Perth Amboy evening news., 1920-04-20

81
MENACE TO THE COMMUNITY.

Ih0EC is q great utdl OF tttN tHeNN
oa,s abolt n prohteers IN all lines
6 basinoss-the ono felt most by the
People of This city. perhaps. being The
landlord pronteers. But there is rea-
son to believe the real trouble IN Perth
Anlboy is 10 be found in the real estate
a~peculator rather than the prodtecr-
although We do not deny that there is
deliberate profteering going on.
Perth Amboy is at present passing
through a pcriod Of wild speculation.
There seems TO exist a mania for buy
ing ana selling real estate. All kinds
~ unhcorq-of prices are being asked
FOR property aud there seems to be no
limit. Prices that a year or " ago
would have been laughed at as being
ridiculous are today accepted AS "a
matter of course and each person who
buys a house or store Immediately
places a new valuation on the property
o thousand dollars or 50 more than
be paid for it.
There are numerous instances Of
properties changing hands two or
three times within q few weeks, each
aime selling for considerably. more
shan the price paid for it. In this way
o residence actually worth six or
seven thousand dollars Is soon run up
30 twelve or fourteen thousand dollars.
1t is speculation running wild and II
g. doing untold injury to the city. The
only persons benehting are II COM
paratively few real estate spectators.
It stands to reason that II a property
changes hands several times each
time the sales price being a thousand
dollars or more above what 1t was sold
for. the person who finally gets It to
hold for q little while must greatly in
crease the rent so as to realize some
thing on his investment. The prop
srty may not actually be worth any
where near what was finally paid for
It; the valuation has become greatly
inflated, but the new owner refuses
TO sell at q loss and so holds on until
ne. too, can make his profit on the
deal and. in the meantime. he jumps
ahe rent so as to realize an interest on
his investment. It is all due to specu-
Iation pure and simple.
The result Is. as we said yesterday,
many desirable citizens are being de-
;iberately driven out of the city by this
unnatural condition OF affairs; the
only ones beneftting being a COM
Sa~ratively few real estate Spectators.
But what is true of private resi-
1ences is also true of store and busi-
ness property. Speculation has been
rife in Smith street property for
months. Store buildings have changed
hands in rapid succession, each time
more money being paid for the
property. Naturally each buyer TX
poets to make something on his In
Sestment. Either he. In turn. will sell
out at q profit. or he will jump rent;
so as TO derive a satisfactory income
Cor the money he has Invested.
Put yourself In the position of the
etorekeeeper. You have rented on g
lease for a certain period of years
Ehe actual value Of the property you
occupy may be, say. $40, 900. 1t is sold
over your mead to another person fol
$4,000. Later you learn that the new
purchase, in turn, has sold the prop
Pity for $4,000. still another change
Is made, this time for $4,000 and s.
on until you hardly know who you.
landlord is, but you do know that b,
the time your lease is to expire the las
purchaser of the property which yo1
occupy has paid, maybe. 100000 70
ct.
Whereas you had bee paying a rem
that afforded a reasonable net incom'
on $4,000. you are now called upo'
20 pay a rem hat will net the new
owner q fair income on his 500. 90
investment, In the meantime yor
AafS poht aP 6COt RoSAhNSo NhNA
you are and are loath to leave, blu
with the awful increase in rent 20
find It impossible TO go n What's tn
answer
Tt is a serious situation both froI
"a residential and a business point c
view and unless something is done {
lcheck. this wild speculation the cit
IS going to suffer a bad setback. ]
Sc generally admitted that alread
prices are away above the true values
IL Is an imitation hat is going to brini
disaster.
There are men in this city who hav
given up their regular line of occupa
lion and are devoting their entire tim
10 speculate In real estate. The,
buy a piece OF property one day an
sell It the next pocketing the profit
which run anywhere from $500 t
several thousand dollars on a dea'
These men are parasites and some wa.
ought to be found to stop them. The,
are becoming rich at the expense o
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