AGRICULTURAL FINANCE 



17 



percent of the mortgage debt. "Others" served 6 percent of the borrowers and 

 held 7 percent of the mortgage debt. The service to borrowers by sources totals 

 naore than 100 percent since some borrowers used more than one source. 



The primary purpose or reason for a mortgage is to make possible the purchase 

 of a farm; 116 or two-thirds of the mortgages were for this purpose (Table 20). 

 It is often cheaper to construct or repair buildings on long'-term mortgage credit 

 than on short-term; 5 percent of the mortgages were of this type. Twent>-seven 

 percent of the mortgages were for refinancing of debt. Of these, 6 percent were 

 clearly for the consolidation of small current indebtedness under a mortgage; 

 the other 21 percent originated primarily in the refinancing of purchase mort- 

 gages, but undoubtedly many of these represented the consolidation of current 

 indebtedness with the original mortgage debt, under the new mortgage. Sixty- 

 six percent of the refinance mortgages were over $3,000, while only 38 percent of 

 the mortgages for the purchase of real estate were over $3,000. 



Table 20. — Frequency Distribution of Farms Showing Reason for Present 

 Mortgage by Size of Total Mortgage, 177 Massachusetts Farms, 1941. 



Table 21. — Frequency Distribution of Farms by Sources and Reason for 

 Mortgage Outstanding, 177 Massachusetts Farms, 1941. 



Reason for Mortgage 



Source of 

 Mortgage 



Banks 



Individuals 



Federal Land Bank 



Cooperative Banks 



Federal Land Bank and Land 



Bank Commissioner 



Others 



Total 



Banks 



Individuals 



Federal Land Bank 



Cooperative Banks 



Federal Land Bank and Land 



Bank Commissioner 



Others 



Total 66 



