Paid off my mortgage some years ago. But I still don’t “own” my house....
Guess what happens if I lose my job and can’t pay my property taxes. Yep.
On the other hand, if someone slips and breaks his leg on my front porch, the property is mine, all mine.
Home “ownership” is an illusion. But if you can swing it, it’s still cheaper than renting a place.
From Wikiquotes:
“Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society.”
Reportedly said by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes in a speech in 1904.
Alternately phrased as “Taxes are what we pay for civilized society, including the chance to insure”, Compania General De Tabacos De Filipinas v. Collector of Internal Revenue, 275 U.S. 87, 100, dissenting; opinion (21 November 1927).
The first variation is quoted by the IRS above the entrance to their headquarters at 1111 Constitution Avenue.
IOW, you don’t get the infrastructure of a civilized society without making some mandatory arrangement to pay for it.
That said, I am glad to pay my country property taxes because I can at least pretty easily correlate them with the services the county provides and it is pretty easy to expose abuses and abusers.
My feeling toward state taxes is generally the same but there is less transparency and a corresponding lack of accountability.
However, I strongly dislike the notions of obligatory wealth transfer between one segment of society and another that animates tax policy at the Federal level. Talk about undeserved unearned priviledge!
As for the fact that the “man” can come and take it, you are right.
Traced back to its ultimate source, title to the land was originally granted by the state as a sort of perpetual contract between it and the “owner.” Possession and conditional use was granted on stipulation that you obey its laws and pay the taxes and fees levied by it in return. In addition, this requirement is an inseperable and unseverable part of any future transfer of ownership.
In order to guard against forfiture due to unpaid taxes, escrow accounts are a part of nearly every mortgage. Keeping the house insured is another. However, in that case, the lender is just requiring the borrower to protect the value of the collateral. I recently paid my mortgage off and now have to make arrangements to ensure I pay my property taxes (semiannually, in my case). Technically, I don’t have to keep the house insured but, reflecting on the liability arising in the accident situation you mention, the low annual cost of the insurance is more than worth it to offset the risk.
Currently, we intend to sell our present house when I retire and build a retirement home with the proceeds. No mortgage. At that time, I’m thinking about funding a separate trust/account to automatically accumulate and pay the insurance and property taxes as they come due. Something like a mortgage escrow account without the mortgage. Properly funded, it should keep the property taxes paid and the homeowner’s insurance in force until we pass and it becomes the turn of somebody else to “own” the property.
Unfortunately, my credit union doesn’t offer this service, so I need to work with a financial advisor to get one established.