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I'm just finishing this book. Although there are political/social viewpoints and methodologies I'm not completely convinced about, the book itself is loaded with lots of relevant and interesting information. Lot's of stuff you'd be hunting the internet for that would take a lot of time to find--it's all in the book.
I'd say if you are the type of person that can read opinions on touchy subjects without getting all emotional and huffy, whether you agree or disagree, you'll get some great info/statistics out if this book. Consider the opinions and absorb the facts. It has a state-by-state breakdown and a bit about some foreign countries/regions as well. There is a lot of consideration given to liberty and its "health" in the book--that was a big plus for me. The only minus for me was that the book could have used a line editor/proof reader that was a bit more careful. But that really doesn't detract from the info. Most of it is very solid and actually prompted me to consider some aspects of self-sufficiency that I hadn't really taken into consideration before.
Oh, I hate when you pay a lot of money for a book and can go though and pick out grammatical errors. I haven't bought it yet or even seen the latest edition. I've heard Joel on numerous radio interviews that are archived on YouTube though and I looked through the first edition.
I saw a post earlier on about getting a license or permit or something like that to harvest timber from your own land. Does that mean that if I get a piece of property that's a few acres large, and it has a lot of trees on it, I have to ask the government's permission to cut one of those trees down so that I can use it for firewood?
And if this does happen in certain areas, does anyone know of an area where there are no such requirements? (Sorry if I sound like an amateur, but in a lot of ways, I am an amateur. Much of what I want to do, I've never done and would have few people available to teach me... at least out of the people I already know.)
Different states are different.
I own forest land.
I have no restrictions placed on me about when or how much wood I harvest.
I guess I'm looking for a place where I can just be left alone, with as little interference from Big Brother as possible. Frankly, I'd rather have all of the oil, gas, mineral, timber, etc. rights for MY PROPERTY... or it isn't really mine. Also, paying property taxes means it isn't really yours either... you just rent it from the government. However, that's why they call it "real estate"... that term comes from the Spanish "real" meaning "royal"... "the royal's estate"... a piece of property designated for your use, which is still technically in possession of the ruling royal.
Unfortunately, with the exception of the Native American reservations which are sovereign nations and a few of the remaining original sovereign freehold grants, all land in the US is technically in the possession of The State to which you have been granted the surface use of... even of you live somewhere that doesn't collect property tax on your particular parcel, it just means that you are allowed to use it for "free" after you buy it. More precisely, when you "buy" land, you are only buying for the exclusive surface use rights.
Unfortunately, with the exception of the Native American reservations which are sovereign nations and a few of the remaining original sovereign freehold grants, all land in the US is technically in the possession of The State to which you have been granted the surface use of... even of you live somewhere that doesn't collect property tax on your particular parcel, it just means that you are allowed to use it for "free" after you buy it. More precisely, when you "buy" land, you are only buying for the exclusive surface use rights.
That may be true, but if the State owns it, and would grant the mineral rights / oil rights / whatever to some entity other than me, the question becomes... who gets to mine resources on my property, and how is that grantee determined? Does the state have a list of preferred vendors to whom they will turn whenever they want resources mined off of someone's property?
Unfortunately, with the exception of the Native American reservations which are sovereign nations and a few of the remaining original sovereign freehold grants, all land in the US is technically in the possession of The State to which you have been granted the surface use of... even of you live somewhere that doesn't collect property tax on your particular parcel, it just means that you are allowed to use it for "free" after you buy it. More precisely, when you "buy" land, you are only buying for the exclusive surface use rights.
I'm not certain I understand this premise. When I purchased my land the mineral rights were included. Are you saying that the state has ownership of those mineral rights over the landowner? Or just in the case for permitting for drilling/mining?
Normally the State surveys the land before they decide to sell it, and they only sell it if they think it doesn't have much of worth under it. If, at some later date, something important is discovered or suspected on the property or the general area, the mining company will petition the State for a claim to prospect and then another to extract. Sometimes the State will advertise for bids, and then grant mining claim to the company with the "best" bid... could be anyone. Mining claims have a defined duration, and usually some sort of conditions that need to be met. If you're truly concerned, you can always buy the mineral claims under your property and continue to renew it when it expires.
I'm not certain I understand this premise. When I purchased my land the mineral rights were included. Are you saying that the state has ownership of those mineral rights over the landowner? Or just in the case for permitting for drilling/mining?
In your case, since the mineral rights were conveyed with your deed (and it will specifically say this) and you hold "fee title", then they are yours and you could drill/mine yourself or even allow someone else do it if you wanted. The State may still be able to trump you via eminent domain at a later date though, just like with surface rights.
In many states, mineral rights are reserved by the State (either BLM or DNR) when they initially granted the land, and that exclusion is specifically stated in the deed/title.
In other places where mineral rights are normally conveyed, somewhere in the chain of ownership, the mineral rights could have been severed from the land rights and sold to the State or a 3rd party via "Severance Deed"... so a title search is a really good idea.
I'm not trying to scare anyone here, just caution you to research any property you own or are planning to purchase to be absolutely certain that you own or are buying everything you think you are buying. "Land" is legally 3 estates -- mineral/subsurface, land/surface, and light & air/supersurface -- and each of these can be transferred separately. And then you must also factor riparian/water rights, you may not own/have rights to ground or surface waters, or even precipitation, depending on your state.
I highly recommend anyone considering purchasing rural land in the US read Finding & Buying Your Place in the Country by Les & Carol Sher. The book covers these and other topics in greater detail and can point you to the appropriate organizations/authorities.
Last edited by MissingAll4Seasons; 04-05-2012 at 12:29 PM..
Property taxes is a given but how does the new healthcare effect things? I mean now Americans are forced to buy Healthcare as well as pay taxes. Just for about the political side of this and talk about the effects this has on deciding the perfect place to live/BO to when the SHTF. Not only are you looking for a place with zero to affordable taxes, you're also looking for a place with reasonable healthcare prices.
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