Evening star., 1935-04-27
LOAN FIRMS PLAN
BIG REPAIR OUTLAY.
Lions Share OF Home Funds
Anticipated Carrying Out
Usual Policy.

Savings, building and loan associa-
tions will finance more than half Of
the home modernization and repair
work undertaken in 1885 with q prob
able disbursal Of two to three hundred
million doAars, and this performance
will be in line with their normal ex-
perience over the past half century.
This was stated here today by Nor
ton Bodfish, executive vice president
Of the United States Building and
Loan League. AS far back as 1894,
he points out, SO per cent of the num-
ber Of loans held by the associations
were made for remodeling purposes.
Attention was drawn to these Al
year old statistics by the approach OF
the anniversary Of the Federal Gov
ernment's first publication Of figures
relating to the home financing re-
sources in the Nation. May /, 1894.
the United States Commissioner Of
La1qr presented to President Grover
Cleveland the results Of compre-
hensive survey of the building and
loan associations, their loan portfolios
and other factors characteristic at
that time.
Insurance Over Long Period.
Complete revision of the regulations
under Title I of the housing act ap-
plicable to savings, building and loan
associations. agreed upon by Federal
housing authorities and to be an
nounced in the near future. will make
1t possible to insure regular long-term
loans of the associations up to 144
months. Associations appreciate the
cooperation thus afforded by the
Housing Administration and will find
their 1885 modernization lending
pushed substantially ahead by the
change, the league official said.
Thirty EIGHT per cent Of the num-
Der of loans held by associations IN
1894 had been made for original
amounts somewhere between 5000 and
S7Oo. showing concrete evidence OF the
predominance of repair and modern
ization financing by the associations
at this time" said Mr.. Bodfish. 1T
is doubtful if there were then in exist
ence any other types of lenders, except
private persons, to finance expenol-
lures for home remodeling which were
part of the property owners natural
procedure. Up until our recent de-
preston induced slump in peoples IN
terest in their homes, the financing
of remodeling was always substantial
portion of our lending, sometimes
VARYING below the 38 per cent charac-
teristic in 1894, but always taken as
a matter of course in the associations
RESPONSIBILITIES for home financing.
Big Share of Work Done.
Performance Of the associations IN
the modernization campaign up 10
the first of the year also demonstrates
their natural fitness to do the Job
In four months beginning with Sep
tember, our institutions placed $685.
100000 in remodeling loans and De-
cember was the highest Of the four
months. This total compares with
s32, 100000 insured by the Federal
Housing Administration, for other
types of modernization lenders. At the
outset, then, the associations were
doing more than half OF the mod
ernization lending. With the hberal1-
zation of some of the rules and regu-
,ia-ions under Title I, there will be
more substantial use Of the insurance
feature by the associations and there
fore a greater stimulus to their STEP
ping up moderniZation activities"
According to the tabulated results
of the real property inventory con-
Quoted by the Bureau Of Foreign and
Domestic Commerce, the typical
American home is a dwelling of 10
years old, of wood or frame construc-
tion, containing five rooms. It is
worth between $4,000 and $4,000.
Looking at these statistics Mr.. Bod
fish said that the ease with which
building and loan associations can
serve owners of this type in their
remodeling plans will give them a
primary responsibility to undertake
the work.
With most home owners in this
group the largest single expenditure
of their lifetime, their largest indebt-
edness has been incurred in connec-
ton with the home" he continued.
They have customarily gotten that
financing from the building and loan
association. They will be much more
inclined to go there again. Further
more the associations are so familiar
with the type of credit risk being dealt
with here that there can be no ques-
ton Of their ability to close such
loans more rapidly and with less red
tape than other lenders new in the
field. This is one more reason why
in their 1885 lending programs asso-
Citations are planning expansion of