Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 81, no. 2101: June 20, 1908

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n86 RECORD AND GUIDE June 20, 1908 other parcels were bequeathed to the society by him at the same time. Another sale worthy of notice -was that of the 12-sty mer¬ cantile buildings Nos. 22 to 28 West 21st st The reported price was $750,000. An investor is the purchaser. The hand¬ some dwelling house 37 West 72d st also changed hands. This property is on a lot 22x102.2, and has been held at $100,000. A trade of considerable importance was brought to a successful termination. The properties involved were the southeast cor¬ ner of Sth av and lOSth st, two G-sty apartment houses, which were given in exchange for the three 5-sty flats Nos. 2G5 to 269 West 153d Bt and the three 6-sty flats 330 to 334 East lOSth st, each on a plot 37.6x100.11. A mortgage of importance recorded during the week was on fhe property at the northeast corner of Chambers st and Broad¬ way, known as the Stewart Building. Title was taken by Felix Isman, the grantors being Judge Horace Russell and Edward Harris, trustees for the Hilton estate. The amount of the mortgage Is $3,700,000 and it Is due in four years, carrying 5 per cent. Interest. The closing of this title caused considerable comment- The property has been under contract for over two years, and frora time to time rumors -were afloat that Mr. Isman had abandoned his purchase- Rumors of a similar character were circulated around the first of the year con¬ cerning the property at the southeast corner of oth av and 42d St. The original day for closing was at that time, but an ex¬ tension of six months was granted, and the deal is expected to be consummated on the flrst of July. The v. Cerabone Construction Co. gave a mortgage to the- City Mortgage Co. for $150,000 at 6 per cent. This is a demand mortgage in the form of a building loan. It is on the property on the south side of 113th st, about 117-6 east of Riverside Drive, 77x100.11- The present owners bought this property in the middle of May from Bing & Bing, who acquired it from William Waldorf Astor the month before- The City Mortgage Co, loaned Paterno Brothers, a corporation, .?120,000 on the plot, 50x100.11, In the south side on 116th st. about 175 ft west of Broadway. This is a demand mortgage and carries interest at G per cent- The borrowers are going to erect a high-class apartraent house on the plot, which was acquired on Nov- 25, 1007, from John T>. Crimmins. Mary D. Gerard loaned the Bretagne Co. $175,000 for three years at 5 per cent, on the property, 23x100, located on the north side of 58th st, 125 ft. east of 5th av. THE AUCTION MARKET THERE was a long list of offerings this week, but in the majority of cases the properties' put up were the results of foreclosure suits- Without doubt many bargains have been pro¬ cured during the past few months in the salesroom, but people perfectly familiar with the auction mart were the purchasers. There is a dearth of outside bidding at these sales by the out¬ side public- In fact it is the exception ratiier than the rule lo have a single bid from' anyone not directly interested in the property. The trouble lies in the fact that the general investment public does not understand this class of buying- Generally speaking, a raan with some money to invest in realty wishes to take his ti'me, to look around at length, and see just what can be had for his price- That is all very well, in fact it is just what he should do- He does not look, however, at those properties advertised for sale at auction. He has plenty of opportunity, but does not avail hirhself of it. In the minds of most men, it is a foregone conclusion that there is something the matter with the property in question, or it would not be advertised for sale. This judgment is, in the majority of cases, all wrong. There is nothing the matter with the property itself, but with the persons who are the owners. The trouble is almost invariably that the interest on the mortgage is not paid, and the people who hold the mortgage naturally want either their interest or, failing to get that, demand the principal. A large number of the foreclosure suits have been due to the fact that the holding was burdened with too large a loan. The purchasers did not put up enough money to secure their ownlngs- This is all very fine in times of prosperity, but let a little depression set in, and storm signals are immediately fiying. The large percentage on the money invested is the bait that catches the unwary investor. If a prospective purchaser would use the same good judgment in buying realty that he does in his own business, the market would be far more set¬ tled. Anyone buying real estate, whether at auction or private sale, should have sufflcient "margin" up to protect himself. He must have sufiicient equity in the property so that the mortgage on maturity can be renewed or replaced without trouble- Much of the recent inactivity is blamed on the so-called hard times. Well and good, but the fact must not be over¬ looked that the violent speculation that occurred during the few preceding years is largely responsible for the present state of affairs. BUY COAL NOW- From time to time the Record and Guide has drawn the at¬ tention of real estate brokers and property owners that during the summer months the coal bins in their apartment houses should be fllled. There are several reasons for this. In the first place the price of coal is cheaper- In -the second place the coal firms can handle the orders quicker and better satisfaction is given- In the third place there is a decided relief in knowing that coal is on hand and that everything is in readiness for lighting the furnace on the first cold day- In speaking of this situation, John Gordon, of Robert Gordon Se Son, coal dealers, said: "Unquestionably during the late spring and summer months is the time to purchase coal. Tne price of stove, nut, egg and furnace to apartment houses is $5.95 at the present time, wliile after the first of September $6.25 will be the price. This means a considerable amount of saving to the landlord. Besides, we can handle orders better in the summer months. We are not so rushed, because not so much coal is burned, and our capacity is increased because a team can deliver more tons per day, on account of the con¬ dition of the streets. Certainly the present is the time to buy coal." Mr, Burns, of Burns Brothers, 26 Cortlandt st, said: "From every standpoint the summer months is the time to buy coal. Sometimes it is difficult to malvc the owners of property realize this, but it is a fact nevertheless. Not only is there a con¬ cession in price, but also the quality of coal is superior. Orders can be delivered more promptly not only on account of the condition of the streets, but there are not as liable to be strikes at this season of the year. As a general thing strikes are de¬ clared in the busy season. From our standpoint we like to have our business distributed throughout the year as mucn as possible, instead of crowding the major portion into a few months- We are willing to pay for this accommodation. We make concession in the price. Stove, nut, egg and furnace coal is quoted at $5.95 a ton, while in September $G.23 will be the price- Pea coal is $4.25- In this particular grade of coal there is no change in price." DENIES REPORTED SALE. There was a report current during the week that the bloclj front on the east side of Sth av, between 37lh and SSth sts, as well as some adjoining property on 37th and SSth sts, had been sold to a prominent dry goods firm. The property in question is on the crest of Murray Hill, on the blocli above Tiffany's, and across the avenue from the Brick Church. The truth of the matter is that negotiations have been pend¬ ing for some time past, but the options were taken up before the date of the expiration, which was March 1, and the deal temporarily fell through- Elizabeth M. Anderson is the largest individual owner on this block, having title to Nos. 415, 417, 421 Sth av, 2 and 4 East SSth st, and 3, 5 and 9 East 37th st. The corner of 37th st is owned by Mary Lewis, together with the adjoining prop¬ erty. John Wendel owns No. S East 3Sth st, as well as 7 East 37th st. The other owners include Elizabeth P. Robbins, J. Milbank, Henry Steers and George Bliss. Newbold T. Lawrence, of 84 William st, who was mentioned as the broker, said: "The story recently published in relation to the sale of the Sth av block front, from 37th to SSth sts, is unfounded. There rtas last autumn an attempt made to gather together these prop¬ erties under a single ownership, and with that in view a cor¬ poration was formed which held an option on some of the properties. This option, however, expired March 1, 190S, and has not been renewed." ANOTHER CHANGE IN SUBWAY ROUTE. The Public Service Commission at its regular meeting this week decided on a change of route on the Jerome av branch of the Broadway-Lexington av subway. The change stipulates that River av, between 157th and 169th sts, shall be used, and that the road be an elevated structure north of 157th st to its terminus, instead of being underground- Gerard av was designated as the original route, and was approved by the Board of Estimate. On looking into the mat¬ ter, however, it was found that this avenue is incumbered by important gas and water mains, besides being more populated. On the other hand there is only one house on River av be¬ tween these streets and has neither as many nor as important pipe lines beneath the surface. The Board of Estimate and Apportionment will have to ap¬ prove this change, before it can become operative. An order was issued to the street railway officials instructing them to present a memorandum and general drawings showing the typa of all new rolling stock contracted for. It is believed that the city will save about $1,000,000 if this new route is adopted. —A representative of the firm of Davies, Stone & Auerbach applied to Justice Kelly, in the Supreme Court, Brooklyn, for an order to close flve of the seven ferries of the Brooklyn Ferry Co. The firm is counsel for Joseph J. O'Donohue, Jr., the re¬ ceiver of the company.