The 2007 addenda system has been updated to:

• Address meth issues;
• Include buyer oriented short pay-off contingencies; and
• Conform to the Commission's new forms.

With the 2007 package, you receive:

1. A RESPA Compliance addendum.
2. Addendum A, a one page addendum with non-controversial paragraphs which brokers will use in most deals.
3. "Copy and Paste" Clauses to use as needed in additional provisions and counter-proposals addressing deal specific situations.
4. An addendum to the buyer listing agreements.
5. An addendum to the seller listing agreements.
6. Two different addenda addressing what the industry calls "right-of-first refusal" situations.
7. The Notice to Seller (For Things Other Than Property Condition) form.
8. Broker Disclosure [To Buyers] Regarding New Construction Contracts form.
9. A form allowing a broker to document that the client wants to stop marketing the property while keeping the listing alive.
10. A clause which provides for a reduced commission on the listed property if the client purchases the replacement property through you.
11. A notice from the earnest money holder to buyer and seller to take advantage of the new CREC option to dispose of the earnest money.
12. A Buyer Notice to the Seller that a property is meth contaminated per Statute.

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By Cinthia M. Manzano, Esq.

If you are a real estate broker, you may want to go online to the Colorado Division of Real Estate Website to confirm that your license is still active. The Colorado Real Estate Commission Rule E-44 requires a real estate licensee whose license has transferred to inactive status to immediately cease any activities requiring a license and cease all advertising, including but not limited to, use of office signs, yard signs, newspapers, magazines, the Internet, direct mailings and multiple listing services. If you are the employing broker of a real estate agent whose license is inactive, you must return the agent's license to the commission and release the agent from any listings or other contractual obligations which require a license, and ensure that all entrusted funds have been properly accounted for and that all closings are properly completed. Commissions or fees may be received by licensees only for transactions where the commission or fee "was earned prior to" the transfer to inactive status.

It appears that some real estate agents are learning inadvertently that their licenses have transferred to inactive status due to a failure to comply with fingerprinting or continuing education requirements or a late payment of fees. There may be no notice from the commission to the agents, so do yourself a favor and check out your current status and make any changes you need to make immediately to ensure your right to commissions as well as your compliance with the rules.

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This publication is intended to provide accurate and authoritative information on the subject matter covered. It is distributed with the understanding that the publisher and distributor are not rendering legal, accounting or other professional service, and assume no liability in connection with its use. Copyright © 2007.

This is an advertisement.

• 2007 Colorado Residential Contract Addenda and Clause System Update
• Rule E-44 Reminder: Is Your License Still Active?
• Action By A Non-Profit Corporation's Board of Directors Without A Meeting
• Buying a House While Going Through a Divorce

By Amanda S.P. Howe, Esq.

I am the Chairman of the Board of Directors for a non-profit Colorado corporation. The members of the Board do not live or work in the same area, and all have busy schedules. Sometimes we need to make decisions without waiting for a time when all of the directors can meet in person. Can we take action without physically attending a meeting?

Response: Yes. Action can be taken in two ways: directors can attend via telephone or the Board can adopt a resolution in lieu of a meeting.

Action via telephone

Pursuant to Colorado Revised Statute § 7-128-201, unless otherwise stated in the non-profit corporation's bylaws, any director may participate in a meeting through the use of any "means of communication by which all directors participating may hear each other during the meeting." This means that a conference call with all directors dialed-in would meet the requirements of having a meeting. If some directors attend the meeting in person, the directors who attend via telephone must be on speaker phone so that each director can hear every other director.

Because the telephone call would constitute a meeting of the Board of Directors, notice requirements must be followed. (These notice requirements should be described in the non-profit corporation's bylaws. If they are not, Colorado Revised Statute § 7-128-203 provides that no notice is required for regular meetings of the Board and at least two days' notice is required for special meetings of the Board.) Minutes must be taken during the telephone call, in the same manner as they would be taken if the Board were meeting in person.

The telephonic meeting is an effective alternative to an in-person meeting when the Board needs to discuss an issue or choose one of several options. It is also the best alternative to an in-person meeting when the Board determines that having minutes of the meeting in the non-profit corporation's records is necessary.

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By Gregg A. Greenstein, Esq.

Many divorcing couples don't have sufficient financial resources to consider buying a new home while the divorce process is happening. But for those persons fortunate enough to have good credit and what appears to be adequate income to buy a new house before the divorce is final, the home purchasing process can be a rocky road.

Title Issues

Colorado law presumes that all property purchased by either spouse during the marriage (i.e. until the final divorce decree is entered) is "marital property. Marital property is subject to "equitable division" in a divorce case. If the husband purchases a new home to live in while a divorce action is pending, the title to the new home might be in his name only. But the court in the divorce case still has the power to order that the title to the new home be placed in the wife's name; or that the new home be sold; etc. This is because while the title might be in the husband's sole name, the new home is still considered "marital property," subject to the court's power to make orders concerning the title.

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