Oakland Tribune from Oakland, California • Page 50

1 BO SUNDAY MORNING 1 OAKLAND TRIBUNE DECEMBER 14, 1913. PRE-MOUDM REALTY-TRADE IN BRISK CONDITIO View of City Hall Park from Fourteenth street and Broadway, showing new buildings around plaza. On the cast side of San I'ablo avenue are the First National Bank, Woodward, Kahn and First Trust, the latter under con-struction, and on the west side the Hceseman Hoffman building. The top of the new Dalziel office structure Is shown on Fifteenth street, opposite the city hall. Si.

I i A liill --tfyyM V-a ff-Ms 5 i JtJ 'rv' l-1 FUtWAMENTAL PRINCIPLES 80.10 INVOLVED -IN LID TRANSFER REAL ESTATE DEALING BROKER AND BUILDER FIND MONEY MARKET EASIER Slate Realty Federation Organ Tells of jOakland Prosperity DIGEST OF RECENT REALTY DECISIONS Important Cases, Involving Real Estate Transactions, Are Settled False Step Starts Stampede of Principals and Agent in Deal Block on Fifty-ninth Street Sold as Heme rivals the construction of the New City Hall In attracting the attention of Oak-, landers. Already the temporary sidewalks of the extension re rmmlwl with hMIHati Oakland's realty market less than three weeks before Christmas Is not as quiet as usual at this time of the year, and one broker has pointed to the heavy rains of two weeks ago as the cause. Many deals had been held up on account of drought and awaited only the assurance A deal amounting to over tlCWIO was closed by George W. Austin's office last week, when James Klrkland sold almost an entire block of land on Fifty-ninth street, east of "College avenue to the of a heavy rainfall and restoration of building firm of Jespersen and DtDn.v ly gives an option to purchase to the pnrty procured by such agent, and no sale Is iradc. Martin vs.

Wilson, 134 Pan. f.32. Klght to Commission. If, after a tract of land or realty is placed In an agent's hand for sale, a sale Is brought about by his exertions, he will be entitled to his commission; or if the agent introduces or discloses tho lu.me of 1 the to tho vendor for such purpose, and through such Introduction or disclosures negotiations for the sale of property are begun and then effected by the vendor, the agent Is entitled to his commission. But to entitle tho aent to commission there must be an employment, and his service must be tho Immediate and fffec-tlvg cause of the bargain.

And if the Avodi Unethical, Illegal Practices; Keep Con-tracts in Realty Deal, Advice f. "It would appear that the consummation of a deal lnTOlvlng the al8 of a piece of property, and where only three parties buyer, ncller and agent were concerned, would be a simple matter. It bnght to le and would be If all the parties to the transaction understood their rlfchts and obligations to each other. But It needs only one false step, however slight, and In a majority of Instances with no Intention of wrong-doing whatsoever by the agent or one of the other principals, to stampede the rest Into an attempt to protect themselves by a resort to practices and tactics wliich are not only unethical but i Mosul as well. All of which reflects adversely on the business of dealing In real shoppers, and the novelty of the new street in front of the City Hall appears ta appeal strongly to residents.

a The name of the old Hotel Touraine, which was located at the northeast cornej of Fourteenth and Clay streets, is to be preserved in the new hostelry to bt erected by M. Frledmann at the south, west corner of Clay and Fifteenth streets. The new Touraine is to he seven stories In height and will cost 1125,000. Excava tion for the structure Is well under way. Deep interest Is helng taken by renl estate brokers and other citizens of Oakland and Alameda county In the Initiative This is considered the choicest large piece of vacant property in this section, and many have been anxious to secure it, as there Is a great demand tor houses In this district.

Jesperson Dippo will Immediately begin the erection of a nnrnber of rine homes that will be In keeping with those which surround this block. George W. Austin represented the A digest of recent realty decisions follows: Agency Must Be Proved. The supreme court of Idaho says It thinks it must be conceded that the rule of law recognized by the courts, in. considering actions of brokers for commissions 1b that to entitle a.

real estate osent to a commission a contract of employment Is necessary, and, where employment- Is alleged, and where the employment Is denied, the relation of principal and agent must be affirmatively established hy a preponderance of the evidence, through such relation may be Implied from such facts and circumstances as satisfactory establish' its existence. This is as true in respect to an agency to find a purchaser as of an agency with power to sell. Un der this- rule It Is necessary to allege and prove that a contract of employment was and that under such employment the broker secured a purchaser who is ready, willing and able to buy the property at the established price, or that the broker secures a purchaser who buys the property. Moveover. an agent or broker employed to sell or find a purchaser for tho same Is not entitled to his commission therefor, where his principal mer confidence to be carried to completion.

The same agent stated that the week after the heaviest showers was productive of more business than he ihad done In the three weeks previous. Another broker presents this view of the situation: "Although the realty market usually quiets down as the holiday season approaches, this year seems to be an exception, and from all appearances December will see a larger volume of transfers made than any other month this nuyer in this transaction and T. W. M.iran was agent for James Klrkland. Austin has had a number of Inquiries of "Unless the agency Is seriously and Intelligently assumed, followed by a service honestly rendered, there can be no moral satisfaction taken In Uie commission secured.

The agent ennnot escape the self-consciousness of not having really earned the money, and this Is cer- tainly not In the best Interests of real estate business. On the other hand the public is to be cautioned to stand by contracts and not open the way for all kinds of bad dealing by becoming contract-breakers. real estate business Is based on contracts which are the stock in trade." late from Easterners, who are desirous of petition for the amendment of the Tor- services of, the acront, whatever they be, fall to accomplish a sale and several weeks' have elapsed after the proposed purchaser has decided not to buy, he is Induced by another party to reconsider the matter, and then make the purchase as the consequence of such secondary or supervising influence, the agent has no right to a commission. Supreme Court of Oklahoma In Yarborough vs, Richardson, 13iT PacTTL, securing Information about Oakland with "The only explanation for this unusual rens land act of 1S97, which has been filed a to locating and investing money in this and other counties of the State condition Is that everybody Is antlclpat here. One of the Inquiries was from a merchant In the Mddle West, who, among other things, wanted to know If it was a fact that California did not have -snow in the winter and that the thermometer never went below 40 degrees" otllhe very (By C.

FRED BURKS, Secretary Oak- land RraI CatfltA Aftlnelatlon.V. Ing the greatest activity the West has had since 1907 will take place next spring, when the advance guard of the 1915 visitors will begin to arrive. "Thousands of people throughout the East and Europe have already made reservations to come West at the opening of The date for filing petitions has been ex. tended to December 20. and in the meantime tshe local brokers are campaigning for signatures to the petitions, which may be found -at the offices of M.

T. Minney, in' the Really Syndicate Building and of McHenry Kaiser, in this city, at the) Chamber of Commerce, In Alameda, and at the residence of M. Scofield. 2721. Webster street, Berkeley.

The amended of bringing them face to face, It Is sufficient for agent to earn his commission If he produces without delay a written and valid contract to purchass, ao-cordlng to the terms and conditions of his authorization to sell, said purchaser being ready, willing and able to buy. Verbal authority to sell and verbal coldest days. George W. Austin also reports the. following sales: agents of their share of the responsibility, btjT nevertheless the public is at least equally guilty, and will have to shoulder half -the blame.

The agents should realize that the securing of a contract to sell property is not altogether an asset. The very assumption of the role mm OF ONE-WEEK the canal. Most of these are homeseekers who will brlnj a flood of new money Into A. L. Young sold J.

T. Hinch the south-v east corner of McGee and Buena streets, Berkeley. This is the second sale of this property, within a month. Claude Franklin sold two houses on Santa Rita avenue, near Harrington street, to George A. Faulkner.

ment as to the commission are valid, and just as good'ss If written. In so far as such agreements go, but for legal action the "Another fact that is stimulating buyers is that the money market has become easier and loans are not so hard to secure as they were a few months ago. "While the actual number of sales made of agency carries with It trretaln duties and responsibilities that partake very largely of the nature of a liability. all such contracts must be In writing owes his client a good and valuable serv. The law does not render oral contracts void.

It Is simply that such contracts Ice, Involving the expenditure of time, act as set forth In the petition is said to afford methods of simplifying reel estate titles. It provides that aproperty, ovrner may bring suit and create a starting point fopthe recorder to register land and issue a title thereto. The old law as it stands is declared to be defective and expensive. About 30,000 signatures have been obtained, but 3.1,000 are desired, so that if any are thrown out the will be ample. The petition bears about 1800 signatures of San Francisco residents, among them Superior Judges llo.

gan, Dunne. Stnrtevant, Graupner, Law. lor. Ciothers. Seawell, Troutt, Hunt, Mu- rasky and Corf.

Assessor John Glnty. Recorder Godchaux, Charles S. Wheeler anil Thomas F. Finn. labor and money.

This service is what have no standing In cdurt. Oral agree Weekly report of real estate transactions In the county of. Alameda, compiled by George W. Austin for the weekending December 6: v' Trnnsfers Total number J34 Daily average 69 Trust Deeds Justifies the payment of the commis sion. Unless th ageney iserlously and lntelli We winh to supplement our discussion of the "double commission," appearing In renl estate section of last Sunday's TRIBUNE, with a few sueg-es-tlons on the rights and obligations of real state agents and their clients as regards the single commission, Hardly a Week goes by during which tioth agents and clients do not appeal to the association to straighten out.

some tangle In which they have become Involved and from which, to them, there seems no amicable avenue of escape. They hope to avoid legal proceedings In the courts, however, by submitting their trouble to the Real Estate Association for arbitration. the difficulties of all the parties concerned, both agents ar.d clients alike, are found to arise from some misunderstanding of fOje- fundamental prln-rtples" ojiftflt'-whlch agency cdtttfTvcts. as arplled to the sale of "real esfa'te, "are i RIOHT8 AND OBLIGATIONS. It would sppesr that ttie consummation wf a deal Involving the sale of a piece of property, and where only three parties buyer, seller and agent were concerned, would be a simple matter.

It ougnT'to be and would be If all the parties to the transactfftn. -uadersJobA. their rights and obligations to each other. It needs only gently assumed, forfowed by a service last week was not quite up tol that of the previous week, the amount of money that changed hands was considerably more, as many of the sales ran up into five figures." On the Oakland page of California Real Estate, official organ of the California State Realty Federation, appears the fol-owlng comment concerning this city: "Every real estate man in Oakland is ments between agents covering division of commission are recognized by the courts. AOENTS.

MI8S10N. The agent Js entitled to his commission upon producing a purchaser as and It is of no concern to him hnnuilv rendered, there can be no moral W. A. Brasch bought the southeast corner of Clifton and Manila streets In the Claremont Villa Tract, and commenced the erection of a modren home. B.

A. Stewart sold to J. M. Shannon a house In Dutton Manor Tract. John Anderson exchanged 20 acres at Sebasto-pol to W.

B. Reynolds for property in Fourth Avenue Heights. Professor Walter A. McGee bought a lot on Glendale avenue In the Claremont Villa Tract! The Klrkham Nursery Company of Fresno bought 40 acres at Madera. Jespersen A Dippo bought 13 lots on Fifty-ninth street In the Claremont district from James Klrkland.

G. A. Faulkner bought a house and lot on A street, In Hayward, from satisfaction taken In th commission bust Number of Bank Number of Private Total Number Daily Average Amount of Hank Amount of Private Total amuont S3 68 101 17 R2.1 15.00 51 1181.932,51 nesss secured. The agent cannot escape the self-consciousness of not having really what happens1 between the principals as regards their negotiations oomarters not Negotiations are In progress which may result In the erection of. a 12 or 14-storv office building on a site 50 by 75 feet nt earned the money, and this is certainly confident that the city Is entering upon not in the best Interests of the real estate business.

On the other hand, the public period of unparalleled prosperity and corner of fteenth roe, Mortgages Number of Psnk Number of Private, Total Number advancement. In addition to tne local de Is to be cautioned to stand by contracts, and not open the way for all kinds of td .11 provided for In tho agency contract." If the title proves defeerjve the agent's commission Is due Just the same. If the principals fall out over adjustment of the taxes, rents, water bills, It lsnot up to the aaent to either mands, there is a wide inquiry an over John Andersen. Daily Average 15 TTie State for Oakland properties. Lead-'.

dealing by becoming contract break efft. Amount of Bank Amount of Private 1R0.2S8.8S A bargain once made should be lived HOSTESS DIES WHILE ig dealers are in Correspondence lth to. A contract once granted should be these himself, or. as is often done, almost GUESTS ARE WAITING tZ carried out. The real estate business.

Is Total Amsunt Reconveyances of Trust Deeds 1. Number of Bank 49 Number of Private 48 Total Number i sen nis soul In his endeavor to close up the sale. An agreement by the principals based on contracts, wblch are stock- In, the Newman banker. Witcher is dealing with a wculd-he lessee and plans to erect at cost of about $200io, the iljre to contain 150 offices. Th9 entire area owned by Witcher Is 101 feet on Broadway and 125 on Fifteenth street.

Unless there is a hitch, plans for the new building, which have been started, will bs rushed to completion. a The appearance of the Macdonouerli Theater hulMinir Is being materially changed hv ti application, of white paint. Th. nat-uul brick color had become srtrfc" the building was erected, a quarter" of a century' ago. a-nd painting will causa NEW YORK, Dec.

13. While the guests vhnm fm CI Rnrtlett q.1 a trad. Both the public and the brokers sHTd hold -as sacred the granting and i rfi enuT wrin inn urniir rwim oi ner Oakland people whq are traveling in Europe concerning purchases of eligible realty. The signs still are favorable for a record year In Oakland's realty market In 1913. andJthe building operations will surpass those of 1912." iceptate-e of contracts If the business of dealing in real estate is to be kept fifi 017'fM)inome- 4S Riverside drive, she died 'I.

1 4 2 7 9 3 0 denly In a living room. Mrs. Bartlett, who one false step, however slight, and In a majority of instances with no Intention of wrong-doing whatsoever, by the' agent ir one of the principals Interested, to stampede the rest into an attempt to pro- Dally Average Amount of Bank Amount of Private Total Amount Releases.of Mortgage Number of Number of Private Total Dally Average clean. Dealing In. residence lots continues to I was 70 years old.

was. a widow. Her hus- S9 hand was head of the Ilaverstraw Brick "OjCo. At the dinner were her son-in-law, 'Dr. Howsrd L.

McBain. professor of mu- SI 4S 00' n'cipal government In Columbia t'nivers-na Ity: Mrs. McBain, Albert L. Springs, an BANK -CLEARINGS IN tert themselves by a resort to practices h- a feature of -the realty business In it to resemble a new structure. TheCen- ar.d tactics which are not only unethical SIX CITIES DECREASE Amount of Ban Oakland Tbe fact that 1489 dwellings National Bank building was trans- a s.

r-. formed in the same manner shortly afte we erected hers between 1. he dtelfner or 19M- hut illegal as wlL 4.11 of which reflects Amount of Private Total Amount attorney, of 12S West Thirteenth street. Bank elearlnm as reported to the California to actually throw up the deal and call off the sale Is no grounds whatsoever for worry to the agent Such a course on the part of the principals Is clearly- within their rights, and In no possible way can Such a mutual determination by the seller and buyer act as a bar to the enforcement of the agent commlselon contract WHEN SERVICE IS RENDERED. The agenut has rendered his service, and what happens between the principals thereafter cannot be of any Immediate Importance to him.

Tfle misunderstanding of this cardinal principle on the part both agents and clients Is a fruitful source of trouble In the real estate business, and is probably 'respohsliss for something tike 30' per cent of all the wrong-doing charge! to-W stents. We Jiave no d.lr of relieving Ui. and Julian B. Beatty. of 65 West, Fifty--; 1912 and December 1, 1913, at a total cost Development Board by tha several clearing .14 home cities or tbe week ending December It, adversely on the business of dealing In SUGGESTS SOLUTION.

As one means of reducing these jnls- SHAVES AND BATHS i or Kline while Robert Adamson managed I ber of transfers that must have been hi- 1013, showing the amount of decrease and In creaie from the amount for the corresponding FINDS BERKELEY IMPROVED. BERKELEY, Dec. 13. T. Dods.

worth, who Is Interested In several valu. able properties In Berkeley, has returned from a seven monttis' visit to FRIfiHTFN TRflMP!" fusinn volved. in addition to lots' bought and miUn I LI. inHIViro Mrs. Partlett excuse, herself after- th.

nrderBtandinrs to a minimum here In I oy investors, umtui rmpiuv.t-nieni. CHICAGO, Pec. 13, "Dirty" Powers runner ana sai oow in a rnr ne crair i i There has been little dlmtnutb-n In sc. Mi the living room to. rest for a while.

An i. I .1 t.t- 1 1, I in tho various tracts during tne tall and' im materia! fcettermejits having week of 1012, are a folloiva: San FranelH-o, decrease, 5, 42.V!. ej. Angeles, decreasa, $.1, T4.tt!7. decrease, Saeraiuento.

Mnere. Fresno. tl.102.1Mt: decrease. San Jose. decrease.

m.Onn.. Pa.one. Si'' derrAse. fiakuatiaid, iiuxaate, tH.nH we offer the following observa-t -ns nr. the problem of real estate snd agency contracts.

An scent or broker Is defined by law to be a peron Whose business Is to ti.rg Uer and buyer together. lieu early winter months. iu Ulfr JIrg MiW.n sought her Side tod, when Judge Delnn announced rlotheT. to have her Join the guests, she that all tramps arrested hereafter tnust found her dead on the floor. A physician be bathed, stiaved, a-ud, have their hair who was called said "ireart --eiseuse was triiofliijil, i U.

Must ef deatli taken place during his absence. In par. ticular ha was Impressed with new build. Ings that have been erected In lmosi Work of paving the extension of slrcet througi City liall far i every ort of.th city..