Buying a House One off Life's Host
important Proves
Editor's note: What ihonld yon
know before setting out to buy a
house? The following dispatch is
based on advice by experts real
estate brokers, home builders, con
trftfr. economists, government
oanxers and homeown
ers themselves.
By EDWARD COWAN
UPI Correspondent
Washington - (UPD -A house
is probably the biggest, most
expensive, most important
tiling you'll ever buy.
If it doesn't fit or doesn't
work right you can't take it
back and get a refund. You
proDaoiy couldn't afford to
chuck it out and buy another
one, either.
So, in buying a house, you
want 10 De especially sure
you get the right one - the
one you can enjoy, afford and
take pride in.
That means you must have
ome expert knowledge about
what you re buying - knowl
edge of your own or some
one else's. Usually some of
each is necessary.
One thing you can tell bet
ter than anyone else is
whether the house - either a
new one or one that's been
previously occupied - is suit
able for your family needs
Does it have enough bed
rooms, both for the family to
day and for any planned new
comers? Is it so designed that
it can grow with the children?
Can this year's nursery be
made into a teen-age rumpus
room in a few years?
Adequate Closet Space?
Are the rooms big enough
and laid out in such a way
that your furniture will fit
in an attractive way? Is there
adequate closet space for your
clothing, linens, dishes and
enough shelf room (or poten
tial) for books and bric-a-brac?
Whether you'll enjoy living
in the house will also depend
on the neighborhood it's in.
Pick one where there are
neighbors you would prob
ably like - folks who are of
similar economic circum
stances and may share some
of your interests. If you have
children, they must be con
sidered in the same way, with
special emphasis on age. You
can tell something about this
in advance by walking around
the neighborhood a bit and
observing it for yourself.
Local bankers, real estate
agents, merchants, or almost
anyone else who's been
around a while would be
good people to inquire of.
Important Feature
A very important feature
of the neighborhood is its
schools. Are they within
walking distance of the house
you're considering? or, if not,
is there safe, reliable, inex
pensive transportation for the
youngsters? Is the school a
good one and the kind your
boy or girl will like.? If you
plan to keep the house a long
time and your children are of
grammar school age, bear in
mind that they'll be in junior
and then senior high school
before long.
If you're a one-car family
and that car goes downtown
to work every morning, bet
ter check carefully on the dis
tance from the house to ther
shopping center. Is the public
transportation close enough
and scheduled so as to meet
the needs of the wife and
children for going downtown,
to the doctor, movies, friends,
club meeting and bank?
Consider Neighborhood
Is there a church of your
denomination close by? Do
you like the pastor and the
way it's run?
Another about the neighbor
hood to consider is whether
it has been improving or de
teriorating recently. After
all, besides buying a place to
live in, you're making an in
vestment whose value might
just as well go up as down
Zoning laws and regula
tions have a lot to do with
how a neighborhod fares.
They guarantee - where they
exist that a residential sec
tion is not likely to lose its
desirable qualities through the
introduction of industrial or
commercial activities.
A readily available clue to
the neighborhood's, future is
whether its residents keep
their buildings and property
well maintained painted,
repaired, trimmed, policed of
debris. If the houses look un
kempt and decaying, you can
be pretty sure that property
values are in danger.
One of the biggest worries
for people buying a house -
especially their first is: How
do I know I'm not being
gypped?
lips Suggested
Well, there are several
things you can do to make
sure you don't pay too much
for your house andor that
it's not chock full of defects
not immediately visible.
Must Know Market
One thing is to know the
market. Look at and price
many houses to get an idea
of the going rates. A real
estate agent may be able to
tell you what to consider a
maximum to pay for a house
of the size, style and loca
tion you desire.
If you're considering a
newly built house, compare
what different builders are
offering. Besides price, check
such points as size, number of
rooms, equipment (range,
dishwasher), insulation, heat
ing system, quality of work
manship (are there hammer
marks on the woodwork?),
plumbing and drainage. Ask
folks who bought houses from
the same builder two and five
years ago how they are hold
ing up.
If you're going to buy a
house that's already been oc
cupied, it might be a good
idea to hire a professional
appraiser to give it the once
over. That's probably the
soundest way to guard against
overpayment or getting a
"lemon."
Can Test House
But you yourself can also
test the house in a variety of
ways, examine the floors
beneath the carpeting. They
may be marred or stained
badly in places you don't plan
to carpet over. If electrical ap
pliances go with the house,
try them out. (They're prob
ably figured into the price,
even though the owner may
say he's throwing them in
free). Equipment such as gar
bage grinders, washing ma
chines and dryers should be
carefully inspected for signs
of hard wear and proper
maintenance.
Poke around in the base
ment and looL for traces of
mildew and water stains,
signs of seepage and rotting
timbers or cracked concrete.
If you see any number of dis
carded blown fuses, or a big
supply of fresh ones, ask why.
Check the fit on inside and
outside doors. If the space be
tween the bottom of a door
and the sill is wider at one
side than the other, something
is sagging the house, the
door, the frame or possibly
the floor.
Another way to avoid being
gypped is to make sure you
know what's in the sale con
tract that it says and means
what the seller claims it does.
If the furnace is warranted,
for instance, is the warranty
iron-clad? If you're not a law
yer, it might pay to consult
one.
How much can you afford
to pay for a house? Most
authorities agree that there
are two rules-of-thumb to
keep in mind: Don't buy a
house that costs more than
two-and-a-half times your an
nual income; don't load your
self down with a monthly
payment obligation that ex
ceeds a quarter of your
monthly income.
Monthly Payments
One thing to keep in mind
as a prospective homeowner
is that your monthly pay
ments must cover more than
just the principal and interest
on the mortgage. As a home
owner, you have to worry
about maintenance, operating
costs (fuel, electricity) insur
ance premiums and property
and utility taxes. However,
many times the bank includes
these in estimating your
monthly paymnts.
While on the subject of
money, consider the very
heart of the problem: how are
you going to pay for the
house?
Most people pay a certain
amount down in cash and
borrow the rest with the
house pledged as collateral.
Such a loan is "a mortgage
loan, or simply a mortgage.
How do you get a mortgage?
Your attorney or real estate
broker can help you here,
but you can also do it your
self. Inquire About Mortgage
Stop in at a local or down
town bank, savings and loan
association, building associa
tion, mortgage lender or in
surance company and simply
say you'd like to inquire about
about getting a mortgage.
The man you talk to will
want to know a few things
about you your family in
come, general financial situa-
Cubans Break Up
Nicaraguan Camp
Pinar Del Rio, Cuba -UPD-The
Cuban army has broken
up a Nicaraguan revolution
ary training camp and plans
to crack down on any other
attempts to mount an expedi
tionary invasion force from
Cuban soil, a high army offi
cer disclosed yesterday.
Maj. Dermidio Escalona,
commandant of Pinar Del Rio,
Cuba's westernmost province,
said the army's "get tough"
attitude was designed to main
tain Premier Fidel Castro's
policy of non-intervention in
neighboring countries.
He said the army also was
motivated by the belief that
some persons, seeking to em
barrass the Castro govern
ment, had financed certain
foreign revolutionary activity.
The Nicaraguan camp was
tion and how big a mortgage
you want. You will want to
ask him how much money his
institution will lend you, at
what interest rate, for how
long and whether there are
any other strings attached.
You should make a special
point of asking especially in
these days of relatively high
interest rates whether you'll
have to pay a discount. That
means that you'd pay inter
est on and have to repay as
principal an amount more
than the sum actually loaned
you.
Mortgages fall into two
major categories conven
tional and those backed by
the government either in
sured by the Federal Housing
Administration or guaranteed
(for ex-servicemen only) by
the Veterans Administration.
Government-backed mort
gages have maximum interest
rates and repayment periods.
In the course of qualifying for
one the homebuyer gets (and
pays for) an expert appraisal
of his property.
Other Advantages
Government-backed mort
gages have other advantages,
too, but they also have this
major drawback: they fre
quently involve more paper
work and delay than conven
tional financing.
In sum, there are a good
many things to know about in
order to buy a house intelli
gently. The wise homebuyer
will look, read, calculate, in
quire and, if need be, con
sult an expert.
Servicemen
PROMOTED
Richard E. Padgham, son of
Mr. and Mrs. Henry F. Padg
ham Jr., Springbrook rd.,
Medf ord, 1 was recently pro
moted to the rank of first
lieutenant while serving with
the Army Transportation
corps.
Lieutenant Padgham is sta
tioned at Fort Mason, Calif,
as aide-de-camp to Brig. Gen.
Robert C. Tripp, commanding
officer of the transportation
terminal command, Pacific.
A graduate of Medford High
school and Oregon State col
1 e g e, Lieutenant Padgham
and his wife, the former Mar
cia Houghton of Medford,
made their home at Fort
Mason.
IN EXERCISE
Two Central Point Navy
men recently participated in
the Pacific Fleet's amphibious
landing exercise, Operation
Big Land, off the southern
California coast.
Virgil E. Elbert, fire con
trol technician seaman, son of
Mr. and Mrs. Floyd J. Elbert,
route 1, box 298, is serving
aboard the inshore fire sup
port ship USS Carronade, and
Roger E. Carrigan, radarman
seaman apprentice, son of Mr.
and Mrs. Gene B. Carrigan,
172 Freeman rd., is serving
aboard the radar picket de
stroyer USS Rogers.
Former Disfricf
Manager Retires
Rilea W. Doe, vice presi
dent of Safeway Stores and
former district manager at
Medford, will retire after 40
years of service June 1, of
ficials of the company an
nounced today in Oakland,
Calif.
Doe first joined the com
pany in Idaho when only four
stores were in operation. He
is Safeway's oldest employee
in years of continuous service.
In 1957 Doe served as a
member of the U. S. trade
mission to Yugoslavia.
MAIL TRIBUNE, Medford, Oregon, Monday, April 20, 1959 S
PUT IT AHEAD
Des Moines, Iowa-(CPD-State
Sen. Jack Schroeder, a Re
publican, interrupted Demo
cratic Sen. Melvin Wolf to ob
ject to his criticism of the
motives of Republican legis
lators. "My last paragraph
praises you," Wolf told him.
"Well, read that one first,
please," Schroeder said.
AID FOR MOTORISTS '
Red Bank, N. J.-TCPD-A new
map of the Garden State
Parkway is being prepared to
day with a special panel for
distressed motorists. Designed
to be displayed through a car
window, it says :' i big bold
letters: "Send help."
!Th ..lic Inn at South
Sudbury, Mass., and the White
Horse Tavern in Newport, R.
I., are the oldest inns still op
erating in the United States.
Improve your home with
MIRRORS
All Sizes in Stock
Phone SP 3-3613
SELBY Gs
303 North Bartlett
SEEING THE TOWN
Worcester, England (UPD -j
The Severen river overflowed j
its banks Sunday night and 19
swans cruised down Hood st.
to see the sights.
directed by Nicaraguan exile
Chester Lacayo who persuad
ed Cuban youths to "partici
pate in the proposed expedi
tionary enterprise," it was re
ported, v
CLOGSTON'S
Metal
Weather Stripping
and Screens .
Estimates Gladly
Phone SP 3-1014 Evenings
V 7
112 EAST MAIN STREET
SALE!
Just a few of many beautiful shoes
purchased specially for our AN-' ,
N I VERS ART SALE!
White Shoes
DRESS
Buy Now for Graduation
7.77
SANDALS
3.77
FLATS
4.77
Gil ""
A v 7
SHOP EVERY STORE IN TOWN . .
Then Come Back and Buy at PICK'S!
' PICK'S
Charge Account
tl0m
MATCHING
HANDBAGS
3.95
TERRIFIC
VALUES!
It's Our .
75 HALF-S
Choose from a good selection of lovely styles and colors, short sleeves
and a big selection of A sleeves. You'll want several at this low, low
price!
Sizes: IOV2 to 22'2
PRICE
EXAMPLE:
REG. SALE
PRICE PRICE
$12.95 $6.50
14.95 7.50
16.95 8.50
18.95 9.50
112 EAST MAIN STREET
4 - i
;s J 1 Yes, we're celebrating our 7th Anniversary ALL THIS ' S,.
1 f I MONTH! A great event! All new fashions to span r v
J UZ the spring and summer seasons , f
.1 I ... at prices that give more W.Vvk
I i I s-tH"-e4-h to your budget. SHOP
If Your CREDIT IS GOOD
n n O n
1 vmmm i
llll 3 layers, very fluffy and full ... trimmed with satin III
I :E: l 77 I
Shell Coral U I
White L J
Sizes: S-M-L LJ
OUTSTANDING
VALUES
All This Month!
CAPRI PANTS
OR TAPERED LEG SLACKS
Solid colors, plaids and flower
ed prints.
VALUES to 6.95
$277
NEW SPRING and SUMMER
BLOUSES
$977
A wide selection of styles and
colors. Short sleeve and sleeveless.
VALUES to 4.95
BUY
NOW
and SAVE!
NEW SPRING and SUMMER
Dresses
2-piece blouse and skirt combina
tions. Wonderful selection of styles
and colors.
SIZES 8 to 16
VALUES to 12.95
$J77
NEW SPRING and SUMMER
Skirts
Beautfiul selection of colors in both
full and straight styles.
VALUES to 6.95
377
Next Door to Robinson Bros.
LOADS OF FREE PARKING
SHOP PICK'S APPAREL