§ 1631.14 Purchasing real estate with LSC funds.

(a) Pre-purchase planning requirements. (1) Before purchasing real estate with LSC funds, a recipient must conduct an informal market survey and evaluate at least three potential equivalent properties.

(2) When a recipient evaluates potential properties, it must consider:

(i) The average annual cost of the purchase, including the costs of a down payment, interest and principal payments on a mortgage financing the purchase; closing costs; renovation costs; and the costs of utilities, maintenance, and taxes, if any;

(ii) The estimated total costs of buying and using the property throughout the mortgage term compared to the estimated total costs of leasing and using a similar property over the same period of time;

(iii) The property's quality; and

(iv) Whether the property is conducive to delivering legal services (e.g. property is accessible to the client population (ADA compliant) and near public transportation, courts, and other government or social services agencies).