REAL Exclusive Magazine

Residents of Country Lakes Villages Purchase Their Mobile Home Parks.

Residents of Country Lakes Villages, a two-park manufactured home community in Palmetto, have successfully completed their bid to purchase their parks for a final sale price of $31 million. With 444 lots between the two properties, the sale represents one of the largest real estate sale transactions in Southwest Florida during the third quarter of 2010. The park residents were represented by attorney James A. Staack of Clearwater, while the seller Country Lakes MHP Communities was represented by Richard S. Webb, IV, a shareholder with the Sarasota-based law firm Icard, Merrill, Cullis, Timm, Furen & Ginsburg, PA..
 
Country Lakes Villages (www.countrylakes1.com) is a five-star manufactured home community geared to residents age 55 and older. Residents enjoy access to private clubhouses with pools, tennis courts, shuffleboard and other amenities, as well as many social events and planned activities. By its purchase of the Country Lakes Community, the community’s homeowners association has converted this traditional manufactured housing community into a resident-owned co-op (ROC). This move represents a significant benefit to members because it allows residents to own their land, thereby exercising greater control over lot rents and giving them more decision-making power in park maintenance and management.
  
Webb joined Icard Merrill in 2004 and concentrates his practice in business and real estate law in addition to his expertise in mobile home law. He has represented clients in complex real estate and business matters in Florida since 1977. Webb has received the highest AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, which is recognized as the most respected source of information about members of the legal community and is based upon peer review ratings by other lawyers and the judiciary. He is a member of the Florida and Kentucky Bar Associations, the Florida Manufactured Housing Association, a past chairman of the Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee for the 12th Judicial Circuit, and was a captain in the U.S. Army Reserve (JAG). Webb has served as chairman of the Sun Coast Mental Health Center, Inc., a director of the Sarasota Art Association, and as legal counsel to The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art.

Photo: Richard Webb