, 1923-10-21
DECLINE SHOWN
in PERCENTAGE
H ME OWNERS.
Wyoming Is One Of 81
States Showing De-
crease, Report.

~
Wyoming was n of 81 states to
show a decrease i'm the percentage
of families owning their homes in
the period from 1900 to 1920. accord
ing to n pamphlet How TO Own
Your Home" which has been pre-
pared by the department of com
merce for a handbook and guide to
prospective home ners
The falling of in the case OF wyo-
ming was two per cent or twenty
families out OF each 1000 in the
state. The average for the Noun
tain group for 1920 was 55,2 per
cent and for Wyoming vas 51.9, and
In both cases was much above the
average for the nation. which, in
1920 was 45.6 per cent.
Secretary Hoover. in tho foreword
to the handbook. points out that in
buying or building a home a man
must o only carry out the trans
actions of financing and buying n
building. but must determine the
location with respect TO schools,
work, and the nelghborhood. How
TO Own Your Home which wns
prepared by John NJ. Cries and
James S. Taylor. of the Division of
Building and Housing. accordingly
aims to describe the steps and pre-
cautions to be taken in carrying out
the transaction with the least pos
sible risk and the best assurance OF
Hnal satisfaction"
although most men and women
who buy n house have never done
It before and are usually unskilled.
as people generally are in the things
they do but once or twice in n life
time. the prospective home owner
who carefully considers the real
needs of his family and his ability
10 pay, and who checks his own
Judgment by consulting experienced
persons. may go ahead with full
confidence. He need not be fright
.sned by the mistakes of needless
persons who have been carried away
:. BY. some novel feature and coaxed
into a bad bargain, or who have
tried TO buy beyond their mems.
While some risks are involved, as
is usually tho case in obtaining any
thing worth while, the danger of
failure is relatively small when
weighed against the advantages of
an owned home.
To-day, in the period OF postwar
recovery. when our national pro-
ductivity Is increasing. we ave the
opportunity TO mako definite prog
ress in tho right direction. More
over, the development of the auto
mobile has given a great impulse to
suburban life n an increasing
possibility OF home ownership.
Happily a large section of h PEG
pie are awake to tho problem and
an increasing number of business
groups have publicly acknowledged
. their responsibility and interest in
n. They realize hat unnecessary
barriers that nay encompass a man
determined TO own his homo are
h~indrances to good community spirit
and TO good business.
I'm the matter of choosing suit-
sblo location for a home. How to
Own Your Home" lists as factors to
be consideredi Low or high land
values; transportation facilities; pro-
: lection. including fire and police;
character Of neighborhood; a%ccessl-
bility of schools and Fairgrounds;
shade trees: character of soil and
necessity for grading. filling or
0Idl1llil6. nut 10 lOoh lpI III HOubc
plans and insistence on good quality
OF construction are included in the
topics covered by the manual.
In addition TO payments on prin-
eipai and interest of loans on a
home 1t says. allowance must be
made for some or all Of the follow.
ing expenses; Renewals and re
pairs; property tax and special
assessments; insurance; water tax
or rent; accessories and improve
ments."
Prospective home buyers will nnd
within tho twenty.eight pages of
.1Iow TO Own Your Home' the an
swers. automatically presented and
in condensed form TO nearly every
question having to do with the
acquisition OF property. The hand
book can BIO obtained by sending
nve cents to the office OF the super
tntendent Of documents. Government
Printing Office, Washington, ID. C.