Evening star., 1934-02-03
MORTGAGES TOTAL
CUT 800 MILLION
Building and Loan League
Cites Reduction Made
During Past Year.

CHICAGO, February 3-In the
course of the past year 100000 900
of the home mortgage Indebtedness
which existed at the beginning of 1888
was paid off, according to figures
made public today by the United
States Building and Loan League. 1t
is based on annual receipt statements
of representative associations from all
over the country.
A portion of the sum represents the
amount by which existing mortgages
were reduced in principal. while the
remainder stands for indebtedness
completely paid off in 1888. In COM
menting on this feat of the home
owners. the leagues Home Building
and Home Owning Committee sees a
healthy indication that the desire for
debt-free ownership is by no means
dampened in the rank and file of
the citizens
Members of the committee are: I.
Friedlander, Houston, Tex, chairman,
Philip Lieber, Shreveport, La; Le-
Grand w. Pellet, Newburgh, N. Y:
Herbert F. Taylor, jr. Boston, Mass; =;
Albert o. Horner, Pittsburgh. Pa; E.
c. Baltz. Washington. D c.: Harold
T Donaldson. Lansing. Mich. John
Warren, Newark, N. j.: L. P. McCul-
lough, Columbus Ohio; George E. Nc
Kinnis. Shawnee, Okla; Lee c. Stidd,
Portland. Greg, and Ward B. Whit
lock, Springfield, Ill.
Many Included in Survey.
Building and loan associations rang
ing in assets from $4,000 to $40 .00O,-
900 are included in the survey on
which the committees report is based
Some operate in areas which are still
badly stricken by the depression,
others in localities which have begun
to feel improvement. so that the cross
section of how the home owners are
discharging their obligations is con-
sidered particularly accurate
The monthly reduction of the prin-
cipal of the loan which is a funda-
mental of the building and loan mort
gage plan is continuing to increase
the home owners equity in thousands
of cases." says the committee. The
S800,000,000 represents payments on
the principal, exclusive of interest.
Undoubtedly in most Of the cases it
has meant some sacrifice of luxuries
on the part of the home borrowers.
But this performance has placed them
on a decidedly more stable basis than
was theirs at the beginning of last
year AS residential real estate values
continue to improve these home own
ers will be more and more pleased
that they carried through on their
ownership program.
Aid Credit Extension.
Their repayments to the associa-
tions have also helped the receipts of
these institutions and thus enabled
them to extend more credit than
would have been possible if they had
had to depend upon new investments
at a time when only a comparative
few were investing anywhere.
"The continual turnover of money
in the home mortgage field, the dis
bursement of the funds to the bor-
rover. his repayment of portions of
the principal at regular times, and
the advancing of those repaid sums
to others applying for loans is neces-
sary for healthy credit situation for
small residential property. That is
one reason why it is SO imperative for
all home owners who can pay all or
a portion of their regular installments
of principal and interest to do SO. 1t
is encouraging both to the people
whose money is invested in the asso-
Citations and to those interested from
the loaning side. that more than three
quarters of billion dollars of home
credit was thus kept in normal cir
culation in the most trying year of
all for the home owners"