Show VIEWING LOANS the federal government says the united states news is today the nations largest single owner of homes and farms this is one of the fruits of the fedrial building and lending program it all began in 1933 at that time depression was at its peak and an d private mortgage holders were foreclosing on properties by the thousands because the mortgagees could no longer make their payments the government then came forward with its credit and took over the mortgages giving ving the holders bonds in their place in most cases the principal was scaled down before the deal v was as made imade this work was done principally by the home owners loan corporation which made loans to the extent of nearly afterwards about in loans on a similar basis were made by the federal credit administration the government made it clear that in no instance were mortgagees to regard the loans as gifts gift sor or as obligations which could be paid at some vague future time interest rates were reduced to 5 per cent and the length of time in which payment could be made lengthened usually to 15 years on a monthly installment basis in 1936 largely because of the series of great droughts which seriously impaired the incomes of I 1 middle alicd lc farmers the was aed to 3 14 per cent by act of congress at the same ume time Cong congress Con giess made provision pio vision whereby bo if necessary essaiy could defer the time when t they hey must st start reducing their pi obligation to a large part of the borrowers ci s these le ie medics pt proved oved sufficient and they have been able to make their installments as specified but to another laige part even cven the easier heinis were not enough it i is this fact which has put the government into the farm and home business on a dented scale and the situation has been growing worse worn se not better between 1933 and 1935 1936 inclusive sive the government foreclosed on properties whose original value was by theand the end of 1937 the number of reached with an original loan value of anday and by july 1938 inclusive the total was foreclosures fore closures with an original loan value in excess of thousands of other farm and homeowners home owners are also behind in their loans and ate in danger of foreclosure on the credit side of the ledger is the fact that three quarters of the borrowers have managed to in meet act their contracts and every one of them was in distress atthe at the time the government loans were made also to be credited is the fact that the HOLC has never experienced perien ced a deficit and has actually earned a modest alof pi of it t there e is the lend lending ing picture as it il exists today e is a strong congressional daive anve in prospect for further i educing interest rates rate sand and peili aps extending the t me mc of pa payment Y especially on urban homes watch in the past have been less favored than farm properties the whose officials are apparently trying to keep their bureau operating on a business basis oppose this and insist that it would atwould cause operating deficits and would not materially mate rally lower the rate of foreclosure which pont point of view will win remains to be seen in the meantime the government has home and farm properties on its hands which make it the biggest real estate dealer in american history |