Void where prohibited by law. By submitting your essay, entrants consent to be bound by these Official Rules, which shall constitute a contract between entrants and CHRIS MAKO (“Sponsor”).  All decisions of Sponsor with respect to the Essay Submissions shall be final.

The Essay Submissions will offer a residence and real property as the Submission Prize subject to the Rules and Regulations set forth herein.

Cost for entering this contest is $100

The following rules (the “Official Rules”) govern the submissions:

I.  CONTEST PERIOD

The submission period shall begin at 12:00 AM Eastern Time on August 19, 2009 and shall continue to 11:59 PM Eastern Time, November 28, 2009 unless extended by Sponsor in accordance with these rules (Essay Submission Period).  All submissions must be post marked no later than November 28, 2009, to be eligible for the acquisition of the property known as the Contest house in Walnutport, Northampton County, PA, and or any prizes that shall be awarded.

The Essay Submission period may be extended, at the sole discretion of the Sponsor.  The Essay Submission Period maybe extended for a period of up to two additional months, in the event that the minimum number of essay submission entries has not been received.  (See photos & description)  If the required minimum number of essay submissions is not met, the Sponsor may elect, in it’s sole discretion, to award prizes as follows:

Minimum 1,000 entries must be received before the 1% donation will be awarded to the charity.

3,000 – 4,999 entries received:  1st prize $20,000, 2nd prize $5,000 and 3rd prize $1,000

1,000 -2,999 entries received:  1st prize $10,000 and 2nd prize $2,500,

500 – 999 entries received: 1st prize $5,000 the only prize

499 or less entries received: 1st prize $500

Once the sponsor elects to close the Essay Submission Period, the designated prize(s) for that Period, will be distributed to the winning essay submissions(s) allocated by the panel of judges.

II.  ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible to win, a person must be at least 18 yeas old as of the date of the entry, pay the requisite entry fee and comply with the Official Rules.  The Contest is open to all individuals world wide, not-for–profit organizations, for-profit corporations or investors, and is null and void wherever prohibited by law.  Officers, directors, and employees of the sponsor and judges of the Contest and it’s affiliates, as well as those individuals’ immediate family members and the residents of their households are not eligible.  Sponsor reserves the right, exercisable upon it’s sole discretion, to disqualify any entry if finds has: (1) violated these Official Rules: (2) interfered with or attempted to manipulate the Contest or Contest results: (3) violated any law or regulation by participating in the Contest: (4) provided false information to the Sponsor or (5) is pornographic, lewd, or offensive.  These entries will be deemed ineligible and disqualified, discarded and refund will be given.

Sponsor has endeavored to comply with all legal requirements in developing the Essay Submission policy and does not desire to accept entries from residents of jurisdictions where the policy does not comply with the laws of the jurisdiction in which the individual resides.  If any governmental entity determines that an entrant violates applicable laws or regulations, the Sponsor shall have the option, in it’s sole discretion to disqualify you as an entrant in the submission period and return any associated entry fee.  All entries that are poems or essays must be in English and legible.  If not then they will be discarded and no refund will be made.  Any entries that are pornographic, lewd, offensive or obtained through fraud or theft will be discarded and no refund will be made.  Sponsor makes no representation regarding accessing the materials on this site from jurisdictions where it’s contents or the submission policy are illegal or prohibited.  Those users who choose to access this site from other locations do so at their own risk and area responsible for compliance with local laws and regulations.

III.  HOW TO ENTER

Eligible individuals must submit their essays only by mail to 1170 Myrtle Road, Walnutport, PA 18088.  No hand deliveries allowed.  Do not include your name and address on the essay submission itself.  Send a separate index card, or sturdy paper, with your name, residential address, phone number and if contestant has one, email address, of where you can be contacted 7 days a week.  Your name and addresses will be assigned a number, which will also be assigned to the essay and they will be kept separate until the winner(s) are picked.  You must title name your entry, other than your personal name, and the same title name must appear on the card and on the back of your entry.  Do not attach the two together, but enclose both in the same submission delivery with the $100 cashiers check or money order.

To qualify for Submission period, all entries must include the following:

Prepare an Essay on the subject of your "Favorite Animal" in under 200 words (English) or photograph, drawing or video. Submissions will be judged on content, grammar and originality. Entrant’s name must not appear on or in the essay. The entry fee for each essay submitted to this contest is $100.00 (US funds only) and must be submitted with each essay. Multiple essay entries and fees accepted. Entry fees are non-refundable except as otherwise provided in these rules. The money order or cashiers check for $100.00 must be made payable to "Win the Mako house Contest".

All entry fees will be held in an escrow account entitled Win the Mako house Essay Contest, until the Essay Submission Period is closed and the prize property has been awarded to the winning contestant(s) as may be applicable.

DETERMINATION OF WINNER

Winners for the designated Contest will be determined based upon their essays. The essays will be judged according to content, grammar, and originality by a panel of Judges. The owners of the home and the immediate family will do the judging of the contestant’s entries. No family members are allowed to participate in the contest. The judge’s decisions are final.

The essay contest winner will be contacted by certified letter, and announced on our website www.cmako.com on January 8, 2010 unless extended as aforesaid. All winners must respond by telephone, email or by the post office with in 72 hours of being notified of being the chosen winner of 1st, 2nd, or 3rd prize and have the signed affidavit in the mail and post marked with in 72 hours of notification. If no response is made then a new winner will be chosen for the appropriate prize and the contestants that have already been chosen will move up in status if that applies.

If the 5,000 qualified entries are not received by the deadline date, we (the Sponsor) reserves the right to extend the deadline date for up to 2 months, or until a minimum of 5,000 entries are received. If the 5,000 essays solicited are not received, the prizes will be awarded as aforesaid.

Note this contest is void where prohibited by law.

Winner will be presented a warranty deed -- debt free, subject to easements of record -- within 60 days of the final selection of the essay contest winner. If the winner refuses or is unable to accept the property in writing within that period of time, a first runner-up winner will be selected.

When the winner takes over the property, there will be no liens or property taxes due at closing.

The winner will, however, be liable for all other closing costs as aforesaid and any capital gains or income taxes incurred subject to Federal or State laws for the value of the property.

One (1)% of the proceeds will be paid to the American Legion Post 949 in Lehigh Township, Pennsylvania.

IV. PRIZE

There will be only three (3) essay contest winners chosen by the panel of Judges, provided that the minimum number of essay submission entries have been received, the winner will be awarded fee title to the real & commercial property known as 1170 Myrtle Road, Walnutport, PA 18088. A first runner up will be chosen in event of the failure of the winner to accept the contest essay property.

Grand prize – the house, 2nd prize $10,000, 3rd prize $3,000.

The real property awarded as the Contest prize, will be granted in its "as is" condition without warranty, free from any mortgage, 2% transfer tax and current property taxes paid up to date of closing. The property will be transferred to the winner. Additional closing costs will be paid by the winner owner, with such costs including but not limited to attorney, title company services, and any costs related to the legal transfer of the property.

Any federal, state, or income tax consequences shall be the sole responsibility of the contest winner(s). Contest winners are encouraged to consult their accountant for any income tax consequences, which may attach upon winning. Real property awarded as an Essay Submission prize shall be awarded "AS IS" and WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND BY SPONSOR OR ANY OTHER PERSON, expressed or implied, (including and without limitation, any implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose).

Except where prohibited by law, the winner must execute and provide to Sponsor the following: (1) Affidavit of Eligibility, attesting to the winner’s eligibility and compliance with the Official Rules. Winner will be required to provide any information needed by Sponsor to comply with applicable laws and regulations, including those relating to the payment of income taxes. By accepting a prize, winners grant Sponsor permission for the use of his/her name, likeness and biographical information for advertising and promotional purposes.

The sponsor is not responsible for any late, lost, misdirected, incomplete, illegible mail or destruction of entries due to any circumstances. Any submission received incomplete, damaged, irregular or altered will be disqualified and a 10% processing fee will be charged and deducted from such entry fee before being returned to the entrant and the entry will be discarded. The sponsor will have no obligation to the contestant(s) other than returning the fee. The entries will not be returned to contestants and become the sole property of the sponsor with all rights.

If the contest does not conclude as planned, including but not limited to: web site crashes, computer viruses, bugs, technical failures of any kind, fraud, tampering or unauthorized intervention and any other event that affects the administration or ability to conduct the contest in a timely manner, it is the right of the sponsor to temporarily suspend, modify or cancel the contest until such problem is corrected. The new dates of the contest, if necessary, will be announced on the website. In any event the contestants agree to hold harmless the sponsor, its family and all related participants for any and all results of the contest.

Any claims against the contest shall be handled by arbitration under the laws of the state of Pennsylvania. If any legal authority challenges the contest, the sponsor has the right to discontinue or modify the contest, or to disqualify participants residing in the affected townships or counties or states. In such event, the sponsor shall not have any obligation or liability to the contestant(s) other than returning the entry fee with a 10% processing fee deducted from the $100 entry fee.

THE HOUSE

The house sits on approximately 1.4 acres and has 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths.  Located in the Lehigh Valley of PA.

==CLICK ON AN IMAGE TO ENLARGE==

Thank you

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Pass this on!

FYI - We are doing this contest because we have a large family and dogs. 
Also the market resembles a slug so we thought out of the box!