We Became Owners!
"It is important to note that the residents did not buy CONTINENTAL COUNTRY CLUB from Redman. Only certain assets were purchased, and the name was retained by Redman. The residents also did not assume any of the debts that Continental Country Club had. The new corporation formed by the residents was thus named, Continental Country Club Resident Owned, Inc. Shortly after the purchase, Redman renamed C.C.C. as the Okahumpka Corporation."
Reference: "The purchase of Continental Country Club" by Adrian M Neil,59 N. Bobwhite Rd Wildwood Fl Adrian was one of the group who initiated the purchase. Without these people, we most likely would not be enjoing such a great community. Click!
This is a must read for anyone interested in CCCRO History.
To meet the $5.7M purchase price for CCC in 1989, residents both bought (Resident and Golf) shares in the new corporation and took out a loan for the difference. The goal of $2.3M from the shares was met and eventually exceeded. A loan was taken for $3.4M. We would not have had such a great community and its amenities if these people, Resident Owners, didn't step up to purchace CCC shares, pay of the mortgage loan, financially support the golf course and restaurant, and much more. Only the Resident Owners have the privileges of voting or participating as directors of the corporation.
It is important to note that not all residents joined the Corporation by purchasing shares. There were 563 R.O. shareholders at corporation, but 102 other properties continued in the Savoie (lawsuit) group and 193 properties, which were never plaintiffs in the Savoie lawsuit, stayed on their Contracts made with the prior owner (CCC, Inc.). The situation remains today, but the number of Savoie and Contract properties has diminished somewhat.
"We are often asked why a resident’s monthly Operations and Maintenance (O&M) is what it is. Here are the reasons.
Here at Continental we have three categories of properties:
1: Resident Owners – shareholders in the CCCRO, Inc. business
2: Savoie Owners – a group that is legally exempt from golf expenses
3: Contract Owners – all others – neither shareholders nor Savoies
The monthly O&M for each category is calculated differently.
For Savoies, there is a precise formula that is based on all the previous year’s actual operating costs except for golf course-related cost and revenue.
For Contracts (and there are several different contact rates depending on when the home was purchased) the rates are set based on appraisals conducted every several years that determine comparable O&M costs at other communities with similar amenities and services. Those appraisals determine the amount the CCCRO business will charge its customers (lot owners) to live here. Contract rates also have an annual escalation percentage to help keep them in line with inflation and other cost increases.
The Resident Owner O&M calculation is a more complex process. Remember that CCCRO is a business and that it is owned by the 820 or so RO shareholders. They own the community – the common land, the amenities, the roads, the golf course, everything but the individual lots. The products of the business are golf, which is sold to any user of the course facilities, and the use of community services and amenities by all residents of CCC. The cost to provide services and amenities to all 960 properties always far exceeds the income from golf, leases, and O&M from about 140 non-RO properties. In order to close the gap and to create a balanced budget, that shortfall is made up by the shareholders (the owners). That deficit is divided by 820 shareholders and billed as 12 monthly assessments – thus the Resident Owners’ monthly O&M.
FYI – the most recent appraisal of communities with similar services and amenities, including cable and internet, was close to $440 per month. Our comparable RO O&M (not including the $59 a month we put into Reserves) is about $291 – only about 2/3 of the amount paid by other similar communities." reference May 2023 Echo Financial Corner, Dick Arnold
cCRHA updates to residents as CCC purchase neared
Newspaper Articles covering the period of the purchase