The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1945-12-14

Tssl,s
'Rst'o'ss
/ IN WASHINGTON
BY Wolier Sheod
d WNv Correspondent
FILA Ready to Help Farm
Home Builders
WNU Wsshingtcn Bureau.
1915 Eye ST., N. W.

now mas q hundred-milltOn dollar
bank balance. In addition, for the
past five years, this agency of gov
eminent has been paying operating
costs out Of its own income. It has
mortgage insurance Of $6,700, 900 900
on its books plus about $4,000, 00O,-
600 OF insured loans on repairs and
undermining programs on existing
homes.
Your Home Town Reporter can
remember back II years ago when
the FILA entered the field. Of home
financing. 1t was attacked by most
Of the men in private home financ-
ing as ridiculous and hairbrained
proposal of long haired theorists"
and "was doomed to utter failure"
Its activities, however, are now
accepted by lending institutions ev-
erywhere. Banks and other lenders
are now making home financing
loans, some of them on more gen.
erous terms than even the FILA will
make.
Eleven years ago it was impossi-
BILE, or at least very difficult, for a
man of moderate means to own his
own home. He had to save up
enough for at least so per cent of its
value and had to go on mortgaging
and remortgaging for three-year pc
RODS, at high interest rates. In
some instances he paid as high as 8
per cent.
FILA said to prospective home
owners and to private lending insti-
buttons alike, "you folks can own
your own homes by paying only 10
per cent down on new homes cost
ing less than $4,000, and Uncle Sam
will guarantee the bank against
loss. You can make your payments
in equal monthly installments for a
period up to rs years at interest of
not more than Az per cent.
Loans for Farm Homes
After financing many thousands
of home purchases, Raymond Fo-
ley, FILA director, says, Because
Of the sound financial principles UNI
DERIVING the FILA program, its far
reaching benefits are proceeding
without cost to the government"
OF great Importance to rural res
idents and those living in rural
communities, the FILA has Just re-
Gently announced that 1t is ex-
tending its guaranteed loan provi-
sions to the construction Of country
homes and also the provisions Of
its Title I for the repair and mod
ernization Of existing homes and
farm buildings.
2 It seems to your reporter that in
the face Of the acute housing short
age, the tendency to throw away
government restraints, the rapidly
increasing prices on speculative
housing and other factors, that the
safest procedure a prospective
home owner could take would be to
60 to his bank or building and
loan association and say he wanted
to buy that home on an FILA in
sured mortgage.
He would be protected ~ against
any inflated appraisal Of the prop
erty; (2) against any shoddy con-
struction; 81 against costly second
and third mortgages; az against
costly mortgage renewals; (5)
against lapsing Of taxes and insur-
ance.
And his monthly payments would
be in reasonable proportion to his
regular income, obviating insofar as
possible, the chance Of defaults In
payments and consequent foreclOs-
ures resulting from over-borrowing.
Veterans not only have the advan-
tage Of this FHA loan, they also can
borrow up. to 5000 under the GIL.
bill for new homo purchase, which
is also guaranteed by the govern
ment through the Veterans admin
istration.
For the first time since the war,
FILA applications for guaranteed
home loans are now running at the
rate Of approximately 1000 per
week. The trend in new house con-
struction is to get out Of the cities
and into the country, and this pres
ent housing emergency finds more
than a million and half families
living doubled up, according, to the
National Housing agency.
Back to Land Movement
Those who are watching the acute
housing shortage see q definite
"back to the land" movement which
will mean the construction of thou
sands Of new small homes in rural
areas and in the smaller towns Of
the nation. One-acre and half-acre
plots are the dream Of thousands
in the massed population centers In
the cities.
Estimates Of housing shortages
reach the $4,000, 900 mark and Of
this number approximately Ave mil
lion are In the small towns and ru-
raj areas throughout the nation. The
war brought about mass migration
Of workers from the South and East
into the West ana Midwest and these
next several .peacetifre years win
see another mass emigration Of