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Elmore conceded at trial were unusual contract terms, the effect
of which Elmore had not considered. For example, petitioner
bought $150,000 worth of timber and paid almost $50,000 to help
the buyers make the downpayment; the buyers obtained an easement
across the property to the waterfront property; under the release
clauses contained in the owner-financed mortgage, the waterfront
property was released from the mortgage when the buyers made the
downpayment; and the buyers could keep one-half of the proceeds
from all future timber sales (including the mortgaged property)
even if they did not complete the sale. Elmore did not know that
Thompson applied for, but could not get, zoning for a residential
development except for the waterfront property released at
closing; he did not ascertain whether the 7-percent interest
charged in the note was consistent with prevailing interest rates
in 1980; and he did not conduct a timber cruise to estimate the
value of the standing timber.
Elmore also considered as a comparable sale the 1979 sale by
River Farms, Inc., to Seminole Electric Cooperative, Inc. Elmore
stated in his report that the buyer bought this property to use
as an electric power generation facility. However, Elmore did
not consider whether the Putnam County property could be used for
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