The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-06-21
$4,000 PICKED UP BY
SHARP REALTY TRADER
MANY Fortunes Made by Shady Deals
---How Pride Helped a Trickster
---Pennsylvania R. r. Victim

Dull days in real estate are useful
for one purpose; they permit the tricks
of the game-realty romance in other
words-to be tod. To the average per-
son there Is no more dreary calling
than that of real estate man. Lack
ing the surface excitement of Wal
Street and other lines OF business men
think selling real estate is "a dull, prosy
business suited only for men who have
aged before their years. The fact is,
real estate Is as exciting as the Wall
Street game and far more racklng
Little being heard of the under work
lngs and tricks of real estate, few
realize the excitement and subt,etics
of the game. 1t is only at such times
as these when business is dun that
realty men get reminiscent. Then one
hears for the first time the inside story
OF the battle OF wits that preceded the
sale Of Fifth avenue corner; OF the
sharp practices OF this man: the
chances of u long Imprisonment taken
by that man for "A few thousand dol
Jars, how bluff and only bluff carried
! to a close negotiation which otherwise
would have fallen down, and OF the
| tricks used to lift values of property
in the path of public improvements.
| Many real estate deals closed. whether
| they involved large capital or little
money, had enough thrills to satisfy
more than the average appetite for eX-
element.
Four men all of whom woulG be In
! the real estate hall OF fame II there
was such u place met on a hot day
last week in the office of young law
/ yer on Pine street. man who controls
a private mortgage company ana lot
| Of money. The deal which brought
about the meeting could not be car
| rled through that day and the four
men sat in the cool breeze usually
! found at the top OF n skyscrapor and
| ,alked of former days and lighter al
iairs. one commented on the SAFE an
bounced in THE Sun that morning OF
a property which a well known firm
Of lawyers had been anxious TO sell ioi
some time,
THE contract for the sale OF that
property" remarked another Of the
| group, I'm bet is proof against all the
trlcksters In this town. That arm was
euehred out OF $4,000 by a trickster,
| orally lawyer, Few years ago, ana
since then not point is overlooked;
nothing is taken for granted and the
| reputation OF buyer OF seller means
nothing to them. You're out TO skin
them or their client II you can, is the
stand they take. and they watch every
move with suspicion.
| Controlling large estate funds they
were approached by a certain operator
| for u mortgage. They consented To
make the loan and a date was set for
closing the deal. ON the date the oper-
ator gave a reason for postponlng the
deal until the next day. Naturally, the
postponement was granted. That same
day a mortgage for $4,000 was recorded
against the property by the owner
through dummy. The next day he
closed the deal with the lawyers. They
had searched the property up TO the
day set for the closing OF the deal and
found everything satisfactory. The
money advanced, which was trust
money, was to be a first mortgage, but
1t actually was a second. Both loans
more than equalled the value Of the
! realty. 1t was months before the law.