[218] Of the 896 applicants investigated 37 failed to supply information relative to houses owned after the fire. Of the 93 applicants who owned houses before the fire, five failed to supply information relative to the value of the houses.
After the fire, nearly 75 per cent of the houses ranged in value from $500 to $2,000. Some who built houses worth less than $500 did so in order to have a temporary cottage while waiting to put up a permanent home on the same lot.
The cost of the houses erected by the housing committee through their own contractors was from a minimum of $333 to a maximum of $875. It will be recalled that the published notice of the housing committee was to the effect that its aid to applicants who built for themselves would be confined to those building houses worth not more than $750. As the committee found a large number needing aid, who were anxious to build houses of greater value, it doubtless acted wisely in extending its limit. Four hundred and thirty-seven of the applicants, or over one-half of those the value of whose houses was known, built at a cost greater than $750.[219]
[219] Compare with [p. 253]. It will be noted that the regulation fixing the maximum value of the houses to be constructed at $750, applied only in cases where applicants made their own contracts. Of the 437 houses exceeding $750 in value, a large number were doubtless built under different arrangements so that the $750 limit did not apply. See cases of expensive building, [Part IV], [p. 273] ff.
TABLE 92.—MONTHLY RENTALS PAID BEFORE THE FIRE BY FAMILIES RECEIVING AID UNDER THE GRANT AND LOAN PLAN[220]
| Monthly rental | Families paying each specified monthly rental |
|---|---|
| Less than $10 | 98 |
| $10 and less than $20 | 402 |
| $20 and less than $30 | 83 |
| $30 and less than $40 | 21 |
| $40 and less than $50 | 5 |
| $50 and less than $60 | 6 |
| $60 and less than $70 | .. |
| $70 and less than $80 | 1 |
| $80 and over | 1 |
| Total | 617 |
[220] Of the 896 applicants investigated, 93 owned houses before the fire and therefore paid no rent, and 186 failed to supply information relative to rent paid.
If those who paid less than $10 a month rent were families and not single persons, the quarters, it is safe to say, were inadequate. Those who paid the larger rents specified did so in order to sublet. During the period intervening between the destruction of their homes and the building of other houses by the aid of grants and loans, shelter had been sought in various places and under many different conditions. Ninety-six families had been living in one of the official camps. Three hundred and six occupied their houses before the grant was received, moving into unfinished houses in order to avoid payment of rent or to get away from an undesirable environment. Many of the families living in unfinished houses were given a grant to complete plumbing or some other needed improvement.
7. STATUS OF LOANS IN 1909 AND 1911 AND ADDITIONAL AID
As has already been seen 384 loans were made to persons for whom houses were constructed by the housing committee.[221] The amount of these loans was $115,558.33. These figures are based on a final statement of loans, made by the auditor of the San Francisco Relief and Red Cross Funds on April 29, 1911, when all the accounts had been closed.[222]