take care of the full investment without the necessity for additional financing. This reduces the drain upon resources through obviating the necessity of meeting interest payments on mortgages and makes possible the use of any surplus funds for improvement, for education and for giving the family the advantages which country life offers. If it is necessary to borrow funds for financing the purchase, special attention should be given to the type of mortgage which is obtained.

Mortgage Financing.—One of the most desirable types of financing is through a financially sound building and loan association whereby the interest and the amortization of the mortgage are taken care of through monthly payments. Such building and loan mortgages are available in most localities throughout the country. A series of monthly payments can be made which will take care of the interest payments and the mortgage itself so that within a period of from ten to twelve years, in most cases, the mortgage is amortized and the owner has the advantages of a home that is free of encumbrance. For example, if the mortgage amounts to $3,000, subscription to fifteen shares of a building and loan association at $1 a share per month would make it possible to clear off the mortgage in about eleven years. This would call for the payment to the association of $15 per month and interest. Through the compounding of interest, the mortgage can be lifted at less expense than any other procedure.

Another satisfactory plan is to place the mortgage with a bank or financing company or insurance company that will not call the mortgage so long as the payments are met, and at the same time start saving through a building and loan association so as to complete the payments over a series of years.

There is a far greater sense of security in having no mortgage or in setting up a definite and practical procedure for eliminating it than in always having a mortgage encumbrance with its interest payments and the possibility of having it called at an inopportune moment. A home that is free from mortgage can be carried at small cost, especially where the owner is willing to make most of the repairs and attend to the upkeep himself. The demand for outlay of cash for mortgage interest may be financially embarrassing, especially where income is not guaranteed or may be jeopardized through a drastic reduction at critical periods or as the result of emergency expenses in the family, such as are entailed by serious illness.

Taxes.—One of the factors that is frequently overlooked in the purchase of a residence in the country is the cost of meeting taxes. Since taxes must be met if the property is to be held, it is highly important that the location be one in which tax rates are not excessive. On the other hand, an exceedingly low tax rate may indicate lack of progressiveness in the community and lack of facilities which from many angles would lessen the value of the tract as a place of residence. In most localities, the tax rate is based principally upon the costs of building and maintaining highways and schools. Good facilities in both of these respects are highly desirable, and yet excessive expenditures in either direction may so advance the tax rate as to make them expensive luxuries.

In many rural communities, taxing districts are burdened with the costs of building monumental schools or a very elaborate system of roads, undertaken at some time through the flotation of bond issues. The establishment of a sinking fund for payment of interest and amortization of these bonds frequently constitutes a very heavy drain upon the residents of the district. It is, therefore, necessary to determine not only the tax rate in the locality under consideration, but also to know definitely what are the current charges for maintenance of government. Taxing methods vary so widely, even in adjoining districts, that the only method of determining the annual charges for taxes is to secure from the present owner or from the local tax assessor the definite payments that must be made.

As a means of saving trouble later, an investigation should be made of the property under consideration to make sure that taxes have been paid to the date of purchase. This is distinctly the obligation of the owner. Unpaid taxes constitute a lien on the property, and an investigation of the status of the tax payments is essential in protecting the proposed investment.

The Title and Survey.—A great deal of possible trouble can be eliminated by making sure that the title is clear. An investigation should be made along this line by an attorney or agency equipped to secure information from appropriate county offices. Very often the owner has had a recent search made and is willing to pass this on to the purchaser, thus saving expense and delay in tracing back the records over a long period of years. Such study will show whether there are encumbrances or liens of any kind on the property, and these, of course, must be cleared up before any transaction is entered into.

The potential buyer should also have a survey made by a competent engineer to definitely fix the boundaries of the property. Stakes can then be placed, indicating the corners and any irregularities in the outline of the area under consideration, showing the new owner exactly where his property extends. In many sections of the country the buyer is in a position to demand of the owner that such a survey be made at the owner’s expense. This survey is particularly important where an area of considerable size has been cut up into parcels for sale to individuals.

The steps that have been outlined to protect the investment are only those which a prudent purchaser will insist upon before transfer of ownership takes place. Frequently a buyer becomes so enamored with a property that he hopes nothing will interfere with his acquisition of it, and he is apt to mentally minimize the possibilities of a cloud on the title or the exactness of the property lines. So many people have suffered serious losses from failure to look thoroughly before leaping that emphasis is given to these points as a means of securing ample protection for the buyer.

An Income from the Investment.—It is presumed that in most cases the owner of even a small tract expects to secure some financial returns from the land as a means of adding to his income. The plan that is proposed as a means of securing an income from the land should not be too complicated and should be of a type that can be carried on when the owner is necessarily engaged in other work. This, of course, may run the gamut from a small home garden to supply the vegetable needs of the household to the operation of a larger tract on a commercial basis. Furthermore, as we get into the commercial type of production, that may be planned as a means of materially supplementing an income or eventually supplying the entire family income.

Especial attention has been given in recent years to the use of poultry as a means of supplying an income to the family which is willing to use its own resources for taking care of the flock. Another means of securing an income is the growing of vegetables and the sale of these vegetables at a stand erected near the house for the convenience of the traveling public. Many who engage in vegetable growing or egg production on a relatively small scale will find an outlet for their products through associates in some other line of work, who will be glad to buy from their country friends on the basis of quality and freshness that may not be obtainable through their community stores.

It should be pointed out that where the area under cultivation is small, the