10-B
THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE: JUNE 7, 1914.
GOOD TITLEJS IMPORTANT
Is One of First Consideration! in
Buying, Says F. J. Norton.
PURPOSE OF All ABSTRACT
Instrument la n Condensed Illstorr
of the Prnpfrtr'i Oimcnhlp
nnd Shorra Up Defect at
Almoat n Glance.
nr rnANK j. xonTow.
Purchasers of real estate, as a rule,
have a very limited knowledge of tholr
rights, duties and privilege as such pur
chasers, and It Is my Intention to set
forth In this article. In simple, non
technical language, some of these rights,
duties and privileges, with the Idea In
view of helping you to protect yourself
.against unscrupulous persons selling real
estate. No attempt Is made, however, to
treat the subject exhaustively, but rar
deslra Is merely to touch upon such mat
ters as arise In the purchase and sale
'of that form of property which, by Its
character, enables it to escape many of
the risks attending other forma of prop
erty, and by reason of Its Immobility and
'permanency makes It one of the cholceet
iorms of Investment.
If this form of Investment has a risk
or a weak point. It Is in the title.
When you buy real estate, the first
thlngr you should Interest yourself in Is
ihe title rather than in the land itself.
fThe land only represents so much soil,
,-whlch may be purchased at the nominal
sum of cent per load, or less, but the
title represents the right to occupy the
ame without molestation and the right
,to sell, transfer and devise It by will. In
ether words, the right to possess, enjoy,
en or give It away.
The statutes of the never! (( with
Brest formality, state how the transfer of
your real estate shall be made. You
hould, therefore, hesitate before vnn
take the responsibility of drawing your
own conveyance or allowing an Inexperi
enced person to draw them for you, not
Vithstandlng the fact that he is a notary
public, having a seal and clothed with the
,right and authority to take acknowledg
ments. Costly and irreparable errors In
1 . . . t . .
jiiwco imvo oeen maae uy careless nnd In
competent conveyancers. With this fact
in view, now much more necessary Is it
ui you snouia examine minutely the
transfers of the title made by prior own
ers of the property.
Should Demnnd Abstract.
, You may say that you are not com
petent to make this examination; then It
becomes your privilege to exercise the
tight to demand a complete abstract of
title to the property which you intend to
purchase, satisfy yourself that, your ab
stract Is made by a competent and ex
perlenced. abstracter, whose responsibility
Is unquestioned; see that the abstract Is
complete from the government patent
down to the time the transfer to you Is
made,
I It the abstract are printed forms or
Copies, see that they are properly signed
py the abstracter, or by an officer of the
Abstract company making the certifi
cate (with the corporate scat attached,
If a corporation). Many a purchaser has
found, after accepting what appeared to
be an abstract, that be only had a show
ing of the title since the plat; possibly
the abstract appeared to be complete, but
was merely the old blanket form, whloh
was nothing more or less than a copy of
ihe numerical index; neither of which
forms of abstract are acceptable to pros
pective 'purchasers and necessitates the
securing of complete abstracts, at your
expense,
A proper abstract should, in the cap
tion thereof, contain such a description
Of the property in question as might be
embodied in the deed aa a good and com
plete legal description of the premises In
tended to be conveyed, und should so note
conveyances of record and court proceed
ings that the examiner of the title may
have before him sufficient InormaUon to
enable him to pass upon the legal effect
of such instruments and procedlngs In
teUlgenUy, The abstract should also contain so
much of recorded plats as will definitely
Jocate the premises in question with re
spect to the surrounding street, roads,
highways, drainage ditches, railroads, eta
Also with reference to section lines or
to lines of minor governmental divisions
of sections.
As to what are and what am not mer
ehs.Bts.bls abstracts of title is largely a
RuesUon of fact
Takes Tears of Work.
It takes years of careful, reliable and
'constant accurate' work, on the part of
the abstracter before his abstracts pss
'is merchantable. Therefore, -ability, re
liability and responsibility ere the three
,'rreat factors which go to determine the
.value of an abstract.
After you have demanded and received
your abstract, do not take it for granted
that because your request has been com
plied with that your title la good, for as
Z have stated before, the abstract la a
Chort, concise showing of every link In
the chain that makes up the title. It has
been wisely said, and applies to titles aa
veil, that, "a chain Is no stronger than
Its weakest link."
The office of the abstract is to dis
close these weak and broken links, whloh
together with the good ones make up the
Chain of title.
These defects can only be discovered
by a careful examination of the abstract
of title. Therefore It does not follow that
because you have an abstract, your title
Is good, but It should follow that you
xaust have your abstract of title exam
ined by a competent attorney before ac
cepting your deed.
Don't depend on a warranty deed to
protect you against defeats In your tWe,
for It Is Worthless if the party giving it Is
cot .financially responsible.
. Observe Deed's Readtuir.
t After the attorney has approved the
abstract and given you an opinion that
the title Is vested in fee simple in the
person who Is to execute the deed to
you. have htm examlna the deed to see
that it is properly drawn and executed.
The laws with reference to execution of
deeds differ in different states.
Take no chances, but be euro it is exe
cuted either according to the laws of
Nebraska, or according to the laws of
the state In which it is executed. Be sure
the deed properly describes the land In
dudeda in the caption In your abstract,
as thousand of deeds are filed every
rear that are worthless, owing to the
ridiculous descriptions contained therein,
usually du to the Ignorance of the con
veyancer or person drawing or execut
ing the conveyance.
If your attorney should fall to draw
your attention to the rights of parties
to possession of the land which you In
tend to purchase, you should satisfy
yourself as to the rights of any and all
persons In possession of the land, for It
if possible to have the fee simple title
and yet be DUt to annoyance anil runu
in obtaining possession of your property. J
If there is apt to be a question with ref
erence to the location of the land, have
the same carefully surveyed and staked
by a competent engineer.
When you have complied with all of the
foregoing you can be at liberty to pay
the consideration, accept your deed and
Immediately place it on record with the
assurance that you can possess, enjoy or
alienate your lands without let or hindrance.
TIMELY REALESTATE GOSSIP
Building Figures Show Up Remark
ably Well This Year.
OMAHA, INDEED, BRIGHT SPOT
With Hotel' Dank .nnd Factory
Coin if Up, Deals Are Still Being
Closed that Will Mean
Continued Activity.
Judged from the standpoint of actual
dollars expended the first five months of
this year show a building activity almost
rtwice as large as that of last year. This
of course takes Into account the building
permit for the erection of the Pontenelle
hotel, which Is a Building to cost some
thing over 1800,000.
Of course, as someone has said, "When
things are not doing, we are not building
million-dollar hotels either," so this big
structure, even though the erection of
such a building occurs here only oc
casionally, must nevertheless be flgurod
Into the building permits of the lost five
months. ,
Thus far this year, building permits
havo been Issued for structures repre
senting an aggregate of 2,42,G6S. The
record for the first five months of 1913
fihow Sl.705.lfTa.
During the month of May 16S building
permits were issued, representing an ex
penditure of Jl, 146,85a. In .May a year agd
permits aggregating only 1177,000 were
issued in Omaha.
Omaha Ilrtsrht spot,
"Omaha is the one bright spot on the
map," the real estate men are still quoting
Sir. Cobb, Wall street broker, who was
here a few weeks ago and made that re
mark. This saying has found Its way
Into the editorial columns of the news
papers, and Is traveling over the United
States. In the Issue of Juno 1 of The
Lumberman, published In St Louis, this
quotation from Mr. Cobb Is again re
viewed and commented upon. Omahans
are very proud that their city has been
able to exctto such comment from a man
like Cobb, especially since he had ut
concluded a trip of several weeks, during
which he stopped In all the larger towns J
ana cities between New York and Omaha.
Mnnr Luw. T11h
ItOCent activities In tha larnr
tate transactions have Indeed put new
life into the situation In Omaha. The
Vast SllOWlnK mads bv tha hullrilnir nr,
mlts, the activity that Is laid out ahead
ior uie next hair-year or year In the way
of building new and substantial buildings
In the business section of the city, have
lent a new asoect to affairs in nnii
With the new Fontanel) hntal In nm..
of construction and the steel beams al
ready towerlmr a half-docan tortus hivh
and with the foundation rapidly going
In for the new United States National bank
building; with the excavation being made
ior uie BKinner Macaroni factory at Pour
teenth and Jackson, a holf-doien other
big deals havs been closed In the last two
weeks that are to mean ImlMlnr -nitv
Among these are the changing of hands of
the Boyd theater bulldlnc. which m.n.
the tearing down of the old building and
mo erection of a huge building to take
Its place and become nart of tha tiiii-m..-
Nash stores; the purchase of a valuable
site, upon which the Omaha Grain ex
change Is soon to begin work
permanent home; the securing of a nlnety-
nine-year lease on the Curtis property,
whloh will mean the expenditure of $40,000
to improve and modernise this; tha lt.
ting of the contract for tho erection of a
new ireignt house for the Chicago A
Northwestern, and trmnv nth
of more or less Importance, besides a
great numoer or residences, ranging In
cost from 15.000 to J35.COO.
'Omaha Is indeed-a brtaht annt nn th.
map," the business men nre saying as
they survey these activities.
I
MUTUAL HOME BUILDING
Annual Convention of State League
of Local Associations.
CROSSROADS IN LEAGUE'S LIFE
Movement to Strike Word "Local"
from Title and What It Means
Proarrtun for the
Meetlnff.
Martin Leads All
in Building Permits
Permits were Issued Friday to Charles
W. Martin for the erection of aaventean
"modem dwellings to cost 155,000. ranging
in sice from five-room bungalows to
eight-room houses, to cost from u.eoo in
15.000 each. They are located In "Mil.
Crest," "HoUywood." "ICountte Place,"
XAureiton" and "Belle Isle" additions,
the most of them belns- built for ownara.
This makes thirty-seven DermlU for (hi.
rirm so rar this year. Most of them were on
the north side, where selllnir activity la
greater than In any other part of he
city. Mr. Martin observes a growing
tendency among buyers to have their
homes built by reliable and
builders, rather than to try to build them
selves, as It is always cheaper In the
long run.
MANY SALES REPORTED
BY HASTINGS & HEYDEN
Hastings & Heyden report the follow
ing sales for last week:
II. P. Baker rturchased a tract In Ttan.
son Acres for too.
Harry Chrlstopherson purchased lots 7
and 8. block 1. Lincoln Ifalirhta. fnr rvn
aiuma oiirwieiiaen purcnoseu a lot in
Kountze Place for 3,400.
Frank W. Miller purchased tracts lie.
118. 129 and ISO, Benson Acres, for 3,800.
IMcnard Btanford uurchuiul lot a hinov
2, Qendale, for J0.
ueuas purcnased a tract In Benson
Acres ior ki,
Jens Pederson purchased tract 14, Ben
son Acres for ICM.
Peter C. Cramer purchased a lot In
Collier Place for MOO.
Amelia Ingalls purchased a tract In
Benson Acres for J000 .
Robert Stoops purchased a lot In Vine-
iana aauiuon ior xxu.
TWO NEBRASKA FARMS
BOUGHT AS INVESTMENTS
John A. Olson, JI9-SU City National
Bank building, reports the fotowlng is
two of his most important sales during1
the week!
To J. L. Orkln, ISO acres Improved Dixon
county land.
To A. 8. Leavltt. 830 acres Improved
Blouz county land.
Both purchases were made ss Investments.
REAL ESTATERS TO HAVE
SPECIAL TRAIN TO MEETING
Early In July, the Omaha Ileal Estate
exchange will have a special train over
ths Burlington from Omaha to Pittsburgh,
Pa., for the national meeting of Heal
Estate exchanges.
Twenty-two years ago the coming Sep
tember about a dozen men Interested In
co-operative self-help met In the senate
chamber of the state capitol and organ'
lied the Nebraska State League of Local
Loan and Building Associations.
The object of tho little organization was
to old In the enforcement of the building
association law of 1S91, designed to safe
guard a beneficial movement then In its
Infancy. The law hod the punch in It,
but the state house hesitated about put
ting the steam behind the punch.
Emphasis was laid on the word 'local"
in the title for the purpose of restricting
membership to associations whloh limited
their operations to their respective towns
or cities, and for the further purpose of
distinguishing it from national organiza
tions doing art Interstate business. The
latter organizations, numerous In Mis
court, Iowa, Illinois and Minnesota, for a
tlmo threatened to swamp local associa
tions, and a battle royal was fought
between them from 1831 until the century
closed. It was a ten-year war, resulting
In defeat and disaster for the nationals
and the loss of millions of dollars for their
shareholders.
A Serlona Handicap.
The disrepute Into which the national
associations brought the building and loan
movement proved a serious handicap to
the locals in various states, particularly
in the upper Mississippi valley, and the
111 effects have not yet been wholly over
come In Iowa, Missouri and Minnesota.
In Nebraska the energy of the State
League of Local Associations put enough
steam behind the punch of Uie law of
1A91 to prevent the nationals securing a
foothold In Nebraska, and the result of
that timely action is now visible in the
growth and prosperity of Nebraska a
soclatlons.
This outline of the history of the state
league Is recalled because the organiza
tion Is nearlng the crossroads of its ca
reer. The twenty-third annual conven
tion, whloh will be held at Columbus next
Wednesday, will take action on an amend
ment to the constitution, presented a year
ago, which proposes to strike the word
"local" from the league's title and admit
to membership any association authorized
to do business In tho state.
Extending Operations.
According to men familiar with Ne
braska associations, there are only five
or six associations that are not strictly
local in their loaning operations. These
moke loans in counties adjacent to their
headquarters, most of them do a state
wide business In loons and one Is sold to
have extended Its operations to Wyoming,
where interest rates are attractive.
Besides the question of revising the title
of the state league, the convention will
discuss reports of officers, hear a number
of papers read and enjoy the hospitality
of Columbus associations.
M'CORD BUYS GROUND FOR
NEW HOME IN FAIRACRES
An unobstruted view for twenty-five
miles north, west and south, is obtained
from the fine six-acre tract In Falracrss
Just purchased by W. K. McCord from
George & Co., through Harry A. Tukey.
Mr. McCord will commence boautlfylnir
the grounds at once, and plans to build
a home there In the near future.
The site of the new Brownell Hall Is
just across the road north from the Mo.
Cord tract. The latter lies south of Undor-
wood avenuo, cast of Folracres road,
north of California street and west of
Prospect avenuo. With the commanding
view, equaled by few sites In the city.
the location is considered one of the best
The price paid was J17.200. The present
McCord home, on the southwest corner of
Twenty-second and Cass streets, Is for
sate In the hands of the Tukey company.
DR. GIFF0RD BUYS ANOTHER
LOT ON SIXTEENTH STREET
Dr. TJarold Glfford has bought of the
Commonwealth Real Estate company for
$3,000 a lot on South Sixteenth street
adjoining the 100 feet on which he Is
about to erect a fire-proof hotel. The
sale was made through J. II. Dumont
& Co.
The lot purchased has fifty feet front
age on Sixteenth, near Jones street, and
extends through to Seventeenth street.
It Is understood that the hotel will cover
both lots to a depth of ninety feet.
FOUNDATION RFADY FOR
NEW TELEPHONE EXCHANGE?
The foundation for the new Walnut
telephone exchange building at Forty
sixth and Izard streets has been driven
to carry three stories, although the pros
ent plans call for but two. Metal and
concrete piles have been put In, as the
structure Is located where a brook bed
once lay. The new exchange will serve
the territory adjacent to Its location and
the village of Dundee.
Kiplinger's Band to
Play at Kountze Park
The following program will be given
this afternoon at t:S0 o'clock at ICountse
park by Kipllnger Fourth Regiment
band:
March The Squealer Huff
Selection from "The Prince of Pll-
sen" Luders
Overture Light Cavalry Suppe
jropuiar tins iaj n -lanes a Utuo
Rain with the Sunshine
Shapiro, Bernstlne & Co
to) uuenos Ayres Tango.. .uemicic & Co.
Intermission.
Vslse Lento Amoreuse Chapptll
Sextet from Lucia (by sDeial reoueatl
-. , Donliettt
uvenure ampa t Herold
Popular Hits fa) Tha UuriM Wallr
,. Jpw tango) will Rosstter
u iuo xwenuew v.eniury itag
Maurice Abrahams
intermission.
Selection from "Woodland" Luders
-evening tuar" rrora Tannhauser
., it;;,."!-!;" Wagner
i oionaise Aiuiuura rhnnin
Ponular llltan "Phla I- T
.Wateraon. narlln A- RnvH.,
U.MWnV .....................
Joseph W. Stems & Co.
Minister Pralaa Tula LaiatUe,
Rev. II. Stubenvoll. Allison, la., praises
Dr. King's New Life Pills for constipation
best for liver and bowels, ffic All dm.
Jglsts. Advertlsem'4"
To the wife
of the man
who does not
own his home
To you, a house and lot means far more than
a real estate investment. It means a home a place
where you must spend the greater part of your life an
influence which shapes the lives of your children and lends to your
own comfort and happiness.
How much more pride you would take
in caring for a house that was your very own!
The furnishings, decorations, etc., would be of
your own choosing, The little improvements that you could make
from year to year to suit your own comfort and taste would add i
interest and zest to life. t 1
And then, the inevitable visit of the landlord
around the first of the month, the steady drain on the
family resources with nothing to show but a bundle of
rent receipts, would be things of the past.
t
Perhaps you don't know that you can
actually buy a home by paying just about the
same amount monthly that you would pay for
rent You have got to pay out this money anyway and what a sat
isfaction it would be after a few years to possess the title to the
place you live in rather than nothing.
By this plan you would not only have a real
home in every sense of the word, but the yearly increase
in value of the property. Omaha real estate is a splen
did investment and those people with foresight are taking advantage
of the great opportunities now.
Talk this over with your husband to
day. Open the paper to the real estate adver
tisements in the classified section and place
them before him. Suggest to him that he owes it to you and to his ,
children, if you have any to take this step. No doubt he has ab
ready given the matter a great deal of thought, but make your in
teres t a little plainer to him,
THE OMAHA BEE
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