12 BULLETIN 384^ U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



MORTGAGE COMPANIES. 



Figures are not at hand to show the amount of capital invested in 

 farm-mortgage loans by mortgage companies. These companies 

 figure prominently in the farm-mortgage business in all parts of the 

 country, however, and include a number of foreign companies which 

 have invested heavily in farm mortgages in the West South Central, 

 Rocky Mountain, and Pacific States. 



There are a number of domestic mortgage companies which have 

 confuied their attention to a conservative loan business and have 

 estabhshed a reputation for a relatively safe class of investment 

 loans. This has enabled them to build up a chentele of investors, 

 with connections of long standing. Other mortgage companies pre- 

 fer to handle mortgage loans commandmg relatively high rates and 

 commissions. Among the latter are those mortgage companies which 

 limit their business to second mortgages, and receive the extreme 

 figures for both commission and interest. 



Mortgage companies may be classified also with reference to the 

 extent of the territory in which they do business. Thus there are 

 those that cover a relatively large territory, including many States, 

 while other companies limit their business to a more restricted area, 

 often a single State or a part of a State. Most of the loans made 

 by either class are placed through local agents or correspondents, 

 although many of the smaller companies also make loans direct to 

 farmers. A mortgage company may buy the mortgage and reassign 

 it to another purchaser, or it may have the paper made out to 

 itself m the first instance, to be resold later. In either case, the 

 mortgage company collects a commission in addition to that received 

 by the local agent or correspondent. 



SCHOOL OR LAND-GRANT FUNDS. 



In addition to the funds supplied for farm-mortgage loans by 

 insurance companies, banks, and mortgage companies, approximately 

 $25,000,000 is being loaned from school or land-grant funds directly 

 to farmers in certain States, such as Indiana, Iowa, North Dakota, 

 South Dakota, Oklahoma, Idaho, Utah, and Oregon. The interest 

 charge on these loans is usually 5 or 6 per cent, though in Idaho the 

 rate is 7 per cent. These loans are handled directly from the State 

 departments in North and South Dakota, Oklahoma, Idaho, Utah, 

 and Oregon; in Indiana and Iowa, however, the loans are handled 

 thi'ough the counties, wliich are held responsible for all losses on 

 account of msufficient security or through defalcations by county 

 officers. 



