Treasurer Incorporated as chargee exercised his statutory power of sale in respect of twelve properties comprising 8,970 sq. ft. at prices totalling $853,352.
Sales by Mortgagees
59. For the past two years the Land Office has kept records of advertisements published of sales of land by mortgagees in exercise of their power of sale. The numbers of cases advertised were as follows:
Whole Lots/Sections
1965-66 1966-67
Undivided Shares
New
Urban
Urban
Territories
New Territories
76
77*
32
71
5
24
119
1
* includes the 12 sales by The Colonial Treasurer Incorporated mentioned in the previous
paragraph.
As will be seen, the only notable variation between the figures for the two years is the sharp rise of 48 in the number of sales of undivided shares, in other words of flats and other units in buildings. This is no doubt one consequence of the drop in the prices of flats since 1965.
Card Indexes of Owners and Mortgagees
60. Besides complete card indexes to all lots and sections of lots, the Land Office maintains an index, not open to the public, of all persons registered as the owner or mortgagee of land in the Colony. According to this, on 31st March 1967 there were 130,878 landowners (excluding mortgagees), an increase of 17,308 over the previous years's total. Many of these own several properties, many simply a small undivided share in a property coupled with the right to a flat. Table VI shows the growth of the number of landowners (excluding mortgagees) since 1959-60. The figures, however, cannot be taken as completely accurate since it is possible that the holdings of two people with identical names, both is romanized form and in Chinese characters, may be on the same card.
Safe Custody of Deeds, Wills, etc.
61. Under Section 22 of the Land Registration Ordinance deeds, wills, etc., may be deposited in the Land Office for safe custody. A fee of $15 is normally payable in respect of each document so deposited, but where two or more instruments relate to the same prop- erty the charge is $15 for the first instrument and $2 for each additional instrument. 35 deposits were made during the year.
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