Lex Watson is a partner at Merritt Watson LLP, where he has practiced law for more than forty years. He earned a master’s degree from Emory University School of Law with a concentration in taxation, and later received his Juris Doctor from Campbell University’s Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law.
Merritt Watson LLP specializes in gift tax and estate tax planning, business planning, and income tax planning for domestic and international clients.
Stephen Ware has been working for himself in the mobile home moving industry for over 25 years. He built his family owned and operated company, Ware Pro from humble beginnings with one toter and two helpers. With hard work, dedication and God’s blessings he has grown his company to have four toters, two platypuses, a tractor just to name some of his valuable equipment in the business. He works two crews who breakdown, move and set mobile homes in Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina.
Angela Vera is an accomplished property manager and underwriter for Pentagon Properties, Inc., known for her dedication to tenant satisfaction and operational excellence. With over a decade of experience, Angela has mastered the art of tenant screening, ensuring that each resident meets rigorous standards, resulting in a record of consistent rent payments and a harmonious community.
Kim Shultz-Rainford is a former corporate professional with a background in cash management, accounting and strategic planning. After selling over 65 manufactured homes, she took the leap into park ownership in 2013.
Maryuri Barberan is comptroller and executive vice president of Pentagon Properties, Inc. Pentagon Properties owns and manages four communities comprising about 500 lots in Georgia and Texas, and has sold over 550 new and previously owned manufactured homes via Lease-Option contracts over the past 32 years. Exceptionally low default rates are achieved with new Community Series Homes (CSH) and very thorough underwriting of L-O “buyers”.
Spencer Roane, president of Pentagon Properties, Inc., Atlanta, Ga., owns and manages four land lease communities in Georgia and Texas. His firm has over 800 in-community sales transactions on new and previously-owned manufactured homes over the past 40 years. Almost all were “sold” via Lease-Option contracts and all were new homes since 2010. Default rates over the past 15 years are among the lowest in the industry due to the structure of the L-O transactions and a very effective application processing system heavily weighted by Debt-to-Income ratios.
Kevin Thrash spent 16 at Georgia-Pacific with progressive leadership roles in Credit Management, Project Management, and Corporate Finance. He then transitioned to banking where he has worked for the past 21 years with responsibilities in Commercial Lending and Risk Management. He is presently an Executive Vice-President at American Commerce Bank with offices in Georgia and Florida.
American Commerce Bank is a national bank and has been an enthusiastic supporter of the manufactured home industry for many years.
John Gelzer is CEO and principal of Equity Management Company. John oversees a diverse commercial estate portfolio including multi-family, manufactured housing, hotel, office, industrial, land, and retail assets. As an attorney, he also works as in-house counsel
With over two decades of experience in the real estate and construction industry, Scott stands as a seasoned professional with a national footprint, spanning across 15+ states.
Chris Nicely, President of ManufacturedHomes.com & ModularHomes.com, brings nearly 30 years of expertise in factory-built housing and management. With a proven track record, he has collaborated with industry leaders, non-profits, developers, and municipalities to leverage factory-built housing for positive community development in cities such as San Bernardino, CA; Phoenix, AZ; LaGrange, TX; Danville, VA; Jackson, MS; and Detroit, MI.
