Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: [v. 98, no. 2538: Articles]: November 4, 1916

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REAL ESTATE AND NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 4, 1916 REAL ESTATE BOARD STATES POSITION ON TORRENS REGISTRATION LAW Xl LAURENCE McGUIRE. 'HE Real Estate Board of New York, •*• through its president, Laurence Mc¬ Guire, and Professor Alfred G. Reeves, chairman of its Torrens Law Commit¬ tee, has replied to statements made by Register John J. Hopper in the Record and Guide of October 28, on amendments to the Torrens Law. Replying to that portion of the state¬ ment which applies especially to the Real Estate Board and its committee, Mr. McGuire said: "The Real Estate Board can have no objection to the Re.G;ister of New York City or Walter Fairchild, who appears to be his legal adviser, confinin.ar them¬ selves to a discussion of the merits of the four Torrens bills presented to the 1916 Le.a:islature and the Torrens Act as amended by tliat body. It is well understood that the act as now on the statute books is a comnromise measure, endorsed by the Le.ajislative Committee which had before it these four measures and which finally approved the 1916 Act after conference by the sponsors of the other four bills. "The Register, however, does not con¬ fine himself to such a discussion. He seems to prefer to lose no opportunity to inipua:n the good faith of the Real Estate Board and to make it apnearthat its committee was a packed comniittee, that its findings were nrejudiced in fa¬ vor of the title companies and that the position taken by the committee was not leP'ally sound. "The Register persists in emphasizing the fact that the committee had upon it 'solicitors and officers of the four lead- in? title companies in New York City.' He fails to inention that the committee consisted of twelve, all members of the Real Estate Board, and including, be¬ sides the title company solicitors, four real estate brokers arid four attorneys in general practice. The Register also knows that one of the committee mem¬ bers connected with a title company has been opposed to the views of the com¬ mittee almost from its formation and, it mav interest him to know, has since resigned: and that another member long since severed his connection with the title company and is in private practice. The Register will thus find it difficult to convince intelligent persons on the point Answers Certain Statements Macde by Register Hopper he is so anxious to make—for the simple reason that if such a thing could be con¬ ceived as that the Real Estate Board were trying to play into the hands of the title companies, it is extremely un¬ likely that what is practically the most influential title company in New York City would be found passively, if not actively, opposing its efiforts to make the Torrens System a workable instrument "It might be mentioned incidentally that Mr. Fairchild, styled Special Depu- tv Register and Official Examiner of Titles for New York County, was, before the Register selected him as his adviser on legal matters, an employee of a title company. "The Register seems to wish to estab¬ lish the position that the Real Estate Board is furthering a form of the Tor¬ rens Act which is not in the interests of property owners. He did not himself make the arguments in favor of his own measure. These were made by Mr. Fairchild. "The spectacle of the Register posing as the friend of property owners has in it an element of humor. He is an avowed and active single taxer and an honored member of an organization which styles itself the Societv to Lower Rents and Reduce Taxes on Homes. It proposes to do these things through the medium of a diluted form of single tax. ".Some will recall that at a hearing of one of these single tax measures the de¬ fender of the measure was asked by a member of the Leeislative Committee to state whom he represented. He claimed to represent labor. He subseaiientlv did produce a labor union card. But it was an expired card. It developed that he was an employee in the Register's office. I understand his expenses at the hear- in"' were paid bv the Register. The tax- pavers, of course, were navine him to attend to his official business in New York. "The Board has entire confidence in its Torrens Title Committee and it leaves it to the verv able iudsment of the chair¬ man of that committee. Professor Al¬ fred G. Rfeves. to show how the Regis¬ ter, even if he is sincere in this matter, is entirelv inaccurate in his claims fnr the so-called reforms which he complains he has been unable to secure for the Tor¬ rens svsteiTi of title rep'i'^tration." Professor Reeves, taking up the legal phases of the matter, said: "When the Torrens Law was before the Legislature of last winter. Register Hopper and those who more or less fully harmonized with him. presented in sub¬ stance five proposed changes in the Tor¬ rens Law: "(1) Making the ree-istr^tton of the title permanent, i. e.. forbiddine a ree'is- tered title to be taken out from the sys¬ tem. "(2) Requiring all who registered to pav into an assurance fund, "(3) Simplification of the procedure for initial resristration, "(41 Making examination of title un¬ der the svstem purelv official, and "(5) Putting the obligation of the State or county back of the assurance fund—a public guarantee of resristered titles. "The Real Estate Board, through its committee of conservative real pronertv experts, who have studied the workings of the svstem in this State for eicht vears and profited by experience, could not see any material advantage in making these PROF. ALFRED G. REBTVBS. changes. But when the compromise or 'get together' arrano-ement was suggest¬ ed by the legislators themselves, a con¬ ference was held, which resulted in a general agreement for the adoption of the first two of Mr. Hopper's proposed changes, and not the other three. "Brou.ght into that conference, taking part in it, presenting his arguments, and given his full opportunity to convince the legislative mind, Mr. Hopper was as¬ sumed to co-operate in bringing about the compromise, and it was expected that from his great office in New York Coun¬ tv would thereupon proceed all the aid possible to the law, as perfected by the other careful amendments made thereto. Those other amendments, proceeding along the lines of experience and care¬ ful investigation, put the statute into a very compact, workable form with the most careful safeguards for the inter¬ ests of all who should deal with it, or , whose titles should be touched by it, and made it what land owners want in this State. "In reachinar this result, careful con- vevancers and title companies in this city had expressed their readiness to be¬ come official examiners and aid in the propagation of this beneficial system of dealing with titles. When the Legisla¬ ture had done its work, thev proceeded to carrv out this understanding. 0"'f''^ a number of individual lawvers have since become official examiners, and in this citv the Hotne Title Company. New York Title Insurance Companv and the Lawvers' Title and Trust Company have Qualified as such examiners, and others are contemplating a similar step. In other words, these individuals and com¬ panies have decided that here is some¬ thing that the people of New York should want, and they are eoing to do this duty by ofTering it to those people: "Now comes Mr. Hopper and refuses to play. He was a partv to the com¬ promise; he knows that the law is good and sound: he is in an especially advan¬ tageous position to propaeate it, and he and those in his office discourage ev- ervbody who comes to them bv the story of the excessive cost and so-called un- necessarv labor in brinp-ing a_ title under (he svstem. Their position is unsports¬ manlike, to say the least, if not unfair and unprofitable. For what Mr. Hopper