lots and sold, the mortgagor makes a part payment on account of its principal and, in consideration thereof, the holder of the mortgage releases from the lien of the mortgage the particular lots which have been sold. This is quite in order, provided the lot which you purchase is actually and legally released from the mortgage obligation. It is imperative, however, that you take no chances in this respect and be assured that there is no encumbrance outstanding and affecting the lots which you purchase, of which you are not aware.

When the lot is purchased outright by one transaction and title passes at once, it is not a difficult matter to assure yourself that all is in satisfactory shape. By securing competent legal advice and title insurance you can ascertain exactly what you are purchasing and how sound a title you are receiving. Very often, however, the payment of the purchase price is not concluded at once but, on the contrary, the land, including the house if one has been erected, is purchased on the instalment plan. In such case the purchaser is called upon to make certain stipulated monthly payments, and the seller agrees that, when the full amount of the purchase price has been paid, a good title, free and clear, will be conveyed. When a proposition of

this kind is presented to the intending purchaser, he should look out for possible breakers ahead and proceed slowly and carefully. Many a purchaser has entered into such a contract and, after paying in the aggregate a substantial sum by instalment payments, discovered that he cannot secure the clear title to which his contract and payments entitle him.

The vice of any arrangement under which instalment payments are made, but the delivery of the deed held in abeyance until they are completed, is obvious. It lies in the fact that the purchaser, as he pays out his money, receives not a deed but merely an agreement that in the future, when his payments are completed, he will receive a deed. If the seller, innocently or fraudulently, is not in a position to give the deed when the payments are complete, the purchaser is decidedly out of luck. He will have, it is true, a good cause of action against the seller for damages but that, in the ordinary case, will be very cold comfort. In the great majority of cases the development will be carried on in the name of a corporation and not by an individual in his own name. It is a rather safe guess that, when the corporation has defaulted in its obligation to the purchaser, it will have no assets from

which he can reimburse himself for the damage occasioned him.

It is not many years ago that a large suburban development was undertaken near one of our large cities. Many roads were opened and many houses built. The plan was carried out by a corporation which maintained offices in the city, and in its advertising and general conduct gave every indication of being a responsible and prosperous concern. Many people-some of them well-known but of moderate means-purchased plots and houses under instalment contracts. After the scheme had been in operation for a considerable time, it developed that the corporation was insolvent, and a receiver was placed in charge of its affairs. When he took over the management and investigated the situation, he found that there was a blanket mortgage given by the corporation for a large amount and covering all of its property, including the portions of it which were being paid for in instalments. The corporation should have applied a certain proportion of the payments made, to release the lots under purchase from the lien of the mortgage. This it had failed to do. It had apparently not set aside for this purpose any part of the moneys which it had received,

but had used them to meet other charges and expenses of operation.

The result was that many who had practically completed their instalment payments and supposed that they would receive, within a few weeks, a free and clear title, awoke to the fact that it would be necessary for them, in order to secure title, to pay out additional and substantial sums to secure the release of their property from the mortgage lien. Some saw their investment wiped out completely as a result of their inability to raise the additional funds necessary to protect their property. If the purchasers of these lots had taken proper advice before signing their contracts and paying out their money, the weakness of their legal position and the dangers of the contract tendered to them would have been made clear to them. They would not then have taken the risk which they did.

In land developments, sales are made both of lots without improvements upon them and of lots on which houses have already been erected. Another plan which is often followed is to have the purchaser choose the plan for the house which he prefers and then have the operating company build it for him. The purchase price in this case includes, of course, the expense of erecting the house. It often includes also a sub

stantial profit to the seller on the building of the house, as well as upon the turn-over of the land. The advantage to the purchaser is that he is able to acquire his home by small instalment payments, and is extended a very liberal credit in this respect by the seller. The disadvantage to him is that the ultimate cost is usually higher than it would have been if he had purchased the land outright and had himself financed the erection of the house.

Another method by which large tracts of land are often disposed of to home builders is by public auction. In many instances the auctions are held to wind up estates. Usually a comparatively small initial payment is required and the balance of the purchase price is allowed to remain on bond and mortgage. The amount of this balance represents, as a rule, a considerably higher percentage of the purchase price than does the amount of the ordinary purchase money mortgage. Also, in many cases, a title policy is either given free of charge to each purchaser, or a special reduced rate for the policy arranged for. Many excellent bargains can be had by the small home seeker at sales of this character. He must, on the other hand, be very careful to examine the terms of sale before he bids. These terms are ordinarily printed