ring
the title proves impossible or there is too great expense.

Another detail that should be taken into account, especially with land
once used for farming, is the possibility of old, half forgotten
rights of way. In the legal argot, a right of way is a permission to
cross property that has road frontage to reach fields, pasturage, wood
lots, or the like which are otherwise without means of access. To be
binding, of course, such agreements must have been recorded. Where
they date back half a century and have been forgotten and unused for
many years, lawyers are sometimes careless in their title search and
overlook them. This is a serious omission since they can suddenly be
revived to the discomfort of a totally innocent buyer.

Some years ago a man bought a simple farmhouse as a summer home. One
spring he discovered that a neighbor had acquired a cow and, night and
morning, was driving it across his lawn and flower garden. At his
indignant protests, the neighbor sarcastically pointed out an old
gateway in the stone wall dividing their property and cited an
agreement almost a century old that provided for a right of way for
cattle across what was now lawn and flower garden. Of course reviving
this right was a case of pure spite and eventually there was a law
suit. The man with the cow came to terms, his own of course, and for a
cash consideration relinquished his cow driving rights. Meanwhile the
owner of the property had been put to some expense and plenty of
annoyance.

With the final decision to buy a piece of property financial details
come to the fore. An "all cash basis" is not uncommon these days and
often brings a sizable reduction in the asking price. Where a mortgage
is desired, fifty per cent of the purchase price must be cash for
house and land, or the entire amount on unimproved land. With the
latter, the mortgage lender will expect you to provide at least half
of the total cost of the land and the proposed house. Gone are the
days when country homes could be bought with first and second
mortgages and very little cash. This type of financing was tried and
found wanting during the late depression, since it led many people to
commit themselves to payments they could not continue if reverses were
experienced.

There are various kinds of first mortgages now being used to assist in
financing the purchase of a country home. One of the oldest is the
purchase money type. This is given the seller as part of th