Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-09-30
FILL APARTMENTS WITH
KIDDIES, SAYS WOMAN
Would Rather Rent to Fam
lily With Three Children
Than to ChiIdless Couple
She Says
BY MARGUERITE M. MARSHALL

BY MARGUERITE Nj. MARSHALL
NEW YORK.-In fifteen years a
New York girl, Margaret L. Schabe-
horn, has made one million dollars
in the real estate business, and the
keystone Of her property is con-
tanned in the following slogan:
1.-The more children, the merrier!"
al would rather" blue-eyed, soft
voiced, charming Miss Schabehorn
told me earnestly, rent a house or
an apartment, to a family with three
children than to a childless couple.
And I would rather rent to a family
Of ten than to family Of three"
If you want proof of the way in
which Miss Schabehorn practices her
principles. you have only to run
down to Graham Beach or Staten
Island and see 800 or more of Miss
Schabehorn's bungalows spilling over
with youngsters. Miss Schabehorn
herself spends every weekend
among them, and she is sort of
adopted aunt to the whole colony:
P. S.-Not only does she prefer to
rent or sell to paterfamilias, but she
1lclSl1 1o1SCu LIS C11L oA1ASC IA1O WI
ony started years ago-she didn't
even raise it during the war.
Yet, as you may guess from her
present prosperity, Miss Schabehorn
is not in business merely for her
health. She does believe, however,
that a woman can make good thing
out of real estate without being
either a profiteer or a rent hog.
The genesis Of what must seem, to
many of her competitors, her truly
singular convictions, Miss Schabe
horn explained to me readily when
asked her. Her New York business
| headquarters are at No. 119 Lexing
| ton avenue.
"You see," she said, with smile
II was one Of ten children myself
When we were little we lived on 6
farm. Then my father died and my
mother moved to New York. Even az
long ago as that it seemed as. if she
| could never find a place to live
Everywhere she went the landlord OF
| the agent said, But your children
We don't want so many children
| Nowadays, of course, the situa
ton is infinitely worse. My littlt
niece, child Of ten, is with me
| They didn't want to take her in the
| carefully restricted west side apart
ment house where I live-and ye1
my apartment is far more quie'
than others in the same building
occupied only by adults.
! 81 just made UP my mind, from
the time I went into business, that
would not only take children
would give the preference to families
| with children, and the more thu
merrier is simply human and anti
social"
"Of course" + suggested, "tht
average landlord or agent backs VI
his race suicide principles with the
argument that children do so muci
damage to his property"
"Children," gently but firmly de
clared their womanly champion, "dc
not injure piece of property nearly
as much as adults. The little dam
age done by children-the scratche!
and that sort Of thing-can be easily
repaired. On the other hand, if yol
have the wrong sort of adults in on,
of your places they break things
They may work more havoc at {
single party than children will worl
| in a year.
"What we need in the New Yorl
real estate business" she continued
sis more women. They would never
put the taboo on babies, as men do
A woman naturally takes the hu
man, the motherly, viewpoint. Sht
understands that homes are made
primarily to shelter families, not tt
house childless couple and a toy
dog"
tits always seemed to me-" sug
| gested, that the whole business O.
| planning and building and furnish
| ing homes, as well as of renting
and selling them, should be in WON
ems hands. A man sleeps in hi!
home, but a woman lives in it.
decent man, therefore, usually give!
her the final say in choosing it
| Wouldn't homes made and sold fol
women be more likely to suit thar
man-made houses and apartments?'
IT think So" nodded Miss Schabe
horn. II should like to see scores
and hundreds Of our high schoo
girls going into architecture ant
real estate. Naturally, know -.lor,
about the real estate business, am
| lh1llh IL IIl0 1u0d1 10
women. To succeed in it a woman
needs three qualities most of ILL
determination, tact and a gift To-
under, rather than over, statement
The lastingly successful real estat
man or woman is the one who nev
er misrepresents a property, who re
ports it as a little less desirabl
than it really is, instead Of a littl
more"
Miss Schabehorn herself entered
the real estate business when sh
was a fiften-year-old girl in bust
ness college, by selling a big farm
over in New Jersey for friend 0
hers. Then, at the request of tn
purchaser, she divided it into lots
took her first commission of $500 t.
advertise them, and sold them Of
with complete success. Since tina
time she has handled thousands o
parcels of real estate in New Jersey
New York city and on Long ISLAM
| and has over half a million doI13 r