Cash Offers Show Demand For Homes in Whangarei

Northern Advocate, 13 March 1948, Page 2

Cash Offers Show Demand For Homes in Whangarei

At least 78 people in Whangarei have cash amounting from £1275 to £2300 each for the purchase of homes. This indication of the acuteness of the housing shortage in Whangarei—quite apart from the greater number who require homes but have not the finance for purchase—is given by the number of applications received by the Whangarei District Public Trustee (Mr D. O’Donogliue) for the purchase of three houses. To solve the difficulty of allocating the houses to the. most deserving cases, Mr O’Donoghue has set up a committee which will adjudicate.

METHOD OF DISPOSAL With three houses, all available for immediate possession, to be sold, the Public Trustee had to consider the method of disposal and the idea of calling for applications for purchase, instead of using the tender system, was evolved by the Whangarei staff. It was considered that the tender system was out-moded as fictitious prices could be offered under that method with the tenderers relying on the Land Sales Committee to reduce the prices to a proper basis. In adopting the application system every effort has been made to ensure that each applicant’s case will be fully investigated and considered. As the first step valuations were made and prices which could be expected to meet with the approval of the Land Sales Committee were fixed for ah three houses. WILLING PURCHASERS

force. Several are Great War veterans, while one is an American exmarine. Eight of the 78 stated they were single but were seriously contemplating matrimony. The remainder are married. A few have no children but others have families up to seven children. In two cases there are "seven children, in another six, in two five and in six four children. Fifteen of the applicants advised that additions to their families were expected within a short period. With all these details to be considered Mr O’Donoghue admitted that the committee had a difficult task in deciding the most deserving cases but he was certain that when the final selections had been made they would have been found. ’

Applications were then called from people with the finance available for purchasing the houses the prices of which v/ere £1275, £I6OO and £2300, the last property comprising two selfcontained flats.

The applications which required disclosure of certain personal particulars, mainly regarding family, present living accommodation and military service, totalled 78.

Fifty-four applicants desired the &house priced at £1275, 42 that priced at £I6OO and six the double-flat unit at £2300. Two applicants offered to purchase any of the three houses while a number applied for one or other of the two lower-priced properties. SALE PROBLEM This method of disposing of the properties imposed a great deal of extra work on the Whangarei staff but it had been accepted willingly because of the desire to treat all applicants with the utmost fairness, Mr O’Donoghue explained. He was sympathetic with the large number of people looking for homes but the person with a vacant dwelling for sale also had a real problem in endeavouring to dispose of it to the most necessitous and deserving cases. So that every aspect and detail should be taken into consideration when the applications v/ere dealt with, it had been decided that a special committee would best • serve the interests of all and the Mayor (Mr W. Jones), and the chairman of‘the Whangarei Rehabilitation Committee (Mr G. A. Bethell) had consented to act with him in this capacity. The committee is to meet next week to make its decisions. PRESENT CONDITIONS

Conditions under which many people are living were disclosed in the applications.* Twenty-four of the applicants are living in rooms, three in hotels and boarding houses, and nine are boarding with relatives. Apart from the high costs of living attendant on this means of securing accommodation, these people can be considered fortunate compared with some of the other applicants. One applicant claimed to be' living in a disused bus body, another occupied a tent while caravans and other temporary expedients provide housing for four others. One applicant is living in converted army huts. The remainder have either flats Glimpses, in most cases- too small for the families. SERVICE, FAMILIES Sixty-nine of the 78 applicants have military service ranging up to six years, either in the army, navy or air