A Little piece of Paradise… College Hill, Ohio - SELFCRAFT

Sears, as well as Montgomery Ward’s ‘Wardway’ and Aladdin’s ‘Redi-Cut’ homes, had architectsthat offered a full range of popular styles. Sears had their own draftsmen but purchased designs fromoutside architects. The first time ‘Modern Homes’ were offered was in the 1908 Sears catalogue.In 1911, Sears financing was for 5 years at 6% interest. They were the only company to grantmortgages without inspecting the property or meeting the buyers, even offering small cash loans to startconstruction. Sears saw as their customer farmers that had some additional land, wanted a new house andhad bits of time available to them and their workers that could be used for construction. Factory workersalso wanted new, modest houses. At this time, the average factory worker earned $520 yearly. TheDepression ended Sears’ ability to continue to carry home mortgages. The ‘farmers friend’ had started torepossess. The house line continued to be available until 1937 amidst a sagging resale market and nodemand for new houses.The Jones/Wells house on Cedar Ave., not built from a Sears kit but from plans published in theCincinnati Enquirer222