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CRA advances two property purchases after heated debate over closing-cost caps and title issues
Summary
The CRA moved forward on purchases of properties at 819 Doctor Mary McLeod Bethune Boulevard and 543 Oak Street, approving the latter with a reduced closing-cost cap after lengthy discussion about title encumbrances, multiple owners, and the size of 'up-to' closing-cost allowances.
Daytona Beach’s Community Redevelopment Agency on Dec. 17 advanced two property acquisitions and spent a significant portion of the meeting debating closing-cost allowances and title encumbrances.
Item 6b asked the CRA to approve up to $210,000 (inclusive of closing costs) from Midtown CRA loan funds to buy 819 Doctor Mary McLeod Bethune Boulevard from Robert Rand. Commissioners repeatedly questioned the staff’s chosen "up to" closing-cost figure of $50,000, citing that figure as a large percentage of the purchase price. Redevelopment Director Ken Thomas and outside counsel Mary Ellen Austin North explained that the parcel’s title had multiple potential encumbrances and that staff set a conservative ‘‘up to’’ figure to cover unknowns.
Attorney Mary Ellen Austin North characterized the title work as extensive: "I’m actually the attorney who did the quiet title and the partition to turn it into the…
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