Ending Property Taxes

[Forever_frost]

That's intriguing as hell. May have to look further into this...

I don't have the attention span to read through it. Let me know when you have a summary

[LANTIRN]

I don't have the attention span to read through it. Let me know when you have a summary

So far what I have gotten from it is that land patents were given out when the first owner claimed a property (homesteading, purchasing from the government, etc), and they have no debt tied to them. The basis for this was that land with no debt meant the government could not take it from you because you owned it outright, and the land patent (signed by the president or governor depending on the state or territory you were in) guaranteed your god given right to ownership. Supposedly they could not even take it away for failure to pay any taxes. The only land patents ever issued are supposed to be the first time the land is bought or granted to you, but it is transferable to all subsequent owners, though the presence of a mortgage seems to make this a bit tricky so far as I have read. According to these sites, the whole reason a deed is kept by a title company is because the owner of the land patent cannot have any debt against the land, I think. Deed, titles, mortgages, etc, are proof of ownership but not infallible, if I read this right, and can be taken from you in court (like if you don't pay taxes). Supposedly you can get the original land patent put in your name through the bureau of land management if you live in most states, though Texas seems to be a bit of an oddball since we were a Republic first and our version of the land patent seems to be kept in Austin and would have been signed by the President of Texas, though I am still trying to find better info for us Texans. That is the gist of it and I am sure I am missing a lot and I apologize if I got something wrong but that is a lot of information to go through and remember.


Edit: Here is the link to some info about Texas and the original 13 colonies.
http://teamlawproductions.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=25

[mikec]

I don't have the attention span to read through it. Let me know when you have a summary

I made it about halfway the first attempt.

[LANTIRN]

There is some debate about whether or not any government could tax land that has a land patent on it, which is actually what led me to find out about it. I have yet to read about any specific law regarding not taxing the land, but in one of those links there is a bunch of case law mentioned though I have not read that far yet. One thing everyone seems to agree on is that they cannot take the land if you don't pay the taxes if you have a land patent, so in effect you would own it outright no matter what. However, since Texas law allows for property taxes to be levied it seems they could still arrest you for failure to pay taxes (and owning land while being in jail seems to defeat the purpose of land ownership in my opinion). Still reading up on it; hopefully I will get some more done tomorrow.


On another note, the city of Stafford, Texas has had no property taxes since 1995.
http://www.cityofstafford.com/home/welcome.htm

[LANTIRN]

Instructions from the State of Texas on how to obtain your land patent. The key part here is it must be paid off. I am still doing more research into what protections this provides in Texas.
http://www.glo.texas.gov/what-we-do/...quirements.pdf

[SMEGMA STENCH]

County appraisals are a completely different game than the one a lender has done on a property, but one could be used against another to protest one way or another.

Ok if i am understanding , there may be a way to save a lot money here . Is there some way to have it appraised for way less or something .