Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 16 December 1951 — Page 53

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16, 1951

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Section Four Real Estate .

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SUNDA

~The Indianapolis Times

Y, DECEMBER 16, 1951

PAGE 53 Small H

Snow or Sleet Won't Stop Em

Harold Hartley

SHOPPERS ARE PUSHING down the holly path. More grim than gay, they’ll hang up a record for the slick

holiday track.

Snow hit them in their faces over the week-end. But

weather no longer has the say. Time is short. Lists are still fairly long. No one waits now. Last Wednesday was the best day. Drizzle to cold to snow followed. But sales were riding generally about four per cent above last year. And that’s what merchants had wondered about, if they could make it. ~ »

a 2 THE BIGGEST UPWIND in buying came the week ending Dec. 8 when sales rose 17 per cent in the week for Indianapolis. This week-end the trucks- are rolling over the highway web. And the tummies of the big airliners are gor with last minute shipments, factory-fresh. for the late shopper. Express and mail mountains are on the rise.

2 ® 8 » SOME MERCHANTS wondered how the public would pay for it. And one credit manager said, “Charges are running awfully heavy. I know that.” Men's wear is moving. But it will never catch up with the departments which sell those frilly breakfast coats and lounging pajamas, silk robes and kitten-soft slippers, and those Esquirish nighties, not much heavier than a spiderweb. -

” » . THE GIFT-WRAPPING counters were twirling cocoons of gay ribbon and fancy paper, blue with silver stars, or green and red. And toy departments were in a tizzy., But they had less breakage. Toys are made of tougher stuff this year, and maybe as late as April they'll still be intact, lying on the strairs to trip over, touch off fire-cracker dispositions for the day. . . » » » BUT ONE THING seemed sure. Santa's pack would be a back - breaker, and his sleigh might even crash through a roof. But who cares, “Christmas comes but once . . .” And as for those gift-fattened charge accounts— : No one will worry much about ‘them until the year-end bells are no more than heady echoes in the blinding light of New Year's

Grandma's Cookies

THIS IS A SEASON when| calories don’t count, and eaters

they have a worse worry.

been an epidemic of stolen hand-| bags and purses.

try on a garment.

pin feathers. They dress better in colder weather. Turkey is still about the cheapest meat you can buy. Tender hens will bring about 75 cents and those big juicy toms about

Army bought heavily at Thanksgiving. But between now and Christmas, don’t pass up pork, if you like it. Chops have dropped 13| cents in two weeks, and hams about a dime.

” o ” AND THE FRUIT CAKE which has been slipping, came back this year. Bakers figure they're being shipped to soldiers overseas. And it is the best season for wines, cooled on the back porch, sparkling or still. They keep a meal lively. . The coming two long holidays will bring families together over distances. And there will be food aplenty in this land of plenty. It is the season ‘of Good Will Toward Man, and some, thoughtfully, have sent bulging food packages abroad, to places where man has no food and there is no

plenty. They are, in truth, their “brother’s keeper.” Watch It "

STORE DETECTIVES thick in the aisles. They watch for shoplifters and careless clerks. But this year

are

RED BRICK RANCHO—Sale price of this home at 100 Arden Dr. i

A Fw St. with a p

¥ 3

a ue

rice tag of $33,500.

63 cents, depending on where you buy them. They're up because ma Veon Closes

$419,400 in Sales

During the past 60 days 30 sales worth a total of $419,400 were made by the Walt Veon Co., Realtors. The firm sales staff includes Maurice Davis, Bill McCord, Bob Sturm, Wayne Uunifon, John Sanders, Bob Durham, Eskell Nordell and Mr. Veon.

Sales include properties at 1944 Kessler Blvd.,, 6384 Forest View Dr., 1501 Udell St., 5337 Evanston Ave. 1540 E, 67th 8t., 1905 Koehne St., 4319 Kingsley Dr., 3520 Watson Rd. 3514 Birchwood Ave. 3828 Central Ave.

910-12 E. 27th St., 627 g 54th St., 64 S. 6th St., 7923 Meadowbrook Ave. 4341 Crittenden Ave,, lot 18 Ilorest View Estates, 4426 Guilford Ave., 4510 N. Illinois St., 8539 Broadway, 3738 Euclid Ave., 4937 Norwaldo Ave.

Lot 9 Forest View Estates, 122

Esttes, 4933 Brouse St., 3601 Caroline Ave. 3440 Station St., 5033 Caroline Ave., 5301 Evanston Ave. 5358 Crittenden Ave. 7827 Windcomb Blvd. and ‘6832 E. 46th St.

That is to protect the shopper) from the purse thief. There has

{

n ” ” WOMEN LAY THEM down to Then-—-they| think of the garment. And in|

the instant their mind is off the] bag, the thief has it, and is gone.|yesterday.

The “store "detectives say the thieving is done by older women.|

” ” ” THEY SOMETIMES go from| store to store, and leave the!

empties elsewhere.

| The detective get descriptions. | And one woman alone, they believe, got 28 purses in a day.

don’t count them. Close to the Vest

Women are digging up old yellowed recipes in faded ink to bake again the cookies, bread, ples and cakes of their grandmothers, » »

s THEY DUST their cookies with a mixture of love and red sugar, and sometimes crumbled nuts, or push a few raisins in cutouts of stars, Santa Clauses, shepherds and camels, They turn out cakes, light as a feather, for some know it is the only time of year their husbands, now in their girthy forties or fifties, will touch cake.

» 2 " AND HOT BREAD and rolls. They're buying a lot of flour these days. And there's plenty of pumpkin for pies. Last year that was a worry. The figure men tell me people will buy ten per cent more than last year. That's both in pounds and dollars,

» ” » AND TURKEYS will be both higher by four or five cents. But they'll have more meat, more time

Auditing Talk

STORES DON'T like to gamble on Christmas trees. - They play the tree trade close to .the vest, figure to run out| toward the end. A tree's value! goes from $1.50 to $6 down tol zero %t the stroke of 12 on! Christmas eve,

2 ” » BUT YOU CAN BUY “tree sale insurarice.” Some brokers will! guarantee the sale of ten per cent of the frees, but for those you pay about 30 per cent more. Few do it. Most lots take the whole risk. But they don’t reorder late, They simply put up a sign. “Sold out.” ” Hear Harold Hartley with * The Human Side of Business” on WISH at 8 p. m. today.

The relationship between the public accountant and the internal auditor will be discussed at a panel meeting of the Institute of : Internal Auditors, Inc, at 6 p. m. Thursday at the War-

to grow. And they will have fewer

ren Hotel,

elected three new directors—Guy F. Boyd Jr. of Jack C. Carr, Inc.; W (Charles B. Forrest of the Emil {C. Rassman Co. and John Lookablll of J. & L. Realty.

they succeed John D. Case, James [| ‘The directors will meet tomor{row to elect 1052 officers, Presi|dent Joseph Argus announced.

Dirks, William H. Keller, A. C.

C. E. Lewis to Head

Capital Finance Here

The appointment of C. E. Lewis as manager of the branch of the Capital Finance Corp, 41 E. Washington _St., was announced

He succeeds C. D. York, who will join the corporation's execu-

They pick up a purse, get theltive office at Columbus, O. The money out of it as quickly as pos-| company has 136 offices, 11 in|cost,<construction and design for sible, and often lay it- down in!'Indiana. place of another one.

Mr. Lewis was born in Russiaville, Ind.

Sears Sells $100,000 In Freezers in 23 Days

Sears sold $100,000 worth of)

home freezers in just 23 days. Douglas Pearce, retail sales manager of the Sears freezer department, showered congratulations on Ace Moreland, Indianapolis manager, and said the store here had sold more /Coldspot home freezers than any other Sears store, or group of stores, in so short a time. Mr. "Moreland said 67 per cent all freezers go into cities,

Van Sickle Radio Co.

Now Graham Electronics

The Van Sickle Radio Supply Co., 102 8. Pennsylvania St., will

become the Graham Electronics Supply Co., Inc, with

John P. Voliva as secretary and manager, The Van Sickle Co. was formed by Thornton Graham, now president, and Eugene Van Sickle in 1936. The partnership of Mr. Van Sickle was bought by Mr. Graham, Mr. Voliva is a DePauw graduate, Air Force veteran and certified public accountant.

Mr, Voliva

WINDCOMBE ADDTION—819 E. 80th

S. 11th St, lot 38 Forest View

New ‘Trouble Finds Trouble

By ROBERT

Shooter’ Early

F. LOFTUS

United Press Staff Correspondent

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15—A quick cleanup of rent gouging and slum conditions around military camps throughjout the country appeared to be in the works today following the appointment of veteran builder, Thomas P. Coogan,

shooter. Mr. Coogan, a New York and Florida construction man who is on first-name terms with practically every big home builder in the United States, was picked by Defense Secretary Robert A. Lovett last Wednesday to run the military housing program for all

as the Pentagon's housing wi

lations. Mr. Coogan'’s official title is As-

{Army, Navy and Air Force instal-!

like his building plans. He also forfeits if he decides later that he can't go through with the job. # t 4 s BUILDING trade representa{tives met last week with Housling and Home Finance Admin\istrator Raymond M. Foley to ‘talk over that problem, but they failed to obtain any reassurance of relief. Congress wrote the deposit pro-! {vision® into the 1951 Defense]

sistant to the Defense Secretary. Housing Law to keep speculators. His real job will be to knock|out of the program, and it prob-| heads together until he gets build-|ably will take legislative action! ers and bankers to cooperate onto change that and the, Dec. 27 the military housing program, deadline. which calls for construction of)

In writing the new housing law,

|perhaps 100,000 low-cost homes Congress voted FNMA just $200

Ifor sale or rent in service bases during 1952. Building trade spokesmen cheered Mr. Coogan’'s appointment as a sign that Mr. Lovett really means business. Mr. Coogan, now head of Housing Securities, Inc, New York, is a past president of the National Association of Home Builders and built a reputation as a big opera+ tor during World War II when he handled large-scale’ contracts for military housing and airport construction. In his new government job, Mr. Coogan will set standards of

the new housing to be built in and around the military installations now being reactivated. 8 = ” FIRST REPORTS on the defense housing program opened up 'to private builders two weeks ago indicate that contractors generally are grabbing at the chance to build homes for defense workers in overcrowded “critical” areas, particularly since they are assured of easier credit terms and first crack at the available building materials. Industry sources said, however, that some of the enthusiasm has been dampened by the strict government restrictions on the program. One big fly in the ointment is that builders who want the Federal National Mortgage Assoielation to buy up all their defense housing mortgages have to have their applications on file by Dec. 27

Another is that with their applications they must enclose certified checks for one per cent of the mortgage value of their construction. If they fail to-go through with the planned project, for one reason or another, they forfeit the check. A Dayton, O., builder for example, who wants to put up $5 million worth of defense housing in that area and whose bank sells all of the mortgages - to FNMA, must post a $50,000 deposit with his application. He loses that money if the Federal Housing Administration, which {is in charge of the defense housing program, decides that it doesn’t

Real Estate Board Elects 3 Directors

Members of the Indianapolis Real Estate Board Thursday

Elected for three-year terms, W. Hurt and Robert E. Walker. 4

Other directors include George

‘and an as-

the list was Realtor Dave Woods, who hasn't missed a meeting in four years. Others included Realtors George Dirks, with a twoyear record, Harry Robbins-and Lewis Haynes, and associate member Mendel McCarthy of the Union Title Co,

The membership, which now

totals 396 active members and 665 associates, overflowed the ball room at the Columbia Club for the election meeting. Helle Ajango of Arsenal Technical High School, winner of the annual essay contest sponsorec

: Willis , Warren

eived oonnlin realtors. It is now entered

and around million to finance defense hous-

May Merge

‘lurder Garrick E. Mallery of

ing mortgages. Most of that {money will be snapped up by {builders getting in on the 60,000 housing units already pro[grammed for defense areas by FHA. Building trade spokesmen believe FNMA will ask Congress for more money to finance additional housing next year. 8 n 2

THE BUILDING INDUSTRY is looking forward to another boom year in 1952, with at least 850,000 new homes and apartments going up in the next 12 months. Most of them, according to the NAHB,

$12,000 field. Government statistics disclose that builders are now winding up the second biggest year in their history, - with 1,018,500 housing units started in the first 11 months. The record high was 1.4 million in 1950. Shortages of materials and mortgage money will be the principal factors cutting down new construction in 1952. A year-end review by the NAHB predicts that the cost of building wages and materials will g0 up next year but that new homes in 1952 will be high-quality in construction, material and design, . NAHB says the worst shortage in most ~reas is 4 per cent money for GI home loans, but that the outlook for other types of mortgages in 1952 is brighter. :

County Boards

Hamilton County board of realtors elected new officers for 1952 this week and is considering al merger with the Tipton County board, it was announced. New Hamilton board president, Walter Truman, disclosed that the merger was being favorably considered and if approved, joint meetings would be held at both Noblesville and Tipton. The object of the consolidation is a larger, more active board,

Open House’

: they include: : fashionable Windcombe Addition,

‘ sale by Atkinson & Co., Realtors, ; for $33,500 is built by the Marks

will rent in the lower-middle price(a tile bath, modern kitchen, liv-

brackets or sell in the $7000 to/ing room, matic oil heat.

and Roy Potter,

New Fire Manual

new manual for the training of auxiliary and regular firemen in the fighting of fires set by A-bombs and incendiaries will be published after the first of the year

ny Another Kind Of Christmas

There'll be plenty of new homes open today for house shoppers to look over with an eye on a new home for Christ-

mas. Here's where they are and what

819 E. 80th St. Located in

this slick ranch home offered for

Construction Co. of sandstone. The home includes two bedrooms with walk-in closets, an oak panelled den, one complete tiled bath and two half baths, built-in bookcases, a marble fireplace, an attached oversized twocar garage with concrete drive and turn-around, and an electric kitchen. td 2 ” 100 ARDEN DR. This red brick rancho, built and offered for sale by Ford Woods & Co., realtors, features three large bedrooms, a fully modern metal cabinet equipped kitchen complete with breakfast nook. Colonial Fireplaces

A stylish Colonial fireplace

graces the living room, which also| | includes special built-in book-|

cases.

house also includes an attached two-car garage with a drive off

Real Estate a vese dee. 5388 Business .......ouevessne md

Classified ......oo0venes.56-66

omes Plan +s cesvanss 39:

Build

this week. ¢ Applications to build 1650 rental units under the planned defense housing program have been made

sald. Only 76 applications to build homes for sale have been flea. Mr. Peters added. The program] calls far 500 of each. The big reason for the sudden popularity of the rental property, as the builders have long claimed —and now proven—is the proper type of credit. Under the present FHA program, which applies only to alloted defense . housing, builders get FHA insurance up to 90 per cent of the appraisal cost. Under the present FHA program, which applies only to alloted defense multi-family housing units, builders get mortgage insurance of up to 90 per cent of the project appraisal value with a $8100 top per unit. A similar plan spurred erection of hundreds of rental units here during and after the war.

Copper a Headache

Copper and attempts to alter building codes will be the big headaches for home builders during 1062, the experts predicted this week. Of all the strategic materials, copper is the tightest and with less prospect of loosening up. But builders here felt that the copper shortage would not hit them too hard, for the water in Marion County is not hard enough to necessitate use of copper pipes to avoid corrosion.

of the directors of the National Association of Home Builders in

Just returned from a meeting

ing Applicants Flood FHA

Builders who had long stated they would build much needed rental units for Indianapolis as soon as the FHA . |extended the necessary credit insurance, proved their words

Washington, Albert Thompson reported that introduction of new building materials to replace those regular materials not avail-

| {

by local builders at the FHA able will probably call for revioffices here, director Earl Petersisions of building codes and FHA

standards. “It is not a question of permit: ting the builder to cut corners and shave off quality, but rather a question of permitting him to build needed low cost homes with the only materials available.” Builders Pool Knowhow And to assure a continued qual+ ity of low cost homes, the NAHB called a meeting recently of top builders from all sections of the nation, 3 They came out with the follow ing recommendations: A warranty for every house buyer—just like the service warranty you receive on the new car you buy, Less ‘“apple-crapple” — false gables, trimmings, facades, cost too much and give too little. Accent is on more living space for {ess money. Better and fewer floor plans with more real variation of each. Better and more storage space

|—maybe even “storage walls” in-

stead of closets. Shorter lots with greater width to fit modern ranch type home designs. Reduce land development cost by more efficient land planning. Present specifications call for a “Chevrolet body on a Cadillac chassis.” : Design homes with a future for “expansion.” A survey shows that 33 per cent of those families buying a two bedroom home plan to - add a third, or expand the house in some manner,

Real Estate

VA Loans Dwindling

| Pennsylvania St. and the corner lot is approximately 90 by 145 feet and heavily wooded. » = # 3 4042 N. EUCLID "AVE. Six attractive three-bedroom brick homes are open to the public to-

Addition. Sales are being handled by Ray Chrisney of Jack| Carr, Inc, realtors, Headquarters for the viewers will be at 4042 N. Euclid Ave. These homes were built by the M & 8S Construction Co. and range in price from $20,500 to $24,000. % Three of the homes” have full basements and each house includes seven roomy closets, an attached garage with side drive, fireplace, and autoLocated near the Sherman Drive-38th St. shopping center, these homes all have city water, gas, electricity and storm sewer service. Sales price includes a sodded lawn and a 70 by 130-foot lot. : . 4

County Builders Elect Officers

The Marion County Residential Builders will elect six new directors at their regular monthly meetings at 6 p. m, tomorrow in the Athenaeum. Rep. Charles B. Brownson will be the guest speaker. Candidates for directors include Riley McGraw, Ed Hohlt, Warren Atkinson, John Bauer, Harry Miles Jr., Robert Dillehay, Walter Justice, Emory R. Baxter, John Otto and Ben Olson Jr. Associate members running for director include Raleigh Burke, Marvin Kirts, George Roesinger|,

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 — A

by the Federal Civil Defense

have enough of his earnings tied

their investment—and that's just

good business sense.

building low-cost veteran housing, or helping the veteran to buy] same,

they can’t afford to make VA mortgages at the current 4 per cent interest rate. They cost too much to handle for the amount the loan returns, :

dered a Garand, or swabbed

By DON TEVERBAUGH Times Real Estate Editor

SEVERAL MILLION" ex-gervicemen

who had shoulthe long throat of a 16-inch

gun aboard ship, today found themselves in the unfamiliar role of noncombatants in quite another type of war.

It was a war being fought in

gress, It's the battle of the 4 per cent interest rate on VA insured mortgages. The only casualty so far has been the veteran—and he’s just a bystander. From Washington comes word that only 20 per cent of the vets have used their eligibility for insured VA loans. Why? Here, the VA reports that of the more than 400,000 veterans eligible, only 60,000 have received loans. What was once a 1200 per month volume in VA mortgages last month slipped to less than 500. » - #” WHAT'S HAPPENED? Here's one important factor— x year ago GI homes were beg snapped up for as little as $300 or $400 down. Today the average VA insured mortgage calls for $1700, on the barrel head, according to M. 'D. Cummins, regional VA manager, Part of this increase in down payment - demand has resulted from the tentacle of Regulation X as applied to VA Loans. But the biggest share results from the banker’s fear of being caught too far out on the limb of in-

ptht! They want the borrower to

up in the mortgage to keep him interested as a protection for

But it's quite obvious that this

will flation values when things go h

was formerly associated with the John Main Co.

Inc., now is coms

day in the St. Andrew's Park|marble veneered office buildings tive interest rates being paid for land in the paneled halls of Con-

other types of loans. That makes the VA mortgage even less attractive.

And now the ghost of the veteran home loan program walks through Congress. And the frockcoated gentlemen with wary eyes

‘on the veteran vote next Novem-

ben are out to do a little “brickpassing.” In January, the Senate will consider a bill to open 20 per cent of the National Service Life Insurance Trust Fund for direct loans to vets building homes, That would mean about $1 billion for veteran housing—and the death knell for, the insured VA loan business for bankers and other lenders, If this bill becomes law 1t'l mean a boom for home builders and real estate brokers—for 80 per cent of the veteran market

is yet untouched.

® = =»

New Saleslady

MRS. MABELLE GREEN has rejoined the sales staff of the A. H. M. Graves realty firm apd sale

the of

Mrs. Green

A.HM. Graves, pleting a devel-

‘good business sense” is not

THE MORTGAGE men say

opment of 30 homes in the Forest Manor addition in the 3600 and 3700 blocks of N. DeQuincy. They have only six left.

Mrs. Green

And the. firm now plans 28

more two-bedroom homes for the Fairhaven addition in the 3300 block N. Manor Court. Six of

Besides, there are more attrac-it

hese are under construction now,

Mr. Truman said. New officers of the Hamilton board are Mr. Truman of Carmel, Vice President Tom C. Parr of Sheridan and Secretary-Treas-

Noblesville. :

Building Drops

For November The volume of all new construction fell off seasonally in November, but the drop was less in residential building, privately owned public utilities and military and naval public works. The November building volume was $2.5 billion—down 7 per cent, Reports from both the U. 8. Department of Commerce and the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed also that private industrial and commercial building were off more than seasonally, reflecting tight material controls. . Home building was off about ' ‘million from October and some $2.4 billion under the 11-

Administration,

by the Board, read her essay in oli xh

a national contest.

month total of last year's record » 3 nl : 4 i) . We on t