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                                                                    Exhibit 10.4

                       [CAREY DIVERSIFIED LLC LETTERHEAD]


                                                                October   , 1997

Mr. William P. Carey
Chairman
W.P. Carey & Co., Inc.
50 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10020

Dear Bill:

        This will confirm the understanding and agreement (the "Agreement")
between W.P. Carey & Co., Inc. ("W.P. Carey") and Carey Diversified LLC (the
"Company") as follows:

        1.      The Company hereby engages W.P. Carey as the Company's exclusive
                financial advisor for the purpose of providing financial
                advisory services to the Company in connection with the
                consolidation by merger of nine subsidiary limited partnerships
                of the Company into nine public limited partnerships in the
                Corporate Property Associates series of limited partnerships,
                hereinafter referred to as the "Consolidation" or the
                "Transaction."

        2.      In connection with its services as financial advisor hereunder,
                W.P. Carey agrees to:

                (a)     assist in the preparation of any registration statement,
                        consent solicitation statement, prospectus, private
                        placement memorandum or other offering documents,
                        including any amendments or supplements thereto (the
                        "Offering Documents"), in connection with the
                        Transaction, which Offering Documents will not be made
                        available to or used in discussions with prospective
                        investors until the Offering Documents and their use for
                        that purpose have been approved by the Company;
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Mr. William P. Carey
W.P. Carey & Co., Inc.
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     (b)   assist the Company in preparing descriptive materials including sales
           literature for presentation in connection with the Consolidation; all
           matters of form and content in respect of such materials shall be
           subject to approval by the Company, which shall be responsible for
           the accuracy and completeness of such materials;

     (c)   advise and assist the Company, and any legal counsel engaged by the
           Company, in structuring any Transaction.

3.   (a)   The Company hereby engages W.P. Carey to act as its consultant with
           respect to each offering of Equity Securities made in connection with
           the Transaction. In the event a Transaction involves a Public
           Offering, the Company shall: (i) with the advice and assistance of
           W.P. Carey, prepare a registration statement (the "Registration
           Statement") relating to the Securities, which conforms with the
           requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Act"),
           and the rules and regulations of the Securities Act of 1933, as
           amended (the "Act"), and the rules and regulations of the Securities
           and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") thereunder and any other laws
           applicable to the Public Offering, and contains the disclosures
           required thereunder; (ii) file the Registration Statement with the
           SEC as soon as practicable thereafter.

     (b)   With respect to any Public Offering or Private Placement of
           Securities, the Company will cooperate fully with W.P. Carey and
           provide all information and take all actions reasonably requested by
           W.P. Carey to effect the issuance and sale of the Securities,
           including, but not limited to, the registration or qualification of
           the Securities in such jurisdictions as W.P. Carey
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Mr. William P. Carey
W.P. Carey & Co., Inc.
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     and the Company may mutually agree; provided, however, that the Company
     will not be obligated to execute or file any general consent to service of
     process.

4.   The Company shall make available to W.P. Carey all information concerning
     the business, assets, operations, financial condition and prospects of the
     Company, the Properties or the owners thereof, which W.P. Carey reasonably
     requests in connection with the performance of its obligations hereunder.
     All such information provided by or on behalf of the Company shall be
     complete and accurate and not misleading, and W.P. Carey shall be entitled
     to rely upon the accuracy and completeness of all such information without
     independent verification. The Company shall continue to advise W.P. Carey
     regarding any material developments or matters relating to the Company or
     the Properties which occur during the term of W.P. Carey engagement
     hereunder.

5.   As compensation for the services rendered by W.P. Carey hereunder upon
     completion of the consolidation the Company shall pay W.P. Carey in the
     form of warrants to purchase shares of the Company (the "Listed Shares").
     If all the CPA(R) Partnerships participate in the consolidation, W.P. Carey
     will receive warrants to purchase 2,284,800 Listed Shares at $21 per Share
     and 725,930 Listed Shares at $23 Per Share. The Warrants will be
     exercisable 10 years beginning one year after the date the consolidation is
     complete.
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Mr. William P. Carey
W.P. Carey & Co., Inc.
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6.    The Company shall:

      a)  indemnify W.P. Carey and hold it harmless against any and all losses,
claims, damages or liabilities to which W.P. Carey may become subject arising
in any manner out of or in connection with the rendering of services by W.P.
Carey hereunder, unless it is finally judicially determined that such losses,
claims, damages or liabilities resulted directly from the gross negligence or
willful misconduct of W.P. Carey; and

      b)  reimburse W.P. Carey immediately for any legal or other expenses
reasonably incurred by it in connection with investigating, preparing to defend
or defending, or providing evidence in or preparing to serve or serving as a
witness with respect to, any lawsuits, investigations, claims or other
proceedings arising in any manner out of or in connection with the rendering of
services by W.P. Carey hereunder (including, without limitation, in
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Mr. William P. Carey
W.P. Carey & Co., Inc.
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                connection with the enforcement of this Agreement and the
                indemnification obligations set forth herein); provided,
                however, that in the event a final judicial determination is 
                made to the effect specified in subparagraph 6(a) above, 
                Lehman Brothers will remit to the Company any amounts
                reimbursed under this subparagraph 6(b).

                The Company agrees that the indemnification and reimbursement
                commitments set forth in this paragraph 8 and the contribution
                obligations set forth in paragraph 7 shall apply whether or not
                W.P. Carey is a formal party to any such lawsuits, claims or
                other proceedings, that Lehman Brothers is entitled to retain
                separate counsel of its choice, subject to the reasonable
                approval of the Company, in connection with any of the matters
                to which such commitments relate and that such commitments shall
                extend upon the terms set forth in this paragraph to any
                controlling person, affiliate, director, officer, employee or
                agent of W.P. Carey (each, with Lehman Brothers, an
                "Indemnified Person"). The Company further agrees that, unless a
                final judicial determination is made to the effect specified in
                subparagraph 7(a) above, any settlement of a lawsuit, claim or
                other proceeding against the Company arising out of the
                transactions contemplated by this Agreement which is entered
                into by the Company shall include an explicit and unconditional
                release from the party bringing such lawsuit, claim or other
                proceeding of all Indemnified Persons, which release shall be
                reasonably satisfactory to W.P. Carey.

7.      The Company and W.P. Carey agree that if any indemnification or
        reimbursement sought pursuant to the preceding paragraph is judicially
        determined to be unavailable for a reason other than the gross
        negligence or willful misconduct of Lehman Brothers, then, whether or
        not W.P. Carey is the Indemnified Person, the Company and W.P. Carey
        shall contribute to the losses, claims, damages, liabilities and
        expenses for which such indemnification or reimbursement is held
        unavailable: (i) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the
        relative benefits to the Company on the one hand and W.P. Carey on the
        other hand, in connection with the transactions to which such
        indemnification or reimbursement relates; or (ii) if the allocation
        provided by clause (i) above is not permitted by applicable law, in such
        proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits
        referred to in clause (i) but also the relative faults of the Company on
        the one hand, and W.P. Carey on the other hand, as well as any other
        equitable considerations; provided, however, that in no event shall the
        amount to be contributed by W.P. Carey pursuant to this paragraph 8
        exceed the amount of the fees actually received by W.P. Carey hereunder.
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Mr. William P. Carey
W.P. Carey & Co., Inc.
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8.   Except as contemplated by the terms hereof or as required by applicable law
     or pursuant to an order entered or subpoena issued by a court of competent
     jurisdiction, W.P. Carey shall keep confidential all material nonpublic
     information provided to it by the Company and shall not disclose such
     information to any third party, other than such of its employees and
     advisors as W.P. Carey reasonably determines to have a need to know.

9.   Except as required by applicable law, any advice to be provided by W.P.
     Carey under this Agreement shall not be disclosed publicly or made
     available to third parties without the prior approval of W.P. Carey and,
     accordingly, such advice shall not be relied upon by any person or entity
     other than the Company.

10.  The Company agrees that W.P. Carey has the right following the closing of a
     Transaction to place advertisements in financial and other newspapers and
     journals at its own expense describing its services to the Company
     hereunder, provided that W.P. Carey will submit a copy of any such
     advertisements to the Company for its approval, which approval shall not be
     unreasonably withheld.

11.  The term of W.P. Carey engagement hereunder shall extend from the date
     hereof for a period of months. Subject to the provisions of paragraphs 6
     through 15, which shall survive any termination or expiration of this
     Agreement (including by operation of the preceding sentence), either party
     may terminate W.P. Careys' engagement hereunder by giving the other
     party at least 10 days' prior written notice.

12.  At W.P. Carey option, some or all of its services hereunder may be
     performed by, and some or all of its fees may be paid to, an affiliate or
     affiliates of W.P. Carey and the term "W.P. Carey" as used in this
     Agreement shall include such affiliate or affiliates wherever appropriate
     W.P. Carey may retain the services of any third party to assist in
     performing its duties under this Agreement, including due diligence,
     provided that no such third party shall take any action on behalf of the
     Company without the prior approval of the Company.

13.  Nothing in this Agreement, expressed or implied, is intended to confer or
     does confer on any person or entity other than the parties hereto or their
     respective successors and assigns, and to the extent expressly set forth
     herein, the Indemnified Persons, any rights or remedies under or by reason
     of this Agreement or as a result 
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Mr. William P. Carey
W.P. Carey & Co., Inc.
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of the services to be rendered by W.P. Carey hereunder. The Company further
agrees that neither W.P. Carey nor any of its controlling persons, affiliates,
directors, officers, employees or agents shall have any liability to the Company
for any losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses arising out of or
relating to this Agreement or the services to be rendered by W.P. Carey
hereunder, unless it is finally judicially determined that such losses, claims,
damages, liabilities or expenses resulted directly from the gross negligence or
willful misconduct of W.P. Carey.


        15.     The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of this
                Agreement shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any
                other provisions of this Agreement, which shall remain in full
                force and effect.

        16.     (a)     This Agreement may not be amended or modified except in
                        writing signed by each of the parties and shall be
                        governed by and construed and enforced in accordance
                        with the laws of the State of New York. The Company and
                        W.P. Carey hereby irrevocably and unconditionally
                        consent to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the
                        courts of the State of New York and of the United States
                        District Courts located in the City of New York for any
                        lawsuits, claims or other proceedings arising out of or
                        relating to this Agreement and agree not to commence any
                        such law suit, claim or other proceeding except in such
                        courts.

                (b)     The Company and W.P. Carey hereby irrevocably and
                        unconditionally waive any objection to the laying of
                        venue of any lawsuit, claim, or other proceeding arising
                        out of or relating to this Agreement in the courts or
                        the State of New York or the United States District
                        Courts located in the City of New York, and hereby
                        further irrevocably and unconditionally waive and agree
                        not to plead or claim in any such court that any such
                        lawsuit, claim or other proceeding brought in any such
                        court has been brought in an inconvenient forum.

                (c)     Any right to trial by jury with respect to any lawsuit,
                        claim or other proceeding arising out of or relating to
                        this Agreement or the services to be rendered by W.P.
                        Carey hereunder is expressly and irrevocably waived by
                        W.P. Carey and the Company.
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Mr. William P. Carey
W.P. Carey & Co., Inc.
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        If the foregoing correctly sets forth the understanding and agreement
between W.P. Carey and the Company, please so indicate in the space provided
for that purpose below, whereupon this letter shall constitute a binding
agreement as of the date first above written.

                                        W.P. Carey & Co. Inc.

                                        By: 
                                           ------------------------


AGREED:

Carey Diversified LLC

By: 
   -------------------------
   Francis J. Carey
   Chairman