R G Bell to Mr. Takayoshi Maede, 19 March 1945

1670.

Cat. No. 621.

March 19th, 1945.

Registration No. 06715,

We are in receipt of your letter of the 15th instant and note that you are not satisfied with the price at which the above property has been sold.

While it is appreciated that the sale of any property is a matter of personal concern to, and in some cases may be contrary to the wishes of, the owner, we believe we have taken every possible step to secure prices that adequately represent current values and we feel satisfied that this is the case with the above property.

The catalogue referred to in our letter of the 12th instant was issued a year ago but in spite of wide advertising and the efforts of real estate agents in the meantime no acceptable bid was received until recently. The sale price mentioned ($600.00) was, as advised, in line with the valuation of a qualified independent appraiser whose report on the property reads:

"This building at the west end is practically on the ground and the eastern face at least six feet off the ground. The foundations consists of posts placed on small rocks. There is a small verandah and entering the house off this verandah is a living room. The paper and general condition of this room is very poor. On the left of this room is a bedroom. The plaster is in absolutely rotten shape having cracks and showing where rain is coming through from the roof. Off the living room easterly and formerly being a part of the verandah eased in, is a small bedroom. There is no plaster in this room, just paper over boards and the ceiling paper is falling away and shows signs of bad leaks in the roof.

"At the westerly end of the house and adjoining the living room is a small kitchen. This kitchen is just plain boarded and papered. The paper is in poor shape. To the north end of the building is a small shack, built on and used as a pantry, storage and things like that. The kitchen stovepipe goes through the roof (no brickwork) and shows sign of leaking badly. In the living room there is only a pedestal chimney which at any time is liable to be condemned by the Fire Marshal. The outside of the building has never been painted and it can only be fixed up by covering the face with shingles or shakes.

"The utmost value that could be placed on this land and structure is $575.00."

While your letter will be kept on file for future reference if required, we trust that with this explanation you will appreciate that the price realised represents the full current value of your property.

R G Bell,