A nearby commercial property on Hillhurst Avenue is listed for sale at $5,800,000. This might be a rough guide to the value of the parish's Hillhurst property separate from the parish lot. I've heard a knowledgeable individual connected with the St Mary's vestry estimate the value of the entire property at $8,000,000, which seems reasonable given the rough numbers above. This would probably be higher if the church building's lot could be sold for commercial purposes.
The next question is what a Realtor would earn as a commission for selling part or all of the property. This is also difficult to estimate, although one Realtor answered such a question as
As you know, commissions are negotiable and as Realtors we are somewhat constrained(legally) about naming the exact figure. I have heard everything from 12% (commercial deals) down to 2% (REO and Foreclosure)So the gross value of a commission for a commercial sale of the full St Mary of the Angels property could be as much as 12% of $8,000,000, or $960,000. This could be split in various ways, but someone like Crosby Doe, a Realtor who owns his agency, could potentially net about $500,000 from a sale on commission alone. Mr Doe would, of course, have a massive conflict of interest in such a deal. It's worth raising the question of whether Doe, who specializes in selling historic buildings, would have a particular expertise in finding ways around historical landmark restrictions, so that the church parcel could also be converted to commercial use. This would potentially increase its value and increase any commission or even consulting fees (since Doe is an "expert") he could realize from such a deal. In fact, I would think that if any such deal went through with Doe on the "vestry" at all, it would raise red flags -- especially since Doe, under the parish bylaws, was not qualified to stand for election to the vestry in the first place and was placed there by the ACA in violation of canon and corporate law. Just sayin'.
There's more to think about here.
