The Goat Pen

Owlman wrote:

eCat wrote:if it were up to me, I'd probably compromise on a lean but no forfeit rule.

I have no problem with someone losing a house because they didn't pay a mortgage, but I have a serious problem with someone losing their home because they couldn't pay taxes that were either assessed or voted on and applied to them.

I would just require that a home/land cannot be sold (but it can be inherited) until all leans are addressed but as long as it is your primary residence or farm, you cannot lose it to taxes.

My FIL (age 83) family home still has his father's name on the deed. His father died in 1934. Your presumption is that homes go up for sale. For many homes, there aren't sales. How long you going to keep a lean? Don't pay your property taxes, that's some kids school supplies. That's the potholes in the street. That the man who is picking up your trash. Hell, why pay the taxes, if it's going to be a meaningless lien. Just keep it until I decide to sale the sucker, if I ever do, then just pay it from the sale (some 30 years later). Now multiply that by everybody in the city.

The number one reason people don't pay their property taxes is their children don't pay them when the parents die.

eCat wrote:its like Sardis said, we have people who live on fixed incomes here that have seen their property taxes go up $1400 a year since 1993. Some were also mandated to convert from septic systems to the city system at a cost of $22K per house which was added on as a low interest payment to their property taxes AND their water bill. Now throw in that their property has gone up probably 50% in value since its purchase in the late 70's or early 80's and its possible that their post mortgage tax burden is just as high as their original mortgage was.

no one is saying that you don't need police, firemen, - all that but its bullshit that you can pay off your house by the time you are 40 and 20 years after that you're paying as much in taxes, etc tied to your property as your mortgage was - at a time in your life when you can least afford it as you should be dumping money into retirement. That's an extreme example but I"m sure its not far off for some folks , especially in rural areas that have exploded in growth while state funding has dried up...and its tied to your property for no other reason than they know you'd pass up everything else including a few meals before you gave up your residence - something that you worked a good % of your life to own.

makes me angry just typing it

I'd also consider everyone past whatever the retirement age is having zero tax burden other than sales tax.

sardis wrote: That's how they got the African Americans off of Hilton Head island. Taxes got so high many had to liquidate. Now, all the real estate is owned by racist Ohioans...

sardis wrote:How can you have a dead person still on the deed? You can't do that here.