Evening Star Newspaper, December 22, 1928, Page 16

REAL TILE WSIRANE CONTRAST NOTED James J. Becker Tells “Y” Class of Protection Given Real Estate Buyers. Protection afforded modern buyers of real estate through title insurante is in marked contrast to the lack of at- tention given to titles to property in the early "days of the Nation, it was pointed out to the ¥. M. C. A class in real estate this week by James J. Becker, local title insurance com-= g..ny executive. In ygone days, he said, a purchaser ordinarily was sat- isfied with what was known as a “warrantee” deed, and possession by the vendor was usually ~ regarded as sufficient guar- antee of owner- James J. Becker. ghip. Since buyers of land make their| purchase at their own risk, it is vitally important that they have knowledge of everything that may affect the validity of the title. Modern title companies filled this need by the issuance of formal title| apers certifying to the condition of ti- ge 8s it appeared from examination of the land records, said the speaker. The per most commonly used, known as a title certificate, protects the purchaser from any defect that may appear of record and not reported in the certifi- cate of title, he explained. Title Policy Needed. Tt was pointed out by Mr. Becker that there are certain things affecting titles which do not appear of record, such as incompetency to execute a deed due to lunacy or infancy and forgery and adverse position. These defects, while not a matter of record, are cov- ered in another form of. certificate, known as a title policy which, in effect, is: an insurance against defects. In cases of protection to mortgagees a special certificate, known as a mort- gagee certificate, certifying that the particular mortgage is good - is. {fre- quently used by money lending sources. One of the most important links in a chain of title, according to Mr. Becker, is the transfer of the fee which is ac- complished by the execution, delivery and recording of the proper deed of conveyance. “Deeds in respect to their | preparation and acknowledgment must follow the law prevailing in the place where the land itself is situated. Every detail in respect to the phraseology, signature, acknoledgment and cer- tificate must conform to the local legal requirements,” he stated. “Any deed conveying real property in this District, executed, - acknowledged and certified as required by law, and delivered to the person in whose favor the same'is executed, takes effect from the date of delivery thereon, except as o creditors and subsequent bona fide purchasers, and mortgage=s without no- tice of said deed, and others interested in- said property, it only,takes effect from the time of its.delivery to.the re- corder of deeds for record. Record Deed Promptly. “A deed may be recorded at any time after its delivery, but in order to protect the purchasers from creditors of the grantor and from subsequent purchasers without notice, the deed s, s00n as possible “The effect of recording a deed is to give notice of the existénce and ‘con- tents of the deed to all ns who deal with or on credit of the title con- veyed. The notice thus afforded is called ‘constructive notice,’ because it operates to give notice that the trans- $ fer has been made. “Notice brought home to subsequent purchasers or mortgagees from any other source has the same effect as re- cording or registration, in this District the possession of ‘real estate under apparent claim of ownership is ESTATE. THE EVE NG STAR, WASHINGTON, PROPOSED HOTEL FOR WASHINGTON BUSINESS WOMEN | The Bellevue, residential hotel containing 280 rooms, which is planned for a site at 11-19 E street. estimated cost of $850,000. The project has an APARTMENT HOUSE 10 COST §1,100,000 Permits Issued Include Big W. S. Phillips’ Development on Harvard Street. (Continued from Fifteenth Page.) make repairs, 800 H_street (lot 15, square 405); to cost $2,500. Westcott & Co., owner; T. F.. Collier, builder; to alter into apartments, 1711 I street (lot 801, square 126); to cost 5,000. Archer G. Bailey, owner and builder; A. S. J. Atkinson, architect; to erect one 1-story brick and tile gasoline serv- ice station, 305 Cedar street (lot 5, square 3352); to cost $4,000. D. Green, owner; R. W. Bolling, de- signer and builder; to make repairs, 3128 P street (lot 830, square 1256); to cost $600. Frank Nelson, owner; Louis H. Layton Co., Inc.,, builders; George N. Ray, de- signer; to make repairs, 169 Uhland ter- race northeast (lot 91, square E-3535); to cost $750. Cafritz Construction Co., owners and builders; to erect three metal garages, 420-22-24 Allison street (lot 44, square 3247); to cost $450. William G. Feeley, owner; Martin Bros., builders; to erect one e and stucco nnga 4221 Argyle terrace (lot 29, square 2643); to cost $400. Natalie S. B. Yates, owner; to con- struct po oalnd fountdins, 2448 Massa- chusetts avenue; (lots 1 and 2, square 2500); to cost $600. William ~ Conper, owner; Maurice Joyce, builder; to erect one concrete block garage, 3600 Nichols avenue csoutheast (lot 22, square 6090); to cost 900. Lillian H. Rhodes, owner and de- signer; C. F. Rhodes, builder; to erect one 2-story frame porch, 3432 Brown street (lot 422, square 2621); to cost $400. Permit for Wall. ~ Mrs. Peter Joy, owner; to erect brick notice to purchasers of the interest the person has in the fee, whether legal or eq‘;z’?:bl:h in its fint\:’n, and of all t&cfi. Wl e propose haser might | have learned by due inquiry. A deed) may be delivered to & third act or happening of an event. delivery to a third person is called an €sCrow. “A deed delivered to the grantee] himself will not be an escrow, even though accompanied with an express condition to be performed before it is to take effect. Where the grantor of a deed retains the right of control over | it, notwithstanding. its deposit with a third person, with instructions to de- liver it to the grantee upon his com- I pliance with specified conditions, is not an escrow. An escrow, which has been signed, sealed and deposited upon a valuable consideration, cannot be re- voked or withdrawn by the depositors, except aceordxngem the terms of the mgreement and deposit.” HINDENBURG DEFENDS RAILWAYS DECISION Government Acted Legally in Naming Directors to Board, President Maintains. By the Associated Press. BERLIN, December = 22—President von Hindenburg yesterday expressed the opinfon that the government had acted in accordance with the constitution and had not encroached on the constitu- | tional rights of the supreme state tri- bunal in appointing new members to the board of directors of the federal railways. He expressed this opinion in a reply to Dr. Walter Simons, who re- signed from the presidency of the Fed- eral Supreme Court. and the Supreme Court judicature because the Berlin government did not wait for his deci- sion-on a petition by the State of Baden for an injunction to prevent the gov- ernment from filling vacancies on the board before January 1. Chancellor Mueller, in a letter accom- panying the President’s opinion, re- {terated that the government was obliged to fill the vancancies by December 14 in order to prevent the interests of the Tepublic from being seriously prejudiced. He declared emphatically that the gov- ernment had no intention of showing contempt for the authority of the state eribunal. BOARD TO PICK OFFICERS. Army Group to Select Second Lieutenant Candidates. A board of Army officers has been appointed to meet in this city for the purpose of selecting candidates for ap- pointment as second lieutenants in the Regular Army. The detail for the board is Lieut. Col. William W. Gordon, Cav- alry; Majs. Everett S. Hughes, Ordnance Department, Henry N. Sumner, adju- tant general's department, John H. Hinemon, jr., Signal Corps, and First Lieut. Leland ‘W. Miller, Air Corps. The Japanese have developed a liking for American “hot dogs,” especially the fence wall, 1815 Q street (lot 154, square 134); to cost $380. H. M. Smith, owner; to make repairs, 2611 Wisconsin avenue (lot 5, square 1935); to cost $500. W. C. & A. N. Miller, owners and square 1620) ; to cost $300. T. Gaskins, owner and 3 J. A. Melby, architect; to make repairs, 4337 Douglas street ggor‘t)muc (ot 61, square 5115); to cost Washingto.. Loan & Trust Co., trus- tee; E. H. Davis Co., builder; to make repairs, 201 C street (lot 2, square south of square 572); to cost $500. ARCHITECTS’ COUNCIL 0. K.’S OFFICE BUILDING Plans for 130-Foot Structure at Fifteenth and H Streets Are Approved. Plans for the 130-foot office building being erected by the Wardman Con- struction Co. at the northwest corner of Fifteenth and H streets, at a cost of $2,500,000, were approved and comi- mended by a jury of the Architect's Advisory Council at a recent meeting in the office of Maj. Donald A. Davison, Assistant Engineer Commissioner, in charge of zoning. The building was designed by M. Mesrobian, ‘The jury, consisting of Julius Wenig, Ben Flournoy and A. L. Kundzin, also | approved plans for two dwellings to be | erected for A. N. Miller at 3718-20 Van | Ness street; dwelling at 2017 Glover driveway, designed by G. E. MacNeil; dwelling at 1650 Van Buren street, de- signed by M. Hallett; dwelling at 3215 Rittenhouse street, designed by C. P. West; dwelling at 4701 Reservoir road, designed by A. F. Thelander; apart- ment house, 129 Bates street, designed by George T. Santmyers, and a dwell- ing at 1415 Geranium street, designed by Mr. Thelander. younger generation, with th» result that hundreds of the apn-tizins siggds have sprung up like mushrooms all over the country, saueags | USE OF SHORT LENGTH LUMBER IS CALLED ECONOMICAL PLAN N Thirty-eight billion feet of soft wood lumber were produced in the United States in 1925. This output could have been increased one-fifth without the felling of an additional tree or the investment of an additional dollar in mill equipment if lumber in lengths of less than 8 feet had been in wider demand. The marketing of short lengths is thus a highly important problem in the wood utilization field, says the Home Owner’s Institute. Hundreds of thousands of small homes are being built in the United States every year, and wherever in their construction long lengths of lum- ber are used when short lengths would serve the purpose just as well the re- sult is waste. The custom of demand- ing Jong lengths originated .in the days when the need for husbanding our forest products was less apparent than it is today. But those. times have passed, and with them must go the ex- travagant habits unlimited .supply has created, for this wasteful practice is putting a drain on our forests that, unless stopped, will eventually tend to raise the price of long-length lumber and, so, to increase construction costs to all builders,” the institute declares. Material of High Value. “Short-length lumber” is that which is less than 8 feet long. Pleces of 6 and 7 feet form part of the stand- ard output of practically every saw and planing mill; lengths of 4 and 5 feet are less frequently regarded as a salable portion, of the mill output; lengths of 2 aua 3 feet are discarded, except by thes> Ngmber manufacturers who han- dle tha more valuable species of wood or who Bave worked up specialized mar- kets fo@ these pieces; yet all of this material is of high intrinsic value as respects quality and accuracy of manu- facture, is admirably suited to many uses and under present market con- ditions is economical. .Jotwithstanding which, lengths less than 8 feet seldom are specified in standard commercial practice. May Save 35 Per Cent. To the ‘consumer the use of short ths would mean an appreciable saving, since it is the general dractice of mi throughout the United States to quote short lengths at 15 to 35 per cent below the prices asked for stand- ard lengths of equal grade,*the insti- tute says. . Every year $2,000,000,000 is invested in small houses and farm buildings in the United States. Employment of short-length lumber in these structures would mean a saving to the small home owners and farmers of tens of mil- lions of dollars annually. Shape and height influence the r.o- portions of the various lumber lengths usable in any given structure, but irre- spective of ~these controlling factors more short lengths can be worked into almost every part of every building than bills of material as at present drawn contemplate. How to Use in Home. Take framing lumber, for example. For the small dwelling height of base- ment and method of framing determine the length of posts required, but 7-foot posts should always be long enough to give sufficient clearance between base- ment floor and first-floor joists, and in cases where the basement does not ex- tend under the whole house lengths shorter than 7 feet can be used to sup- port the floor over the unexcavated portion. Plan arrangement is the governing factor in the utilization of short-length girders, but opportunities for utilizing short-length joists and plates are prac- tically the same in all houses. The height of the house and the number and arrangement of windows and doors, the pitch of the roof and the presence of dormer windows govern the u: of short-length studs. Approximately 50 per cent of all trim could be short-length lumber. End-Matched Lumber. In the case of boards for flooring and wall or roof sheathing approximately 25 per cent can be purchased in lengths under 8 feet, and the use of end- matched lumber (lumber that is tongued and grooved on the end) would greatly increase the opportunities for using short lengths for these purposes. The practice of end-matching worked lumber represents an important fleld for short-length utilization. Until the possibilities for effecting savings in the cost of the small home through employment of short-length lumber are more generally recognized, every agency from logger to consumer should do its part in making this in- formation known. While each stands to profit thereby, utilization of short lengths is as much a public obligation as it is a business expedient. Short-length lumber is of great use in the small house for general repair work and in home carpentry. Millions of feet ‘of lumber are utilized every year for these purposes, and whenever long lengths are used where short lengths would serve just as well the result is dollar waste. The construction subcommittee of the national committee on wood utilization of the Department of Commerce urges architects, quantity surveyors, building contractors, real estate subdividers, building and loan associations and lum- ber retailers, as well as home builders, to give attention to this matter of us- ing short-length lumber. Cost “of Fi)undation Forms 36 Per Cent of Building Expense 29 Per Cent of Construc- tion Dollar to Carpen- ter, Study Discloses. BY WILLIAM CAIN, R. A, We are so used to thinking of houses as they appear to us, with their frame- work and supports concealed, that most of us have a small conception of the part that these “hidden values” must play to insure permanence and freedom from the annoyances that come when the rules of good building practice are ignored. When a dollar is invested in home bullding (and I am writing, of course, of the stubstantially built home rather than the shoddy temporary thing which has no real interest to the reader), a little more than 36 cents of the total building dollar goes for the foundation and the masonry. A little more than 20 cents of it goes for carpentry, and 10 cents of it goes for plumbing. Nearly 9 cents goes for heating equipment, something like 8 cents for hardware and metals and 6% cents of it goes to the painting. The remaining 2 cents go to installation and materials for electrical wiring and elec- trical fixtures. These res are based on reports of the United States Department of Labor survey tables and include both the workmanship and the supplies. It would be foolish to say that any certain sum represents the least that will build a good home. The answer depends too much on personal taste or the amount of space needed. I know of several modern and wholly desirable homes, with ample room for an average family, that cost $8,000 or less. And I know others that cost two and three times this sum. As you saw how the building dollar was divided and remember that exca- vations must be dug and a roof put over a given space, it will not take deep thinking to show that for a given num- ber of rooms the house will cost less per room if it is a two-story house than if it were a bungalow, for a seven- room bungalow would take more ground space—more roof and excavations, too— than a house of seven rooms with three on one floor and four on another. Realtors Study Farm Issues. A special committee appointed by the National Association of Real Estate Boards to consider the present farm situation in relation to general business will meet at the Stevens Hotel, Chicago, Décember 29. The committee expects to make recommendations for a better adjustment between farm. lands utiliza- tion and other phases of American busi- ness. It has invited members of the American Farm Economics Association to meet with it. e Ok B4 . Gosond,_ | olf and Country Club, SUBURBAN HOME BEING BUILT FOR FRED A. GOSNELL ' Large Laglish houge now und.r consiruction by Brumback Realty Co. Ipc,, in Arlington County nearby tHe Wi ton > o Y G078 ADOPT STANDARDS FOR CO-OPERATIVES National Real Estate Boards Name Requirements to Safe- guard Joint Projects. Provisions which must be included in the general plan of a co-operative apartment project before it will be certified to the public as meeting the standards established by the co-opera- tive apartment division of the National Association of Real Estate Boards are outlined in a statement adopted by the division through action of its executive committee. The requirements, listing the safe- guards for the purchaser of a co-opera- tive building unit found by actual ex- perience of the membership of the division to be essential, become the official minima of the consultation bureau recently put into operation by the division. The statement of essentials for a sound co-operative building project is expected to become, in effect, a com- mon law for the organization of projects that are to be financed through the tenant-ownership plan, R. Bates Warren of this city, chairman of the division, said today. The statement, in part, says: “The architecture and construction in approved projects must be adequate in view of the accommodations intended to be afforded. “The estimated budgets in projects certified by the consultation bureau must be adequate in the opinion of ‘the committee for the initial three years of operation without assessments or addi- tions of any sort so far as can be as- certained at the time of certification. “The mortgage financing shall be so arranged that the amortization and interest charges for each year during the period of the loan shall not exceed the annual amount set forth in the budget of the first three years. “The powers of the board of directors or operation committee to make ex- penditures beyond the regularly ap- proved budget shall be limited to 25 per cent of the actual operation budget (not including interest or amortiza- tion) unless approved by three-fourths of the stockholders. “If apartments in the project are sold previous to construction or before the developer is able to deliver the building free of liens, all moneys paid in advance of occupancy shall be placed in the hands of an escrowee to be dis- pensed by such escrowee at the com- pletion of the building under a form of escrow agreement approved by the con- sultation bureau. “The distribution of stock in all ap- proved projects must be equitable, and represent a fair prorating of the amor- tlzation, maintenance, and operation expense. “The legal forms employed must take the proper cognizance of the purchaser's rights and comply in every detail with the statutes of the State in which the development is located. “The organization and financial plan shall include proper provision for the carrying out of all statements made in the brochures, prospectuses, announce- ments and advertising. Such literature must state clearly to the purchaser the interest he is acquiring, and his re- sponsibility in connection with addi- tional charges in case the building is not completely sold.” formerly with J. 1418 Eye St. N.W. value. | SATURDAY, DECEMBER 29. 1928 Christmas Trees Outside the Home Lessens Fire Peril Living community Christmas trees are starting a new vogue among home owners who, wishing to es- cape the fire threat of the lighted tree indoors, are setting up trees out- doors and trimming them with colored lights, with or without in- expensive flashers, and . crusts of bread and bits of suet. If fo special outlet for the pur- pose_has been provided, current is supplied from a porch light socket. To prevent the wire to the tree from getting wet or cut, so causing a short circuit, it may be run through-the garden hose. The hose may be cov- ered with snow or protected with strips of boards. s BUILDING MATERIALS MARKET STILL FIRM Price Increases Are More Numer- ous in November Than Declines. The firmness of the building materials market reported for the last few months continued in November, S. W. Straus reports. “A few local price declines in brick and cement were reported, but on the whole price increases were more numer- ous than decreases for all materials. Structural steel and lumber, especially Southern pine, were strong, as well as a number of the secondary materials. “Financing in November through real estate bonds, debentures, collateral trust obligations and land trust cer- tificates totaled $65,501,000, a gain of 28 per cent over November, 1927. The total of 868 issues for the 11 months this- year was $792,902,587, compared with 993 issues in the first 11 months of 1927, with an aggregate value of $717,608,075, the gain in volume being 0.5 per cent,” Straus says. NEAR-IN EXCEPTIONALLY WIDE WELL BUILT LOW PRICE AND TERMS HAVE YOU SEEN 2204 TUNLAW ROAD N.W. Open Daily Until 9 P.M. The above summarizes the reasons why “these new colonial brick six- room homes will apj 0 you. Features inciude_one and two tiled baths, fireplace, Frigidaire. numerous closets. three 'porches and garage. Between Western High and National Cathedral. Robert E. Kline, Jr. Owner 718 Union Trust Building Main 6799 Or Any Broker Go north 2 blocks toSniersection Tumiaw Road: "¢ T We wish to announce that— Mr. C. Bushman Smith E. Douglas Co., is now associated with Edw. H. Jones & Co., Inc. 5520 Connecticut Ave. Chevy Chase, D. C. Chevy Chase Properties Exclusively fl our clients and friends we extend the season’s greetings and best wishes for a prosperous New Year = o, _‘M CGMPANY INC. ansbury National 5904 Chevy Chase, Md. No. 4 East Woodbine St. We are offering this attractive new brick home, just off Connecticut Avenue near the Co- lumbia Country Club, at a price which cannot fail to interest any one in the market for home The owner has left Washington and must dispose of this property. It will be open for inspection all day Sunday. EDW. H. JONES & CO., Inc. 5520 Connecticut Ave. Cleveland 2300 % .000000000000000000~00000000;’00000 REAL ESTATE. PEASLEE AND WYETH IN ARCHITECTS’ RACE Election of Officers of Washington Chapter Will Be Held Next Month. Horace Peaslee and Nathan C. Wyeth | have been nominated for the presidency |of the Washington chapter of the Am- erican Institute of Architects for the coming year to succeed Louis Juste- ment, it was announced today by Gil- bert L. Rodier, secretary. The election will be held next month. Both nomi- nees have been active in the work of the chapter, Mr. Peaslee now being first vice president and Mr.. Wyeth second vice president. F. H. Brooke and George Oakley Totten were nominated for the post of first vice president; F. V. Murphy and Irwin S. Porter for second vice presi- dent; while Mr. Rodier was proposed for re-election as secretary and W. H. Irwin Fleming was renominated for the post of treasurer. DOWNTOWN WAREHOUSE For Rent Rear 927 D St. NW. /AMERICAN' SECURITY Real E:s 15th & Pa. Ave. N Dent. :0“00000000“00000“000“’000“00‘0 District. pointments. Fourth floor—Fi 738 15th Street N.W. On Massachusetts Avenue Situated in Washington’s New Embassy Wonderfully arranged with attractive ap- Beautifully decorated with exquisite taste. First floor—Reception hall, cloakroom and lavatory. Second floor—Parlor, library, dining room, butler’s pantry. Third floor—Three bedrooms and bath. bedrooms and two baths. Let Us Give You Further Details of the Property and Price Thomas J. Fisher & Co., Inc. Main 6830 V0000000000000 040000000000000000 Cut Your Coal Bill in Half Install Our Buckwheat BURN BUCKWHEAT COAL AT.. Coal Burner $8.50 Per Ton Have Automatic Thermostatic control. handle and be rid of furnace drudgery. Have less ashes to Achieve domestic peace and happiness by relieving your wife from duty as household fireman. $100 to $130 Completely Installed (Includes One Automatie Control) (Small additional cost if purchased on Budget Plaz} ECONOMY SALES COMPANY 1106 Nat. Press Bldg. Main 5456 “A Merry Assured Met. 5169 Christmas” to Over 100 Recent “Shapiro Home” Buyers Over 10 Recent Sales prove the value and de- sirability of the New Homes in These Three Fine Locations. Parkside 60 Built—49 Sold Prices $13,950 up Exhibit Homes 1814-1752 Irving Street Northwest Marietta Park . 27 Built—I18 Sold Prices $8950 up Exhibit Home 413 Madison St. N.W. Brookland 44 Built—41 Sold 38950 $350 Cash! $59.50 Mo. Exhibit Home 1913 Otis St. N.E. Six and Seven Rooms—Enclosed Porches “Jameson-Built Model Homes” * Now Ready for Inspection 1524 D St. N.E. 919 Quincy St. NW. 510 Central Ave. N.E. 255 11th St. S.E. 1814 D St. S.E. 2620 6th St. N.E. 412 Douglas St. N.E. The architecture of these fine homes has been carefully designed -and selected by our experts of superior home de- signs. The material also has been carefully se- lected. All- labor fur- nished by skilled me- chanics of the best grade, These homes have been personally super- vised by the owner, and money can be saved by buying direct from us. These homes contain six and seven large rooms, tile bath with built-in tub and shower, garage, one-piece sink in kitchen, extra large porches front and rear. Oa}( flo9rs, latest fixtures, floor plugs in each room and built-in ice box. It will pay you to inspect these homes, Built, Owned and for Sale by Thos. A. Jameson Co. 906 New York Ave. N.W. Main 5526 “Ask the Man Who Owns One”