FORM NO. 85—OLOGRAPHIC WILL UNDER CALIFORNIA LAW. LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF DOUGLASS JERROLD. I, Douglass Jerrold, do make, publish and declare this to be my last will and testament. I give, devise and bequeath to my beloved wife, Mary Jane Jerrold, all of my property, real, personal and mixed, of which I shall be pos sessed, and to which I shall be entitled, at the time of my death. I hereby appoint my beloved wife, Mary Jane Jerrold, the sole executrix of this my last will and testament, and do request that as such executrix she be exempt from giving bond. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have written, dated and signed this will entirely in my own handwriting, this first day of December, A. D. 1905. DOUGLASS JERROLD. (Seal) I, FORM NO. 86-WRITTEN AND WITNESSED WILL. LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF.. . . . . . . . . .of........., in the County of.........and State of being of sound mind and memory, do make, publish, and declare this to be my last will and testament, hereby revoking all former wills by me at any time made. My will is, that all my just debts and funeral expenses shall, by my executors hereinafter named, be paid out of my estate, as soon after my decease as shall by them be found convenient. I give, devise, and bequeath to my beloved wife,..............., all my household furniture, and also.........dollars in money, to be paid to her by my executors, hereinafter named, within.........months after my decease; to have and to hold the same to her and her executors, administrators, and assigns forever. I also give to her the use and income of my dwelling house, land, and its appurtenances, situated in..........................(describing the same), to have and to hold the same to her for and during the term of her natural life. ...... I give, devise, and bequeath to my son, the reversion or remainder of my dwelling house and its appurtenances, situate in...... aforesaid (describing it), and all profits, income, and advantage that may result therefrom, from and after the decease of my beloved wife, ....................; to have and to hold the same to him, the said.... .., his heirs and assigns, from and after the decease of my said wife, to his and their use and behoof forever. All the rest and residue of my estate, real, personal, and mixed, of which I shall die seized and possessed, or to which I shall be entitled at my decease, I give, devise, and bequeath, to my sons..... .....and....... to be equally divided between them, share and share alike. And, lastly, I do nominate and appoint my said sons... ....and will and testament, consisting of.. .......... have to this, my last .sheets of paper, subscribed my name and affixed my seal this.........day of........., in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and.. (Seal) Signed and sealed in our presence by the testator, and acknowledged by him to each of us, and he at the same time declared the foregoing instrument, so signed, to be his last will and testament, and thereupon we, at the request of the testator, and in his presence, and in the presence of each other, signed our names as witnesses thereto, together with our places of residence. CHAPTER X. SUBDIVISIONS. Sales of Subdivisions are Remunerative Transactions-Outlines of the Several Methods of Handling Tracts-Making, Filing, Accepting, Endorsing and Recording Map-Gain on Lots in New Subdivisions Generally Small. Sec. 134. Buying acreage property within a city, or contiguous to or adjacent to the city limits, and subdividing and selling the same as lots, is one of the most remunerative of real estate transactions. This is done in one of three or more ways, to wit: (a) by buying the acreage outright, and then subdividing and improving it, which requires the investment of considerable capital at the outset; (b) by paying a portion of the purchase price in cash, and having the property conveyed in trust to a trustee-preferably a title company—and applying a portion of the purchase price of each lot, as sold, to the extinguishment of the debt on the property as indicated in Form No. 88: or (c) by being appointed exclusive agent for the subdivision and sale of the property, as indicated in Form No. 87. Both of the above mentioned forms are largely self-explanatory. Subdivisions are also handled exclusively by an agent on a commission basis, the commission being large enough to enable other agents to participate therein. Sec. 135. Lots in subdivisions are sold in two ways, namely: (a) by a contract of sale, whereby the purchaser makes a part payment in cash, and agrees to pay the remainder at certain specified times, together with interest and taxes, he to receive a deed upon full compliance with the terms of the contract; or (b) by the purchaser paying a portion in cash, and receiving a deed to the premises, and thereupon giving to the seller a note or notes, secured by a mortgage on the lots, for the unpaid portion of the purchase price. Sec. 136. The person subdividing is required to have a map made of the premises, showing the lots and streets, with dimensions and distances, and such map must be filed with, and accepted and endorsed by, some designated city or county official or officials, such as the city engineer, or County Board of Supervisors. No map will be considered, accepted or endorsed, unless the lines of the streets and highways shown thereon are a continuation of the lines of streets and highways of adjacent subdivisions, and the connections of such lines must be plainly shown on the face of the map. The areas of lots as shown on the map must not include any portion used or offered for dedication to the public as streets or highways, and all distances and courses along the side lines, and across highways must be plainly written on the face of the map. Where these or similar rules have not been observed in times past, there are, in the streets and highways, jogs, set-offs and cul-de-sacs, annoying and bewildering alike to citizens and strangers. The map, after being accepted and endorsed, is filed for record in the office of the County Recorder. Sec. 137. The grades, curbs and sidewalks of streets within the limits of a city must be made in accordance with plans, profiles and cross-sections prepared by the city engineer. In Los Angeles, curbs are to be constructed of cement concrete. Curbs are to be six inches wide on top, twelve inches wide on the bottom and eighteen inches deep. Sidewalks are to be three and one-half inches thick. No more than one street can be closed at one time while street work is in progress. Sec. 138. From the standpoint of the investor, the buying of a lot in a comparatively close-in subdivision, where building restrictions are reasonable, for the purpose of erecting a residence thereon, is proper, provided the tract is being generally improved by similar residences, and the investor prefers to live amid semi-suburban surroundings. There are discomforts incident to residing in new tracts which do not attach to the older residence portions of a city. Sec. 139. If the investor buys in a new tract by way of speculation, and makes a small cash payment, with the expectation of selling at an advance before the next payment becomes due, he is apt to be disappointed, as there are usually too many such lots, and a number of other persons may be pursuing precisely the same plan, and consequently, there are likely to be more sellers than buyers. Surrounding "boom" towns, there is acreage which has been sold as town lots and has again reverted to acreage; and it not infrequently happens, within the limits of a city, that one may buy lots in a tract, a few years after the tract has been placed on the market, cheaper than when such lots were first offered. The possible immediate gain on lots in new subdivisions is generally small. FORM NO. 87-CONTRACT APPOINTING AGENTS TO SUBDIVIDE AND SELL PROPERTY. THIS AGREEMENT, made and entered into, in duplicate, this Tenth day of March, Nineteen Hundred and Five, by and between S. A. Belcher and Sarah Belcher, his wife, of the City of Los Angeles, County of Los Angeles, State of California, the parties of the first part, and James R. Black and George L. White, of the County and State aforesaid, the parties of the second part, WITNESSETH: That for and in consideration of the covenants and agreements hereinafter set forth, and the reservation of one inside lot on Thirty-ninth street in the lands hereinafter mentioned, the said parties of the first part have appointed and do hereby appoint the said James R. Black and George L. White the sole and exclusive agents of said parties of the first part to subdivide and sell in subdivisions, in accordance with their judgment, provided that in the exercise of their judgment they shall act for the best interests of all parties concerned, the following described property, to-wit: The East One-half (%) of the Southwest One-quarter (4) of Section One (1) in Township Two (2) South of Range Fourteen (14) West, San Bernardino Meridian, in the City of Los Angeles, State of California. It is agreed between the parties hereto that said land shall be sold for such price or prices as shall net the parties of the first part the sum of Eleven Thousand Dollars ($11,000), lawful money of the United States of America, without interest, except as hereinafter set forth and independent of the lot reserved to said parties of the first part as hereinabove mentioned. It is further agreed by and between the parties hereto that the sale of all subdivisions shall be made upon the following terms and conditions, to-wit: At least one-third cash in lawful money of the United States as aforesaid, One-third on or before one year from the date of sale, and the remaining one-third on or before two years from date of sale. It is further agreed between the parties hereto that all deeds conveying subdivisions of the above described property shall be in the form of a grant bargain and sale, or in form prescribed by the Civil Code of the State of California, and that each such sale shall be made subject to the following conditions, and the said deeds to be made pursuant to this contract shall contain the following clauses, namely: "Provided, however, that this conveyance is made and accepted upon each of the following conditions which shall apply to and be binding upon the grantee,.........heirs, devisees, executors, administrators and assigns, namely: That said premises shall be used for residence purposes only; that no residence shall be erected, placed or permitted on said premises that shall cost or be fairly worth less than one thousand dollars ($1,000); that said residence and all portions and projections thereof shall be located not less than.........feet from the front line and.........feet from the side lines of said premises and shall face the front line of said premises, namely, on....... that no barn, no store building, |