Although a buyer is not legally obligated to record a sales transaction in a timely fashion in Florida, most do to protect their asset. Some don't, however, to withhold the estimated or actual value of the transaction from future buyers. That appears to be the scenario in the M.G. Ltd.-Lennar dealings, real estate lawyers familiar with similar situations tell GlobeSt.com.

Whatever the reason, one element of the curious deal is unassailable: the Panama City-based investment trust has hired J.P. King Auction Co. of Gadsden, AL to auction what is known as Orange Point Equestrian Estates at 1 p.m. Feb. 15 at the Players Club, 13410 S. Shore Blvd. in Wellington.

"I am working with a Panama City investment trust," J. Craig King, J.P. King president and chief executive officer, tells GlobeSt.com. King confirmed the name of David Martinelli as the trust's principal officer.

Corporate records list Martinelli as president of M.G. Ltd. and Panama City-based Primary Plastics Inc. Efforts to reach him for comment were unsuccessful, and officials at Lennar Corp. did not respond to a request for comment.

The investment trust is seeking bids on 16 parcels of about 40 acres each through a reserve auction. Bidders must register with a $100,000 casher's check per parcel prior to bidding. Buyers, who are subject to other conditional terms, also must pay a 10% premium that will cover costs such as the land survey and title insurance.

"We reserve the right to take bids on any combination of parcels or the property in its entirety," King tells GlobeSt.com. "These bidders can bid in any manner they want. At the conclusion of the sale, when the bids are in, all bids will be subject to final confirmation."

The only apparent public information available on the property is its assessed value, John Thomas, manager of the residential division in the Palm Beach County Appraiser's Office, tells GlobeSt.com. The office last appraised the site, then belonging to Lennar Land Partner, at $8.5 million or $13,281 per acre (30 cents per sf), based on 640 acres in the tract.

"Without looking at the plat, I believe there is a recorded easement for right of way on one of the boundaries," Thomas tells GlobeSt.com. "If you include that easement, then the 640 acres is about right, but we only show that 610 acres is usable."

Auctioneer King, however, disputes that assessment. "I'm holding a survey on a 640-acre parcel of property that we're selling at auction," he says. "It does contain the right of way to various parcels."

Situated in the heart of the county's polo country, the property is located just off 120th Avenue, about seven miles from Florida's Turnpike. It is just minutes from the Palm Beach Polo & Country Club, Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club, Palm Beach Polo Stadium and National Polo Museum & Hall of Fame.

This 640-acre tract is the type of property that interests King as an auctioneer. For example, the company auctioned G&S Equestrian Ranch, a 29-acre estate and mansion in Fort Myers, FL, for $1.65 million; Silverleaf Farm in Ocala, FL, a 625-acre ranch known nationally for its horse breeding facilities, for $5 million; and Snake Creek Ranch in Nebraska, one of that state's largest and most productive cattle ranches, for $5.46 million.

"Here we're selling the heart of polo country," says King, a fourth-generation auctioneer. "You have a lot of high-profile polo farms within miles of this particular property. Our company sells unique one-of-a-kind properties. And to find a 640-acre property in the heart of polo is the reason why we took on this particular assignment."

Instant Insights /

Trust Flipping Prime 640-Acre Tract Bought from Lennar at Unrecorded Price

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