The "Assured Home Owner­ship" Plan, which The Equitable Society has provided to over 280 thousand home owners, is a practi­cal and economical method of home financing, designed to enable you to acquire your home and retain it de­spite many of the common exigen­cies of life. This modernized Plan provides benefits and safeguards not otherwise available to you in a conventional mortgage plan.

Generally, home financing pro­vides protection mainly for the lenders of funds—the mortgagees. It does not take into consideration such common misfortunes as ill­ness, unemployment or business re­verses which, during the years of mortgage repayment, beset many a borrower. As a result, many unfor­tunate families have lost their homes during periods of emergency. Nor do such past financing prac­tices consider the fact that about one out of every eight family breadwinners does not live to complete his mortgage payments. In consequence, about one family out of eight in­herits a home in which the bread­winner is gone, a mortgage remains and savings, if any, have often been depleted by illness and final ex­penses. .

The Equitable Society, through long years of experience and careful study, recognized the gravity of this situation. It devised the "Assured Home Ownership" Plan to provide a sound and practical method of home fi­nancing which attempts to correct these shortcomings, not at prohibi­tive cost but economically, within the range of the average home owner.

The "Assured Home Owner­ship" Plan helps you own a home which you may pay for in low monthly installments like rent. At the same time, this Plan affords you some protection against many of the uncertainties and hazards of life, thus helping you and your family continue the ownership of that home.

How does the "Assured Home Ownership" Plan provide these benefits and safeguards? Simply, by

1. MORTGAGE CANCELLED if you should die before complet­ing payments, giving your family a home free of debt. In addition, an amount which can equal all of the money you have paid on the principal of your mortgage will be returned to your family; and
2. A CONSTANTLY INCREAS­ING FUND (the Cash Value of the insurance) against which you may borrow from the second year onward to meet the monthly installment in the event that tem­porary financial emergencies such as loss of job, sickness, acci­dent, etc. threaten the ownership of your home; or which can be
   used to pay off the mortgage earlier than would otherwise be brought about by normal amorti­zation.
3. VARIOUS INSURANCE OP­TIONS or the withdrawal of the Cash Value are available to you when the loan has been paid off by regular amortization.

A chart on page 121 shows how the "Assured Home Ownership" Plan works for you. It shows how the Cash Value of your insurance increases as your mortgage balance drops. And it indicates how you may pay off the mortgage more quickly if you desire. In addition, Questions and Answers (on pages 123-127) present the features and benefits of the "Assured Home Ownership" Plan.

Moreover, if you already own your home, you still may avail yourself of the benefits of this Plan by obtaining funds to improve and modernize your home, to send your children to college, to consolidate your obligations, to invest in your business, to buy home furnishings, to pay doctor and hospital bills, etc. Unlike short-term obligations which you assume to pay for home im­provements, this loan runs for a long period of years at low cost. Thus, modernizing your home fi­nancing through the "Assured Home Ownership" Plan permits you to modernize your home or ob­tain funds for other essential needs.

Whether you build, buy or mod­ernize, the "Assured Home Owner­ship" Plan offers essential protec­tion and help to you. The Equit­able Society, however, must be selective in granting applications under the "Assured Home Owner­ship" Plan. For this reason, consult a representative of The Equitable Society to find out if you qualify for the "Assured Home Owner­ship" Plan and exactly what its benefits and terms would be for you.

Questions and Answers
About
The Equitable Society "Assured Home Ownership"
Plan
1 What is The Equitable "Assured Home Ownership "Plan?
A better way of paying off a mortgage through low, monthly in­stallments that also takes into consideration the hazards facing the borrower, such as death, and temporary adversities that threaten home ownership.

2 What kind of homes are eligible for Equitable"Assured Home Ownership" loans?
Modern one-family, owner-occupied homes in selected communi­ties.

3 What is the minimum and maximum loan?
The Equitable Society will loan not less than $2,600 nor more than $25,000, with maximums for various localities.

4 What are the repayment periods for "Assured Home Ownership" loans?
They vary from a minimum of 10 1/2 years to a maximum (if 25 years.

5 Does an "Assured Home Ownership" loan prevent the owner from selling?
No. There are flexible arrangements which permit a ready sale if desired.

6 Does The Equitable Society charge any fee or bonus to make or service these loans?
No.

7  What is meant by closing expenses?
When a mortgage loan is placed there are miscellaneous expenses in connection with the appraisal, survey, title search or title policy, public recording, mortgage tax, construction inspections, etc., which are paid by the borrower. The Equitable Society is able to keep some of the closing costs low by virtue of its effi­cient nationwide organization.

8 How are payments made under the "Assured Home Ownership" Plan?
Payments are made in monthly installments like rent. The same amount is paid each month until the loan is repaid. This monthly payment provides for the insurance feature, interest on the loan and amortization sufficient to pay off the indebtedness in the scheduled time.

9 What can a borrower do if he meets with a financial emergency that threatens his ownership of his home?
After the second year he can borrow against the Cash Value of the insurance, one of several important protective features of the Plan, to help carry his mortgage payments for a temporary period in case of a financial emergency. The amount of the Cash Value increases each year after the second year.

10 What happens if the borrower should die during the loan period?*
The unpaid balance of the mortgage is immediately cancelled, providing a home free and clear for his family. In addition, an amount which can equal all payments made on the mortgage principal up to the time of death is returned to his family in cash.

11 Does the "Assured Home Ownership" Plan pay life insurance dividends to the borrower?
Yes. The Equitable Society operates on a mutual plan, paying dividends as earned, on the insurance each year beginning with the second year, so as to give the benefit of savings in cost. These divi­dends may be used in a number of different ways. For example, they may be taken in cash, applied toward reducing the loan prin­cipal in addition to the normal monthly reductions of principal, or they may be left with the Society to accumulate with interest.

12  Is it true that after a borrower has completed his pay­ ments under the "Assured Home Ownership" Plan, not only is his home free and clear, but there is a Cash Value in the Plan that he may withdraw?*
Yes. The Cash Value available is substantial. In lieu of withdraw­ing the Cash Value, the borrower may continue the insurance feature of the Plan, or arrange for a monthly annuity either immediately or at a later age for a larger amount, or take advantage of several other valuable options.

13  May a borrower pay off part or all the mortgage ahead of schedule?
Yes. He may make an advance payment up to 20% of the origi­nal amount of the loan in any year, beginning with the second year and unlimited prepayment at the end of the fifth year. Com­plete prepayment may be arranged in any year beginning with the second year, by payment of a small charge on the sum pre­paid over and above what is permitted without such charge.

14 Can the mortgage payment period be shortened without making any extra payments?
Yes, by approying the Cash Value when it is sufficient to pay off the remaining principal of the mortgage. This period may even be further shortened if dividends are applied to reduce the principal of the mortgage. The dividends may be applied to reduce the principal as the dividends are apportioned or they may be left to accumulate to such time as the amount of the accumulated divi­dends plus the Cash Value equals the remaining principal balance of the mortgage.

15 Why is the "Assured Home Ownership" Plan so economical?
Because the interest is charged on an amortized basis, with interest payments reducing monthly. Every month a little less of the bor­rower's total monthly payment is allocated to interest, making it possible to credit a little more to the reduction of principal.

16 Can construction loans be arranged through the "Assured Home Ownership" Plan?
In certain sections of the country, The Equitable Society is prepared to make construction payments to the builder as con­struction progresses.

17 Can a mortgage-financing commitment be arranged prior to the start of building a home?
Yes, The Equitable Society will appraise your proposed home from plans and specifications and, if satisfactory, give a letter of commitment agreeing to make a loan upon its completion, thus securing your temporary financing.

18 If I wish to build, buy or modernize with the aid of the "Assured Home Ownership" Plan, how do I go about it?
Get in touch with your local representative of The Equitable Society or write to the Residential Mortgage Department, The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, 393 Seventh Avenue, New York 1, N.Y.