New-York tribune., 1907-09-22
SKYSCRAPER MANAGER.
Specially Developed By Ne10 York
Sir Billion Dollar Realty Market.

iSiG Billion Dollar Realty Market.
The skvscraper real estate agent, who is
really mayor police commissioner health COM
missioner and street cleaning commissioner and
department of public works to a community of
ten thousand persons under single roof is the
latest specialist developed by the realty market
For so vast has the real estate field become in
this city, with its $4,000 100000 assessed valua-
ton and its 325.OOO buildings. that
know all of It, and there is great demand for
the specialist who knows thoroughly one line
Many DO nothing but auction off property;
others will handle only business buildings
vacant lots. Some specialize mortgages
others deal exclusively in hotel apartments; still
others handle only tenement. fat or dwelling
houses or suburban property. Some do an ex-
elusive renting business; others will only buy
and SELL One of the queerest Of all specialists
probably is the agent who sells single apart
ment in building to a man who wishes 10 own
rather than to rent fiat. And in the i26,ooO
conveyances of property, in the S741,22S,0I2 OF
mortgages recorded and annual rents of about
100000 600 year each specialist finds enough
commission for his particular activities to make
some one line profitable.
BUYERS and sellers are realizing the impor-
tance Of retaining these specialists. for while 1t
did not take any trained real estate man to ad-
wise Peter Minuit the Dutch Governor Of New
Amsterdam. to buy the whole of Manhattan
Island from the Indians for $24, when a buyer
is paving 500 a square foot for some of that
same property around Wall street he wants the
| advice of some one who knows the entire history
of land and building values in the financial zone
Among realty specialists. the latest to be rec
| ognized is the rental agent Of the great sky
| scraper who stands between the ten thousand
| cliff dwellers in business roOkery and the cor
poration which owns the building. In the early
| days of the skyscraper the agent would attend
| to three four buildings, but structures
forty-ffve stories high and covering entire square
| blocks began to go up the skyscraper agent Of
| a single building was developed and this man
| spends his business life attending to property
| under a single roof. and makes a good income
| from il.
| The life of such an agent is busy one. and
| the things he must know about real estate. busl-
| ness, human nature. Housekeeping ana & dozen
| branches of engineering and trade are myriad
In the first place, he is the head OF a community
| of perhaps 1,OUO offices occupied by prODaDly
i 5000 persons and visited daily by from lJ.OO
| TO 25.000 others. He must superintend the safe
| transportation by elevators OF this daily army.
In the next place he must see that the streets
| the corrdors-Of which there sometimes
more than a mile in a single building are kept
clean; that offices are properly cared for ana all
paper garbage removed at night In this way
| he may be head of a cleaning force of perhaps
fifty men and women whose soap bill alone may
amount to S4CO year.
| He must also look after the health and safety
! Of his community by seeing that all plumbing
and water supply systems are in perfect order;
that the heating plant delivers just the right
number of degrees without wasting coal; that
regulations against fire are observed and that
his fire fighting crew and apparatus are always
ready He must police his streets through trust
| worthy ernpIoyes must see that there is no
! breach of the peace. and that with an
Illegal Objectionable calling is allowed TO get
into the building. or, II he gets in that ne does
busy community has left Skyscraperville. he
must see that there is always an adequate guard
! TO protect their deserted property. To attend
| to all these things and do il economically. he
| must know something about plumbing, steam
fitting electric wiring. elevators and all the
building and repair trades. and must himself
he something of lawyer. engineer. architect
! and contractor. in order 10 buy intelligently and
to pass bills for improvements.
| To rent offices. he must he a trained diplomat
! and be able TO write advertisements. To handle
! his force Of superintendents clerks cleaners
! eIa,-ator mon euefneers fren7en and inspectors.
he must he a sort Of labor leader and organizer
He must know enough about human nature u
| keep his | 900 tenants happy The making out
of leases and the collection and handling of such
huge monthly rentals is in itself a big business
| requiring a perfect office system: but. for that
matter. merely keeping track OF the o.po door
keys 10 such a structure is in itsen no small
/ task But. in addition 10 all of these things the
| skyscraper agent must keep absolutely In touch
with his entire neighbOrhOod and with practl-
| cay every similar building in the city He
! must know. for instance. whether the dena nd
for offices in his neighborhOod and the price
| asked in other buildings warrant an Increase IN
! rent. He must keep in touch with every mun1cl-
| and keep an eve on the Mayor. the Board OF Es-
| innate the Aldermen the State Legislature and
| officials generally.
| But to be any kind OF real estate specialist IN
| New York must have "a broad KIN wledge
| of the general real estate field. just as an eye
| specialist must also be we'll grounded in general
| medicine.
| And so broad has the field become and so
| difficult is il to obtain anything like compre-
| hensive knowledge in a reasonable time through
! Cerng in real estate offices that a full hedged
| real estate training school has been established
| in the city. where not only young men starting
| in the business but many of the most prominent
| operators in the city go study all the phases
! Quoted by the West Side Young Mems Christian
| Association under the general direction OF
| committee Of members of the Real Estate Board
| of Brokers Last year 316 men we're enrolled
Three courses are given in the school One Is
a series of lectures on real estate law given Dy
| a prominent legal specialist on real estate An
other course covers all the phases or manage
| mant of a modern real estate business The
| third is the most important and is really unique
| in educa tional lines. II consists OF series or
| TWENTY-FIVE lectures given by prominent real
| estate men and experts in allied lines. dealing
| with every phase Of the real estate mans prob
| lem The lecturers in the course continue to at
| tend the sessions students after they have
| deIivared their talks and thus the school acts
| as a great clearing house of information and
/ ideas The result of three successful years OF
| the school has practically been to put the real
| estate business in New York on a plane with
/ the higher professions.
NATIONAL GUARD NEWS.