Evening star., 1936-09-19
RISE IN BUILDING
STANDARDS CITED
Quality of Dwellings Now
Highest in History, F. H. A.
Head Says.

No advance In construction Is more
impressive today than that of the
standard of residential building, in
the opinion of Stewart Mcdonald,
Federal Housing administrator, who
attributes the sharply increasing vol
ume Of business under the national
housing act to two main points
better building and simpler financing.
The investment Of more than
billion dollars in home construction,
refinancing and modernization by
private enterprise can only mean, he
said, that the Federal Government
has succeeded within two years in
establishing q higher and more uni
form standard of quality for the dwell
ing than has ever before obtained IN
the construction industry.
"The introduction of a new and
sounder method Of home financing
throughout the Nation under the sys-
tenn fostered by the Federal Housing
Administration was easier of achieve
ment thain the task Of lifting stand
ards Of construction" he said. Long
term, self-liquidating mortgages had
been in use by some building and
loan associations for q number OF
years. With this as a groundwork,
the Federal Housing Administration
expanded the system with insurance
against loss to the lending institu-
tions and incorporation into the
monthly payment. by which the
mortgage is amortized, Of q share OF
interest, taxes. hazard insurance and
other fixed charges.
Soundness Held Evident.
THE soundness of this type OF
financing was at once evident to all
classes of lending institutions. To-
day more than 5000 are employing
this method in cooperation with the
Federal Housing Administration.
'The establishment of minimum re-
quirements for dwellings was devel-
oped as an adjunct of eligibility for
mortgage insurance. This means that
dwellings financed under the terms
Of the national housing act must ad-
here to or exceed specific standards
Of construction, and it should be
pointed out here that this has been
perhaps the most important step
toward the elimination of one of the
greatest risk factors in home buying.
IF, as occasional evidence shows,
home buying was once akin to the
purchase of the dime fountain pen
which only worked in the hands Of
the street hawker that sold it, or
horse trading as it was practiced years
ago, those days are happily passed.
Few questionable" Builders.
cit is a great deal more difficult
today to market poorly constructed
home. Fortunately there are few
builders today whose methods are
questionable. The Federal Housing
Administration has contributed more
than its share to the discouragement
of jerry building, and even the in
experienced or uninformed home
buyer may venture abroad IN the
home market without great fear of
victimization at the hands Of un-
scrupulous dealers.
AC TCuCldl I1OuolIlS AuIIlullStld-
ton insists that homes to be financed
with insured mortgages must be well
constructed Of sound materials; that
they must be located in neighborhoods
free from influences impairing their
desirability as homes and their value
as investments. They must conform
to sanitation and health requirements,
and they must contain at least some
OF the conveniences necessary to COM
Portable and modern living. It is
to assume that the strong
est single factor in the buying and
selling Of homes is that they conform
to Federal Housing Administration
standards and their examination dur
ing construction by trained and i'm
partial Housing Administration au-
thorities. The one assurance that q
home does meet these standards is for
the prospective buyer to make cer-
tain that the dwelling is approved by
the Federal Housing Administration"