State of North Carolina begins to complete sales of historic houses in downtown Raleigh

The first of a dozen old houses the state is selling in downtown Raleigh has changed hands, more than nine months after the state began accepting offers for them.

Matthew Brown closed on the purchase of the Lamar House on North Person Street on Tuesday. State officials say the deeds for two other homes will be transferred this week, as well.

Most of the houses are in the Blount Street Historic District, just north of the Executive Mansion, and two of them are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Brown and some of the other buyers are frustrated by the time it has taken to complete the sales, as were others in the neighborhood who have watched the houses deteriorate over the years. Brown’s offer of $536,000 for the 115-year-old Lamar House was accepted in November.

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(News & Observer, 8/11/2016)