Evening star., 1933-12-08
Mortgage Holders Will Not
Exchange Despite Cor
poration Approval.
PREVENTION OF 143
FORECLOSURES REPORTED
Temporary postponement, How.
ever, Results in Later Loss Of
Property-Inactive List Large.

Nearly 800 applications for home re-
financing are on an inactive list" in
the District office Of the Home own
ers' Loan Corporation because holders
OF mortgages on the properties con-
cerned refuse to take Government bonds
in exchange for them, 1t was revealed
today. This number Is being increased
daily as the agency seeks this consent
in 539 other cases which have met
with its approval
In making public figures more up
to date than statistics released yester-
day by the Federal Office of the Home
Owners Loan Corporation the local
Office said total of 1880 applications
have been filed with 1t, of which 1,549
were approved for consideration after
careful examination as to the eligibility
and after the need of the applicant for
assistance had been established.
143 Foreclosures Stopped.
In 302 cases the Office was able to
arrange adjustments between the prop
erty owner and the holders of the mort
gage which would permit the owner to
carry on, at least temporarily. 1t was
stated that 143 foreclosure proceedings
have been stopped since the Office has
been in operation. In some of the
latter cases, however, only temporary
postponements were secured, and the
properties were subsequently foreclosed
on when the Federal corporation found
itself unable to assist.
On the inactive list" are a total of
804 cases which had to be transferred
when the corporation, for various rea-
sons, was prevented from consummating
refinancing. Besides the 294 which the
corporation says are directly traceable
to refusal Of the holder of a mortgage
to accept bonds, are many owners who
need assistance and who have not fled
applications because their mortgage
holders inform them they would not
exchange mortgage notes for bonds.
"Of the 745 now under consideration
in the Office" says a statement sum-
mariZing the agencys accomplishments,
"539 have passed the preliminary steps
and are now at the point where we are
seeking the consent of mortgage hold
ers to accept bonds. Some of these
cases have been at this point for sew
eral months, and in many of them
we have secured consent of the owners
Of part of the Indebtedness, but have
not yet secured the remainder We
know that unless the present attitude
is materially changed, most of these
cases will become inactive"
Through today, the local Office has
actually closed 81 loans, representing an
exchange of bonds amounting to S269,-
$50. In addition, one cash loan amount
ing to 1881 was advanced Seventy
cases are in the hands of title COM
panies awaiting only the completion of
title examination before being consum-
mated.
Foreclosures Increase.
Meanwhile, the statistical department
of the Federal Office of the Home Own
ers' Loan Corporation revealed that in
spite of multiple efforts to halt mort
gage foreclosures throughout the coun-
try, including the activities of new
Federal agencies and special legisla-
ton in several States, more pieces of
property have been foreclosed in the
first 10 months of this year than dur
ing the corresponding period Of 1882.
The average monthly foreclosures in
the District jumped from 70 in 1882 to
1908 this year. These facts were re-
vealed in a tabulation covering LOTT
communities in the United States made
by Arthur ]. Mertzge, economist for the
H. o. L. c.
In the District there were 1908 fore
closures through October For the same
period last year there were 100. In 1926
there were only 337.