i wonder if property taxes are the same as the council rates we have here ? i don't remember those things, its quite a few years since i/we had my/our own home.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Hi, Bree !
YOU do. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Taxes are a fact of life. The government doesn'r run for free.
Property taxes are relative and a small once-a-year price to pay.
Beats the hell! out of monthly mortgage or rental payments, IMO. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Roxanna,
I'm not familiar with "council rates".
Here "property taxes " are assessed (usually) by the county
we live in.
(Each state is divided into a varying number of counties -
arbitrarily, near as I can tell... NO idea WHY.)
They are computed by the County Assessor and homeowners
are charged a small percentage of the "real value" - the actual value
(if you were to sell) based on current "going" rates, improvements made,
yadda-yadda - each year.
The tax is due at the same time each year, and a notice of the
amount is sent well in advance.
In some areas, the amount is pretty-much stationary; in other areas
it can vary wildly as a property becomes more or less valuable.
Right now the city of Phoenix for example is renovating
("gentrifying" is the term they like - *yuck*) the downtown area and
new apartments, condos and townhouses are going up EVERYwhere.
Some are very nice BUT - the rent seems very high to me - especially
since that area is a great ! place to be - if you're looking to be mugged
or worse. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Ja'aj... I just find it hard to see it as "owning" when someone can take it from you at any time for taxes.
Owning, to me, always meant "free and clear". Mine to keep.

I see... looking for an argument, are ya? [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
The property is, then, "free and clear" - from incumberances by the Lender.
The money you deposit from your paycheck - or a gift of cash from someone -
is yours too - free and clear.
BOTH are liable to be taxed in one form or another by our goverment -
also in one form or another. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
That's the way the goverment provides services : schools, police forces,
yadda-yadda - or so I was told. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
It isn't new nor is it unique.
Our tax-base is much! lower than many places.
And, of course, no one is insisting that any of us buy property
(or have an income, for that matter.)
England's, for example, is in the exteme upper 90s [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] ... somewhere.
(I lost track a while back.)

Many places don't allow their "citizens" (captives? [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]) to own property at all.

For me, all in all, while it's not ideal ...
("Ideal" being:"they" GIVE ME the property of my choice) -and then go the hell away! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
- it beats what anyone else is offering, in so far as I know.

Ja'aj wrote:I see... looking for an argument, are ya? [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
The property is, then, "free and clear" - from incumberances by the Lender.
The money you deposit from your paycheck - or a gift of cash from someone -
is yours too - free and clear.
BOTH are liable to be taxed in one form or another by our goverment -
also in one form or another. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
That's the way the goverment provides services : schools, police forces,
yadda-yadda - or so I was told. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
It isn't new nor is it unique.
Our tax-base is much! lower than many places.
And, of course, no one is insisting that any of us buy property
(or have an income, for that matter.)
England's, for example, is in the exteme upper 90s [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] ... somewhere.
(I lost track a while back.)

Many places don't allow their "citizens" (captives? [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]) to own property at all.

For me, all in all, while it's not ideal ...
("Ideal" being:"they" GIVE ME the property of my choice) -and then go the hell away! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
- it beats what anyone else is offering, in so far as I know.

Ja'aj.. I get the tax thing on paycheck or cash gift and they are totally different. Neither of those is every year or a threat to your home. Property taxes never end and are always going to have to be paid... if you don't like the threat of your home being taken away.

As for nobody insisting we have an income.. if you don't have one... you don't have a home or much else... unless you like begging, borrowing and stealing.

And... I still can't say tax money goes where it should...

None of it is new or unique... that doesn't mean that's the way it should be. I wonder... does government get taxed for government buildings? What about the white house?


"
White House has lost nearly a quarter of its value, Zillow says

The
mansion, worth $331.5 million at the top of the housing boom, would now
sell for $253.1 million. Also, housing beats gold as investment over
long haul, and a new system for licensing mortgage brokers.


[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]|By Lew Sichelman
Reporting
from Washington — The White House is not just an American icon. It also
could be called a symbol of the American housing market, because, like
many of the country's houses, it's not worth what it was once.
Over
the last three years the president's home and home office has lost
nearly a quarter of its value. In the last month alone the value dropped
almost $4 million. Does any of that sound familiar?
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]


[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]




The 132-room mansion — 16 bedrooms and 35 bathrooms on 18 acres in the
heart of the nation's capital —was worth $331.5 million at the top of
the housing boom, according to Zillow, the online real estate
marketplace. But the latest "Zestimate" puts the price tag at a mere
$253.1 million. That's a 23.6% decline in value."


WOW! I am pretty sure MR. PRESIDENT isn't paying the taxes on that thing!! Yeah.. needed taxes.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I was always with the understanding that you may own the house,but as far as the ground it is built on still belongs to ole Uncle Sam and we just rent it from him,by taxation.. This is how they can take it by Eminent Domain Laws. Could be wrong, but i thought i was once before but wasn't!!

Sneaks,
That's it, alrighty! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] You can move the structure(s) to
anywhere you'd like (that is legal) - the land stays right
where it is. (Gee, JJ - ya think? [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.])
"Mineral rights" are indeed a seperate thing - usually requiring
MORE paperwork and definitely MORE $$. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Bree, [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
I'm not mad at the government ; certainly ! I'm not mad at the
White House ! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.](I like it!) and I'm not mad at the (current) occupant -
at this time, anyway. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] And... "we" pay the taxes because the occupant
is a tenant, not the owner. (That works like any rental property.)
The White House belongs to all U.S. citizens - unless that's somethng else "they've" sold to the Japanese or the Germans [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
It all makes sense - to me. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Now... THERE is a bit of insanity - IMO -
SELLING! bits and pieces of U.S. land to foreign countries!

I know that it began because Canadians -
"intending to become naturalized U.S. citizens" wanted to buy
a home here - and they didn't want to wait 5 years to become a
citizen in order to do that.
Okay, that seems logical; I have NO problem [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] - there.
(Canada has been a right-good neighbor [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] y'all !)
It seems unlikely that she will change her policy.
So WHY?!? couldn't they word the freakin' LAW - oo leave it at that?!?
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Congress is populated by almost-nothing but [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] lawyers!
(99. something % ! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.])
SURELY ! they could have worded that ! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] so as to eliminate
the governments of other countries ! ??
Germany and Japan (and God-only-knows who else, currently)
now own ! a great deal of U.S. land ! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
So - [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] - now they won't need to start another war - [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
all they'll have to do is foreclose [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.].
Morons ... ! (And I don't mean Germany and/or Japan.) [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I think we are - probably - the only country that allows
foreign nationals to buy land in a country not their own [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
and I'm pretty sure we are the only one who sells it to other
GOVERNMENTS...! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

So, when you are told your house comes with 1, 2 or 5 acres of land... it doesn't really?

If you choose to see it that way... [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I was over to Maui & Oahu in 1985 and again in 2006 and while on a tour the guide said See all the wood fences painted white? Every times you see them around big parcels of ground,they are owned by Japanese. I know that when i was out on the Arizona Memorial & looking down at the oil slick still coming out of her and seen several Japanese,i felt like going over & pushing them overboard,even though i knew it wasn't actually them that did it. With all the illegals here and all the foreign countries that own land & property here,we may want to just give it all back to the Indians & leave.

I like the Native American point of view on the concept of land ownership;

We do not (can not?) own the land, the land does not belong to us, we belong to the land.

I happen to agree with that, Tater. Thing is... when you buy a building, they make you buy land with it. Do you think I could have an Indian burial on MY land?

The idea that anyone can own the land - or anything in nature -
is foreign to the Naive American POV.
If we can't own real estate ... then who's the idiot for paying a bank?

Sneaky,
" With all the illegals here and all the foreign countries that own
land & property here,we may want to just give it all back to the
Indians & leave."

Not a snowball's chance! Not for me. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] "They" can get out !
Lately, I'll be happy ! to show many of them to the exit - personally.

"Ja'aj.. I get the tax thing on paycheck or cash gift and they are
totally different. Neither of those is every year or a threat to your
home."

Hah. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Income tax is EVERY year - and taxed by both the state and the Feds.
(Except in Nevada.)
We end up repeatedly paying taxes on the same money.
Also, on savings accounts - for those who have any savings...