Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1935-10-19
%15,26,Ol)D PAID
ON HOMES IN us.
Debt Reduction Is Estimated
by Building and Loan
League Head.

Urban families with mortgaged
homes are some s415,276,000 nearer to
debt-free ownership than they were
when the year began, the United
States Building and Loan League esti-
mates. I. Friedlander, Houston, Tex,
president of the league, points out
that the 1000 savings, building and
loan associations and likewise the
Home Owners Loan Corp. require
monthly repayment on the princi-
pal from all borrowers, and that these
two groups of mortgages are now
financing close to 100000 American
home owners accounting for this total
OF payments in 1885.
About 80 per cent of the repayments
on mortgage loans went to the savings,
building and loan associations which
hold about 2,0O0,0 900 of Americas home
loans. Scores of thousands of the
families are within a year or two of
owning the homes outright, the league
president recalled, since the average
length of the associations monthly
repayment loans is about II years and
2 months, and about million of
the loans now carried on the books
were made back in 1925, 1926 and 1927
and the larger part of them have gone
right along paying off the contract
The associations during the depression
refinanced many of them on a smaller
monthly payment basis, with longer
period to pay off in order to help them
carry on.
Reduction Per Cent.
although many of our association
loans are for about half this length OF
time, and the past year has seen many
new mortgages being written for as
long as Is years, the average yearly
reduction on the loans is about 9 per
cent and the first three quarters OF
this year have seen an improvement
in loan collections which warrants the
estimate that at least $685. ,276,000 has
flowed back into the associations from
borrowers since January l." said Mr.
Friedlander.
He cited Home Owners Loan Corp
figures as of August 81 to the
effect that $124,082,5l1 had been re-
paid by their borrowers since the be-
ginning of activities, pointing out that
$48,843,935 of this had been repaid
before the first of this year, leaving
$75,238,OO0 for the 1885 payments in
the first eight months. A conservative
estimate on September collections by
the corporation brings the first nine
months figure there up to $50 10000
Mr.. Friedlander said that possibly a
few thousand dollars should be added
to the national estimate on home own
ers' progress toward debt-free posses
sion because of the loans made by
other types of institutions under the
F. H. A. title II plan, which also re-
quires monthly repayments. He COM
mented, however that the amount OF
such commitments thus far is so recent
and so small compared with the
$5,O00,0O0 900 loan portfolio of the
country's savings and loan associations
exclusively on this repayment basis
and the S2,741, 500,366 held by the
H.O.L. c. that it would not materially
affect the total repayments for the
year.
Payments Increase.
Throughout practically the past los
years during which the building and
loan associations have been gradually
spreading the feeling and demand for
the long-term monthly repayment
loan, the amount of home Indebtedness
paid off by the mortgage borrowers
per year has increased" he said. THE
only exception would be the years of
1882 and 1888, when comparatively few
new loans we're being made and the
worst period of emergency for the bor-
rowers had to be faced. There is every
prospect that the progress toward
debt-free ownership will be consider
ably enhanced next year by the saw
1ngs. building and loan associations
expanded lending activities using
funds from Federal Home Loan Banks
and from State reserve systems,
H. o. L. C. share purchases and the
new funds from the public. Activities
of the Home Owners Loan Corp,
where they represent the refund
ing Of loans held formerly by private
individuals, banks and insurance COM
panies, contribute likewise to the
progress Of the debt-free home pos