When Miami investor Remy Jacobson purchased a 1961-built church in one of Miami’s trendiest neighborhoods, he knew it was a good deal for several reasons: The Design District building was minutes from new high-end shops and restaurants, and was ripe for redevelopment. He thought it was well worth the $10.5 million price tag.

“It was such a smooth deal—no hiccups,” Boca Raton lawyer Joshua Krut said shortly after the deal closed in April. Krut, a partner at Kopelowitz Ostrow Ferguson Weiselberg Gilbert, helped the investor buy the building at 4141 N. Miami Ave.