The sun., 1919-04-20
CITY MAY HAVE TO
PUT UP BARRACKS
Will Need Them to Shelter Its
Homeless Unless Building
Is Started Soon.

What do the men who make a bust
ness of housing the people OF the metro
polttan district-owners, contractors,
money lenders. brokers and agents
think about present congestion? What
Is the outlook as they see 1t? What are
the remedies for present conditions?
The things about which all building
interests are in agreement are the fol-
lowing:
There are few tenement flats, apart
ments or houses for rent to new tenants
In the greater city or its suburbs.
Congestion. troublesome now, will be-
come acute in the fall because OF the
normal increase In tho population.
There Is no refuge In the suburbs ex-
cept for the family that is in a position
to buy home
Building on a big scale is tho only
hope OF real relief. and the~outlook for
a building boom In the 1919 season is
dubious
Rentals will continue to go up. Re-
newais of yearly leases of apartments
from Oct. /. 1919. are now being made
on a basis of a 10 to 90 per cent. In
crease.
Rents are not too high. There has
been no profteering except in isolated
cases. Investors In real estate have not
bean deriving an adequate return from
their properties and are taking advan-
tage of the opportunity to adjust income
to investment. Cost of operation has
increased greatly. Elevator runners who
used TO get $25 a month are now paid
$50.
Families favorably situated should
combine observation-disclosures up. 1t Is
suggested that there are many parents
who could live with a married CON or
daughter without causing hardship.
Alterations May Help Some.
Some ameiioration OF conditions may
be brought about through the alteration
OF old style brownstone fronts into three,
four and five apartments. A good deaf
of this kind OF work is being done on
the upper west side.
The many hotels OF New York give
housing conditions an element of elastic
ity Hotels will tend to become filed
with permanent guests who will shut out
visitors from the city.
While they are agreed that building
operations should be undertaken at once,
real estate men are not in accord as TO
tho wisdom of beginning operations.
Some builders assert that the cost OF
labor and materials holds them back.
Others say they would balance the in
creased cost against the assured sub
but that they cannot undertake opera
lions because OF their inability to obtain
building loans on favorable terms.
The builders and the lenders on build
ing mortgages are at odds. The title
companies and other lenders have taken
the position that they will not allow the
Increase of costs to affect the appraisals
on which loans are figured. In other
words, they want to be assured that II
cost recessions reduce the value of a
building they will be interested In It for
no more than the usual risk. They put
Il up TO the builder 10 finance increased
costs himself.
Before the war the normal borrowing
limit on a building, figured to cost
500, 900, was $4,000. the cost Of the
Same building under present conditions
is variously figured by experts at from
s125,O00 to sl65.0O0. The lenders take
the position that the building loan should
not be more than $4,000.
Builders say that unless the lenders
readjust their schedules or financial aid
is obtained from the Federal or state