Evening star., 1938-02-26
HOME REPAIRING
PAYS DIVIDENDS
n. o. l. c. Cites Own Work
OF Reconditioning Dwellings
ard Value Received.


ard Value Received.
Private industry's program to induce
home owners to invest money in the
improvement of their properties drew
. strong Endorsement today from a
Government organization which has
been vitality concerned with residential
construction and deterioration Of
: American homes.
ANY home owner looking for" a
sound investment which will yield
real dividends needn't look beyond his
own yard" declared Charles A. Jones,
general manager Of the Home Owners
Loan Corp. 1T seems pretty obvious
that any money spent to lengthen the
life Of home is money well spent, but
it is possible to get down to concrete
facts on the proposition.
THE H. O. L. G. surveyed l,O74
properties which it reconditioned after
acquisition and which it sold during
the months Of July, August, September
and October. Those properties had
an appraised value of s3,68S, 200 as
they Stood We spent $336, 800, or an
average of 1914 on each home. Those
homes were sold for s4.489, ,845-an in
crease of 1901 ,555, or % per cent, over
their appraised value before recondi-
tioning.
Other Expenses Involved.
This does not mean that We made
that much profit on those homes, by
any means. As a matter of fact, we
show loss on the total sales of homes
we have acquired, for we have to. add
the cost of foreclosure and of manage
ment of the properties. But the actual
value Of reconditioning is shown by the
fact that it produced a net profit Of
$464,625 on those 1,074 properties
money which would have been lost to
us If we had not spent the necessary
money to make them attractive for
sale.
For every dollar spent on recondi-
tioning, we recaptured $2.38, or l3a
per cent.
Private industry meets the same
skepticism that We met in our opera
tions. People find it hard to believe
that a deteriorating property can be
redeemed to the extent we claim. The
fact is that many a home which will
bring only $2,500 as it stands can be
sold at price 81 900 above that figure
II few hundred dollars are spent to
put it in the proper condition.
However, most people are not con-
cerned with selling their properties
They built their homes for lifetime
and they are concerned chiefly with
properly maintaining them. They can
insure the lives Of those homes by the
proper expenditure of comparatively
small amount of money.
Reconditioning Work.
The H. o. l. c. reconditioned al
most 100000 Of the 100000 homes
1t reflnanced. That action was neces-
sary to make those homes sound Sc
curity for a long-term loan. The
home owner has a similar reason for
maintaining his property in a good
condition; it is an investment on his
part and should represent sound Sc
curity if trouble comes in the future.
Moreover, home owners should be
advised to act promptly in repairing
their properties. A $40 defect soon
may become 5000 job. The accelera-
ton in depreciation is obvious; a de-
fective roof may. within few months,
involve new walls and floors. And it
might be we'll for home owners to
scrutinize basic defects in their prop
critics. Every one enjoys the posses
sion OF new and modern gadgets: too
few pay the necessary attention to
foundations and beams
There is no doubt that hundreds
Of thousands of housing units are
needed in this country. But neither
Is there any doubt that hundreds of
thousands of houses, now in poor con-
dition. can be made into satisfactory
homes through reconditioning.
Private industry would do well to
take lesson from the experience of
the H. O. L. c. in reconditioning and
repairing properties extensively before
Offering them for rental and sale. On
the other hand, industry has a vast
potential field in the needed improve
ment Of homes still in private hands
Hundreds of millions of dollars we'll
could be spent on a Nationwide recon-
ditioning program. At a modest rate
per capita, renovation Of urban struc-
lures easily could total huge volume
Of business for every element of the
construction industry and at the same
time save thousands OF American
homes which are rapidly depreciaitng
In value"