of Music, The Carousel, South Pacific, and Oklahoma! 

Admission is free, and refreshments will be served!

Calling All Donors…Blood Drive on April 8th!

Thinking about donating blood?         

Did you know that every minute of every day, someone needs blood?  That blood can only come from a volunteer donor, a person like you who makes the choice to donate. There is no substitute for your donation. 

When you make a blood donation, you join a very select group. Currently only 3 out of every 100 people in America donate blood.

It could not be easier…donating blood takes so little time, and can literally change someone else’s life. 

Ford’s Colony has made it so easy to do – on Friday, April 8th, you can donate blood between the hours of 11am-4pm at the Swim and Tennis Club.

Call Christopher Schwenker, Jr. at 757-258-4270 to make an appointment to donate blood.  Or, you can email him at cschwenker@fordscolony.com.

Save the Date! Colony Kids Spring Fling & Egg Hunt!

It is that time of year! Spring is in the air, the flowers are in bloom, and Peter Cottontail will be hopping down the bunny trail before you know it!

This year, there is a new Spring event planned for children and grandchildren (preschool age – age 12) of residents in Ford’s Colony!   

The 1st Annual Colony Kids Spring Fling and Easter Egg Hunt! 

  • When? Saturday, April 23rd, from 1-4pm. 
  • Where? Westbury Park (near the pool)

This event is full of fun activities, including: clay pot decorating, spring herb garden plantings, cookie decorating, egg hunt, refreshments, raffle, and more!  

This is an RSVP event, and early responses are welcome.  To send you response, simply send an email to: Lisas222@cox.net with the number of children who will be attending the event, and their ages.

Get Ready for the FCHOA Annual Golf Tournament!

Fore!  If your golf clubs have been in hibernation this winter, then now is the time to get them out, dust them off, and get ready for this years neighborhood golf tournament! 

  • When? Sunday, April 17th with a 9am shotgun start!
  • Where? The Blackheath Golf Course, Ford’s Colony
  • Cost? $55 for home owners, $35 for FCCC members

Price includes green fee, cart, range, cookout, and prizes to follow play.

The tournament is open to all Ford’s Colony residents.  The field is limited to the first 120 entries. Make up your own neighborhood foursome or the Club will pair. Contact Club Sales Manager Gary Huneycutt at 258-4345 or garyh@fordscolony.com to reserve your spot in the field.

Are there kids living in Ford’s Colony?

Ford's Colony KidsYou bet! And there are a good many of them that now have some fun neighborhood events to look forward to!

The Ford’s Colony ‘Colony Kids’  is back in action! Ford’s Colony is home to many kiddos and they need fun things to do just like their parents. The Homeowner’s Association just announced that there are four planned activities this year for  kids under 12 years of age.

  • Spring Celebration & Easter Egg Hunt
  • July 4th Pool Party/Pizza Party
  • Trunk or Treat Halloween Event
  • Holiday Celebration & Brunch with Santa.

They are looking for additional volunteers who would like to help out with the program and may also have ideas to for future events.

From the HOA:

If you  are interested in participating in any of the above events, or in joining the Colony Kids Activities Team (next meeting is Feb. 9th at 8:45am at the S&T Club), please call or email your contact information (name, address, email address and phone number ) to:

Lastly, keep your eye out for upcoming information via email and Talk of the Colony regarding these events, so we can have a great turnout from the parents and kids of Ford’s Colony!

Thank you Deborah Huckins and committee for organizing these awesome and fun events for the Ford’s Colony kids. Your time and efforts are appreciated.

Don’t miss the CLUB FAIR at the Ford’s Colony Swim and Tennis Club!

Looking to get involved in Ford’s Colony? Without a doubt, there is SOME club or some activity  for everyone who may want to get involved in the neighborhood. Don’t miss the Club Fair that will be held TODAY January 12,2011 at 7:00 at the Swim and Tennis Club.

From the Ford’s Colony Home Owner’s Association:

 Whether your interests are artistic, recreational, musical, educational or purely social, there are residents here doing it.  Come out for the fun and light refreshments!

Gift Certificates for Great Meals at Local Restaurants will be Raffled Off!!

 What a great opportunity to meet your neighbors and have some fun too. (And maybe win a gift certificate for a restaurant).

Homes for sale in Ford’s Colony? Here is what is on the market in Ford’s Colony!

So how many homes ARE for sale in Ford’s Colony? We are beginning 2011 with 124 homes ‘active’ on the Williamsburg MLS. 105 of those are single family DETACHED homes. 19 of those are ATTACHED (condos or townhomes) properties.  There are currently 7 additional properties detailed as under contract and pended. Those are homes that are set to close. (There are a few more detailed as ‘under contract’ but may have contingencies that are yet to be remedied like a home inspection, buyer financing, third-party bank approval or sale of the buyer’s own home. Those homes are counted in the 124 homes that are active on the market)

The number of homes on the market is actually down significantly from some of the peaks that we saw in inventory in 2009 -2010. The number of re-sale properties actually spiked to the low 200’s (ACTIVE resale on MLS)  so a number as low as 124 is really good.  Also consider that Ford’s Colony has over 2400 completed home sites which would equate to roughly 5% of the market for sale.

Ford’s Colony Parade of Homes Tour October 30 and 31!

Dont miss the FORD’S COLONY PARADE OF HOMES TOUR this weekend!

Ford's Colony Parade of Homes

Don’t miss the Parade of Homes this weekend October 30 from 10-3 and Sunday October 31 from 11-3. Liz Moore and Associates will have 15 fabulous homes open to tour. There will be refreshments provided as well as an opportunity to win a gift card to Opus 9.

Other brokerages may also have homes on tour so this should be a great opportunity to be able to view Ford’s Colony properties for sale.

In particular, don’t miss 112 Castel Pines (listed at $725,000) or 161 Southern Hills (listed at $425,000). They are both BEAUTIFUL homes that are sure to please!

Please stop by the John Pott Guardhouse or any of the featured properties above to get a map of all of the homes open. Open properties should be easily identified by balloons on the front of the homes. Please feel free to call me at 757.503.1999 or email me (deelyn@lizmoore.com) for more information or directions.

See you then!

Ford’s Colony Halloween Activities for kiddos and adults!

Just announced from the Ford’s Colony Home Owner’s Association:

“We’re holding Trunk-or-Treat, also known as Tailgate Trick-or-Treat. A group of Ford’s Colony residents will gather their Halloween-decorated vehicles in the parking lot at the Swim & Tennis Club, from 5 pm to 6 pm on Sunday, October 31st, Halloween Night. The event will be held whether it rains or shines.
Trick-or-treaters, pre-school through 8th grade, can move from car to car to show off their costumes and collect treats (instead of, or in addition to, going house-to-house to Trick-or-Treat). There will be designated parking for the families attending.
Whether it’s the trunk of a car that looks like an Autumn Harvest, the back of a van decorated as a vampire’s lair, or a pickup truck with a mobile pumpkin patch on it, you can decorate your vehicle with a little imagination. Festive costumes are optional.
This activity is designed to promote our community’s spirit and to provide a safe Halloween activity for our kids, under adult supervision.
Volunteers are still needed and welcomed to ensure the success of this family-oriented activity. If you would like to volunteer by decorating your vehicle, or to hand out candy, please contact Jim Hamilton at jhamilton.newcomers@cox.net or at 220-8607 for further instructions. You can place your individually wrapped candy or your donation into the decorated boxes in the lobby of the S & T Club.”

Looks like a great activity! Thanks to all who are volunteering to make this a fun night.

Ford’s Colony Foreclosure Sales over the past year

Today, it seems that almost everyone is expecting a ‘deal’- a great deal. Sometimes the bank owned foreclosed properties can be a good buy. Most times they need tons of work (and money). The deals are certainly there, however, the properties don’t have to be bank-owned to get them.

What percentage of Ford’s Colony sales have been bank-owned over the past year? There have been 70 closed sales in the past 12 months. Of those, 7 were detailed as bank-owned properties. Exactly 10% of the sales in Ford’s Colony in the past 12 months were foreclosures. Certainly higher than in times past, but, much lower than the most recent statistic from Realty Trac that indicates that foreclosed properties make up 24.17 percent of all sales nationwide.

The Ford’s Colony Country Club and it’s recovery

All parties involved in the Ford’s Colony Country Club Bankruptcy proceedings will report back to the Norfolk Bankruptcy Court on November 4, 2010 after a little over a 30 day mediation period. The parties last met at the end of September and the Judge hearing the case requested that parties consider mediation to avoid the process becoming further bogged down in legal processes. Club manager Steve Dreybus stated “we believe that our financial and operational plan is sound, viable, and in the best long-term interest of our membership and the property owners living in Ford’s Colony. It is important that our members stay involved and work through the Creditor’s Committee to ensure that your voices are heard and your interests are protected.” The ultimate goal, of course, is to secure a formal plan of reorganization. Once that has been determined then creditors can vote upon the plan. This has surely been a painful process for the Country Club and it’s members. The good news is that the Club and it’s creditors are working through the mediation process and will hopefully come to a resolution as to the best way to pull the Club out of the quagmire. As far as the neighborhood is concerned, it is surely important to distinguish the Ford’s Colony Home Owner’s Association from the Country Club. Unlike our neighbors in Governor’s Land, there is no mandatory social country club membership. The two groups (FCHOA and FC Country Club) certainly have some duplicate members, but the majority of homeowners in FC do not belong to the Country Club. For prospective residents the distinction is an important one.
The most important point to make is that of the “Big 3” gated and golf course communities in Williamsburg not one has been without an ‘issue’ of some sort over the last 12 months. Kingsmill has dealt with the uncertainties of the In-Bev acquisition of Anheuser-Busch and what will surely be the subsequent sale of the neighborhood. Governor’s Land has faced issues with their mandatory social country club membership and the dues associated with the membership. What to expect? A failure on the part of the Country Club benefits no one. Let’s hope that a prior statement made by Mr. Dreybus will hold true: “As mentioned in past updates, the Club and Prudential were close to an agreement at the outset of this process.” If they were close to an agreement at the outset, then surely an agreement can be reached during this mediation process that will allow for the Club to recover- in the best interests of the Club’s members and its creditors as well as the neighborhood as a whole.

Ford’s Colony Yard Sale Saturday Oct 16

Just a quick confirmation the Ford’s Colony yard sale is a GO and will be held next Saturday October 16 from 8:00- 12:00 at the The Historic Community Service Center at 312 Waller Mill Road. Don’t miss the fun and the ‘deals’!

October 2010 Talk of The Colony

The October 2010 Talk of the Colony is here! Included in the latest issue is an update on the newly renovated Swim and Tennis Club. It was beautifully re-done. The Interior Designer that was chosen to assist in the remodel was Tidewater Interiors– one of my favorite and one of the very best in the ‘Burg.

Don’t miss the article “Still Living in Interesting Times” on page 3 written by Norman Beal, vice president of the Board of Directors of the Ford’s Colony Home Owner’s Association. He provides a positive take on what is certainly ‘interesting’ times for everyone in the country – including Ford’s Colony. We have terrific leadership in the neighborhood which will help us as we emerge from hard times into the easier days that have got be ahead. (Just not sure when!)

Ford’s Colony neighborhood yard sale!

Ever been to a Ford’s Colony yard sale? Even better, have you ever participated in the Ford’s Colony yard sale? I have had the pleasure of doing both and it can be a lot of fun. You can simplify your life a bit by selling some of your treasures( dust collectors?). Yard sales can be fun whether you are on ‘the hunt’ or you are on a mission to de-clutter!

 The Ford’s Colony Yard Sale will be October 16th at the Historic Triangle Community Center on Waller Mill road if there are enough folks interested in participating. If you have an interest, residents are asked to submit  a check for $20 per table/chairs to the John Pott guardhouse in a self-addressed envelope no later than September 15 th. Please make the check payable to Phyllis Eastman.  If there are not enough participants your check will be returned.   As soon as enough residents have committed to participating, then the building will be rented and your check will be non-refundable. The  directions and table assignments will be posted at the Swim and Tennis Club by September 30. Please do email if you have an interest  reastman2003@verizon.net or call 258-1198.