handsome, costly, single-family residences that cumber the ground because no longer suited to the site. Let the assessor ask himself for what this property will sell; for what purpose will it be sold; if sold for the price he deems it to be worth, will the building be retained or will it be torn down.

In the discussion of determination of value a principle was laid down which it may be worth while to restate. When a building adds anything to the value of the land and is rented, the fair rental capitalized will give the total value of the property; if the value of the land is known, deduct the value of the land and the balance will be the value of the building. It may be assumed that new buildings of the ordinary types. are worth the cost of reproduction. It will be found usually that the number of types of building is not large. The assistance of builders and architects will be valuable in determining the cost of reproduction of these buildings. It is well to classify them carefully, and have photographs made of various types of buildings of which the exact cost is known. They will be valuable for reference. Architects usually compute the value or the cost of buildings by using the cubic foot as the unit. This practice should be followed in the case of exceptional buildings, but for ordinary types assessors will find it more convenient to use the square foot of floor surface as the unit. It is not always practicable to ascertain the height of buildings, while the area covered by the building must be ascertained and it is easy to count the number of floors and determine the square feet of floor surface. Generally, it will be found most convenient to disregard both interior and outer courts and take the gross area over all. Having ascertained the cost of several buildings of such a type, the cost can be reduced to the cost per square foot of floor surface. It is then a simple process to find the reproduction value of other buildings of like kind.

The square foot value of a building is termed the "factor of value." It is desirable to have a column in the field book showing the factor of value of each building. This makes it easy to compare the assessed value of one building with that of another of different size. Occasionally, a building is encountered which has higher ceilings than another. In this

case, an appropriate allowance must be made by increasing the factor, provided the increased height of ceiling does, in fact, give greater earning power to the building having the higher ceilings. If it has no greater earning power by reason of its extra cost, it is not worth any more than the building that cost less.

To illustrate the method of using the factor, we may consider a building planned for offices, ten stories high, covering a site 100 by 100 feet; each floor would have 10,000 square feet; ten stories would give 100,000 square feet. The cost of such a building might be $10 per square foot at present prices; that would give a reproduction value of $1,000,000. A wooden cottage of the usual two-story and attic variety would be regarded as two and one-half stories. If it were 25 by 30 feet in area on the ground, it would have 750 square feet per floor; two and one-half stories would be 1,875 feet and such a building of simple style at this time might be erected for $4 a foot or a little less. At $4, the cost of the building would be $7,500.

There are many cities now using this system of factors of value. Among them are New York, Newark, Buffalo and Cambridge. Inquiry of these cities would probably bring some of the factors used in those cities for different types of buildings. This problem, however, is essentially a local problem and the particular factors which are appropriate in any city should be worked out for that city with the help of builders, architects, and engineers.

The same principles which have been applied to ordinary buildings apply to improvements of various unusual kinds. Unit costs must be determined and factors of value used. Where local assessors are required to assess the property of public service corporations, the courts ordinarily permit an assessment equal to cost of reproduction less depreciation. The question of selling value or market value must of necessity be eliminated if we must value a gas tank which has no value apart from the system of which it forms a necessary part. The same is true of an electric light power station or the rails and wires of a trolley line.

In nearly every city there are some buildings that are useful

and in use but which because of very special character have little or no market value. In such cases the courts of New York have upheld an assessment based on cost of reproduction less depreciation.

Relation of the Public to Assessors.1-Real estate owners and their agents have everything to gain by assuming that the assessor is honest and intelligent and has made the assessment on some theory of equality with neighboring property. If the assessment is too high as compared with its "full value,” or too high as compared with neighboring property it is best to find out the facts which controlled the assessor's judgment, by a friendly, sympathetic inquiry. The assessor may be right, and if so, the owner should admit it gracefully and frankly. The owner should be honest and tell fully all he knows against him as well as in his favor. He will thus lay a foundation of trust and confidence.

The owner may find by inquiry that the assessor relied on information which is not true. If so he should furnish evidence of the truth and do it with consideration. Assessors are human and do not like to be treated as inferior in intelligence. In the long run owners and agents will get from assessors about what their own conduct merits.

1 It is suggested that those who are interested in further details of the Assessor's Office, obtain the pamphlet, entitled, "The Assessment of Real Estate," by Mr. Purdy and published by The National Municipal League, 261 Broadway New York.

CHAPTER XXXVIII

DEPARTMENT REGULATIONS AFFECTING

REAL ESTATE

By BLAKE SNYDER

Today there is an ever-increasing supervision and restriction upon the owner of property. This is because a community should and usually does see that its development is in accordance with a uniform plan. In the large cities these regulations are embodied in tenement-house laws, labor laws, building codes, fire regulations, zoning ordinances, etc. The regulations vary in different cities and the administration of them is placed in different departments, depending upon the community.

The up-to-date community regulates the layout of streets (including the grade levels) so that when new ones are cut through, and new areas added to the city, the new streets will connect properly with the old ones and easy ingress and egress be maintained. Along with laying out streets there is the supervision of all drainage, installation of sewers, water pipes, gas mains, curbing, grading, and sidewalks; the width of streets, street intersections and building lines are included in this supervisory work.

When a new street is to be laid out, or changes made in an existing street, or an entire new section of the city laid out, plans, which have been carefully prepared by an authorized civil engineer, are submitted to the bureau or department having charge of such matters. These plans should be carefully checked. It is often necessary to get a special ordinance passed in order to provide for the opening or subdivision of new districts. There are many variations to this rule, as when the city itself lays out new streets and plats new districts. The other group of activities which are supervised relates

to the erection of new buildings. In many communities all building regulations have been grouped under a building code adopted by the city government. Architects prepare plans of buildings in careful accordance with these codes, with which they should be familiar. When the plans of a building are complete they are submitted to the building department, whose experts go over them in minutest detail, and, if they do not, in their opinion, comply with the requirements of the code, the deficiencies are noted and the architect notified. Before the work may be started the plans must receive the O. K. of the department, which then issues a permit allowing the construction to proceed. Building codes are complicated; therefore, there are usually many conferences between the architects and the building department on a large building before the plans are approved and the building permit issued. As the building progresses, the inspectors from the department visit the work. Not until the building is finished and the inspectors report favorably does the department issue a certificate allowing it to be occupied. In our large cities every detail of the construction is included in the inspection.

Approved plans for a building are kept as a permanent record with the building department, and such plans form an invaluable source of information in alteration work or to prospective purchasers of the property. The plans are kept as public property and may be seen by anyone at the building department on request.

The question of the use to which buildings are put after they are erected is important and the approval of the department and the issuing of certificate of occupancy holds good only for the use for which the building was erected. Thus there is a continuous inspection of various properties with regard to their uses. These inspections are made by departments which are charged with enforcement of police protection, fire protection, public health, public safety, and any other departments which may have jurisdiction over housing, or the conditions under which people work. When these inspections show a violation of the regulations, called "ordinances," notice is served on the owners and the tenants which stands as a public record in the nature of a lien against the