I’ve wondered for a long time why I don’t have an actual title to my property. It came up recently as a “what to do with investment” convo. People say to invest in property (or silver or crypto or...). It got me thinking again and wondering if real estate really is a good investment.
A deed is a record of the transfer of title (ownership) of property. This is the thing that gets recorded with the county where you live (in the US). I guess we’re supposed to get a copy of this but I can’t find one. Presumably you can get one from the county. Supposedly this proves that you have title to the property, except that you don’t. The title is not a real thing. It’s a list of “entitlements” that you get: can live there, can throw other people out etc., but is subject to taxes eminent domain, homeowner assn. rules and so forth. Title insurance is what you get from the title company who did a “title search” to see if there are encumbrances or liens. So you have a “clear title.” Lots of mumbo jumbo for a thing that doesn’t actually exist (the title).
There is something called an allodial title, which is an actual title of ownership. In England, only the Queen can hold allodial title (Crown Property). Other “titles” are called “fee simple” (or non-existant?). It seems to me that the state actually owns the land and we “rent” it (taxes). If you have an allodial title, you own it unencumbered and it cannot be taxed!!!! There’s fuckery here. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allodial_title
https://stillnessinthestorm.com/2014/05/do-you-own-your-own-property-allodia/
You can’t get an allodial title in my state but you can in a few others. Does anyone know anything about this?
Yeah titles are just more bullshit, apparently. There's a thing called a "land patent" (heard about it on BardsFM/Scott Kesterson). I need to look more into it.
I looked up land patents. Seems it was the document people got from the federal government when they homesteaded (lets not ask how the feds came into ownership, shall we?). There are many sites who want to sell you forms and shit to obtain a land patent for your property. From one of these, I grabbed this quote:
I saw the term “color of title” in my earlier research, underscoring my original point: the deed does not give you ownership, only tax liability!
Then there were a bunch of other sites who claimed that land patents do not excuse you from taxes, codes and such and this is all a libertarian myth. Handy that.
Then this article on Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterjreilly/2013/04/22/do-land-patents-trump-property-taxes/
Guy showed legal decisions in several states where person with a land patent still has to pay taxes. But then someone wrote to this author saying that only proves the courts are corrupt because the land patent is proof that you own the land outright, not subject to any liens, including taxes. Something about the constitution etc etc.
I’m less interested in property taxes than I am in actual ownership. It looks like a farce and a scam. We are wage slaves in exchange for a place we can BE without being thrown out or run off, only to find that we don’t, in actual fact, own it!
The bigger picture is that it’s ridiculous to think that we can actually own a piece of the Earth (ask any Native American) and we can be thrown out any time (ask any refugee). I know this. But you play the hand you are dealt. I just found out that the deck is marked and the game is rigged. Maybe real estate is NOT a good investment.
ugh....yeah and you know they will keep jacking up "property values" so they can jack up the taxes.....
I hope you'll let us know what you find out.
I will - the only thing I really know so far is that it only makes sense if it's for your "forever home" because as soon as you go to sell, it reverts back to the system as soon as it's on the market.