Evening star., 1933-06-10
REhLT0R BACKS
MORTGAGE BILL
Principle of Long, Term FL
nancing lndorsed by
Martin R. West.

The principle of long-term fnanc-
ing, as incorporated in the administra-
tion's home mortgage bill, was in
dorsed this week by Martin R. West
vice president of Weaver Bros, Inc.
realtors. He pointed to the provision
in the legislation providing for this
financing as an example to be followed
by home owners generally, whether or
not they have intention of seeking Fed
eral relief.
The relative merits of the 15-year
amortization and the 3-year straight
loan plans were not even made sub
jects OF debate when the measure was
before the Senate or House, Mr.. West
points out. He says:
The wide publicity given the home
mortgage bill with its long-term repay
ment provision, as it passed through
both branches of Congress into con-
ference, attracted the lively interest of
many home owners to whom here
tofore this class of financing meant
only confusion. This is attested by
the increasing number of inquiries be-
ing received by local home financing
companies.
Sees Change of Attitude.
THAT it requires even in normal
times liz years for the average home
buyer to pay off his mortgage is COM
mon knowledge. Moreover, fully 95
per cent of the home buyers are well
aware at the time they make their
purchase that they cannot possibly pay
out in three years They realize that
there inevitably will be renewals or
requirements, and that these subse-
quent contracts may run costs up to a
point where borrower may be COM
PEELED to pay expenses greatly in excess
of those originally agreed upon"
Mr. West believes that the trying
economic times have likewise had a
strong influence in changing the atti-
tude OF many home owners on the gen.
eral subject of financing.
Many have learned that short-time
loans put the home owner at the mercy
of conditions obtaining at the time of
renewal" he says. They have learned
that at the most critical periods heavy
curtails may be demanded They now
know that second trusts under such
conditions are out of the question and
that hurried financing is always diff
cult and often impossible. 1t is this
unhappy combination of unforeseen and
inescapable developments which ac-
counts for heavy percentage of fore
closures.
many mortgages 'Pald.
Hundreds of Washington families,
however, paid off their mortgages dur
ing the last II months and other hun
dreds of homes will be cleared of debt
during the coming year, in spite of
drastically curtailed income
by arranging at the outset to repay
their loans over a 15-year period they
avoided the expense and uncertainty
incident to renewals. They placed
themselves in a position where they
could not be called upon at the end
of three years for repayment, perhaps
at a time of special financial stress
In other words, they applied safety-frst
principles to their home buying
"A Nationwide survey recently COM
pleted by building and loan associ-
alton shows that about 2 per cent of
all mortgages held by such institutions
were cleared during the unsettled days
of 1882. In normal times such clear
ances approximate per cent year.
All of the loans made by building and
loan associations were for long terms
and other home financing corporations
operating along like lines reported
about the same proportion of final set
Elements. This would appear to prove
that home buying under protective
financing remains among the safest OF
investments"