CHAPTER XI. FORMS AND RECORDS FOR THE REAL ESTATE DEPARTMENT. THE HE Real Estate Department of a trust company undertakes the care, sale, purchase and rental of real estate. Services of this character are often included in the administering of trusts held in the estates division of the trust department-or the individual trust department, as it is sometimes called; and the principal forms needed for the purpose have been shown under the heading "Forms and Records for the Trust Department." In addition to this real estate business incidental to the administration of their trusts, trust companies often conduct business as regular real estate agents. If the amount of such business is not large, it is usually carried on by the estates division of the trust department. In some localities, however notably in St. Louis-trust companies are numbered among the leading real estate dealers and agents and maintain separate and well-equipped departments for the work. Real estate held by estates in the trust department is turned over to this department for management, the trust department becoming a customer of the real estate department as to such property. In such case the fees of this department are a charge against the earnings of the trust department, the charge against the trust estate being the same as if one department handled all the business. The relation is close also between this department and the loan department so far as concerns real estate mortgage loans, and some companies handle all such loans through this department. The forms needed for this purpose have been given in Figures 177-193. In the present chapter will be considered the forms needed for a real estate agency business as distinguished from real estate business connected with the administration of trusts. The department is of course equipped with maps and charts covering the territory in which it operates, files containing memoranda regarding values in different localities, indexes of various kinds described on another page, "For Sale" and "For Rent" signs, files for the keeping of keys, and other necessaries usually included in the equipment of a real estate office. The work is of two somewhat different kinds, the selling and the renting of real estate; and the department is sometimes conducted in two divisions. Use This Blank in Listing Property When property is listed for sale, the owner signs a contract appointing the company as his agent for the sale. Figure 252 shows a form of this contract, on the back of which, shown in Figure 253, is given the description of the property. Description UNIMPROVED BUSINESS PROPERTY Washington St. 16 Lot No. 38 Price $100000 40 x 150 ft, Sorth ride of street, 120 fect from are 12th St. An index is kept of all properties listed, and cards are found most convenient for such an index. The size of the cards is 6 by 4 inches. They are filed alphabetically by names of streets; or if out of the city, by names of towns, townships, etc. Each card contains particulars re garding the property listed on it, so that it is not necessary to look up other records to give an enquirer such information as he may wish before viewing the property. Figure 254 shows a card used for this index. Another form is shown in Figure 255. The latter is one of a set of several cards differing in color, the idea being to use a card of a special color for each kind of property listed. The card shown is for "unimproved business property:" others are for "improved business property," "dwellings," "flats and apartments," "suburban and acreage." Cards may also be distinguished from each other conveniently by having tabs at the tops, a certain tab being left on all cards used for listing a given kind of property. |