Spencer Heath Archive

Item 3161

Typed transcription by Spencer MacCallum from conversation with Heath in Indiana on road trip to Sewanee

July 18, 1954

NEW THOUGHTS ON PROPRIETARY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION

Real Estate people prefer the valuation of pro­perty on a basis of income, which is of course more realistic, especially where the property is not yield­ing any income on which a capital valuation can be based.

When a great city organizes its basic realty and issues capital shares in proportion to the values of the properties organized, the appraisements will most likely be made on the basis of actual or present income. This will exclude properties that are lying idle until such time as they are occupied and bearing income and thus become eligible if their owners so desire. That they would so desire is almost certain because they would be the least and last preferred in receiving pub­lic services and advantages at the hand of the proprietary corporation. It might even be accepted as reasonable that some newly provided public services should be withheld until such time as the particular owner accepts the services of the corporation for dispersing and col­lecting the income along with the general income of the corporation. This would be a vast advantage to the for­mer independent owner in many ways, not the least that his income henceforth by way of dividends instead of rent direct would be derived out of the total rent of all the organized properties. His new ownership would be diversified and his income depend upon the value of the community as a whole and not subject to the vicissi­tudes of his own or any other separate property. Like any corporate shareholder his benefits will come from earnings of the entire property instead of from any par­ticular part, and his concern, not to say pride, will, like his interest, extend to the community as a whole.

During such time as his property is untenanted, and thereby ineligible, he will be free to make it so by finding a tenant directly or through an agent, and it would be highly appropriate for him to engage the general proprietary authority to act as his agent until such time as both parties desire his property to come into the pool.