[dbeechum]

Also, while I'm at it - also on the topic of the new house - add your ideas here

http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=4087.0

[tschmidlin]

Yeah, saw that story and man.. I can intellectually understand the fire departments actions, but at the same time - well - damn.

There are two solutions that I could think of that would be fair - 1) roll some portion of the county's taxes into paying for blanket coverage for the unincorporated area. 2) Say fine, you don't want to pay annually? Then if there's a fire and we respond, it's like if you go to the doctor uninsured - big ass bill time. That way, they can save the house and they can make it hurt enough that you shouldn't even flinch at the 75 per year.

I saw that story too, but it wasn't that the guy refused to pay, he and paid in the past and just hadn't gotten around to it yet that year.  That reminds me, I have to pay my property tax . . .

I like both of your solutions Drew.  It's definitely something that should be automatically covered.  But you can always impose a fine of 200 years worth of payments to anyone who needs to have a fire put out at their house but hasn't paid.  $75 a year, or a $15k fine once they put the fire out.  Like you Drew, I can see why they didn't help, but there was 3 dogs and a cat in the house - what if there had been people?  They didn't even come out when the guy called 911, they only came because the neighbor who had paid called 911 when his field caught on fire.

I'd help with the organization stuff, but I'm really not organized.  Really.

[beerocd]

GM onstar is another similar situation - if you're upside down in a creek and the water is rising and you hit the blue button.... should they save your life? Obviously, in this situation you have not been an active subscriber for some time. They've already run this past their lawyers,btw. So,you're gonna drown and they know about it - but there's no legal obligation by Onstar.

[MrNate]

Allodial title doesn't make you your own little country - You still have to abide by local, state, and federal law on your property, but it does make the land "yours" in the sense that you do not have to pay the city, county, etc. for the use of "their" land - i.e. property taxes.

Do you still get the government services that property taxes support? Police, fire, public schools, etc. If so, it sounds like quite the loophole.

Actually, googling around a bit, it seems like the TX allodial title thing is an urban legend. Nevada did have a provision for landholders whose property was owned free and clear and subsequently incorporated into a city, dramatically increasing their property tax burden. But they eliminated it in 2005.

What I read stated they instituted it in 2008. No real firsthand knowledge, though. Also understand that you're essentially paying 10 years tax in a lump sum for the privilege and it doesn't transfer through sale or estate. Kind of like a lump-sum settlement.

[a10t2]

Could be; I just couldn't find anything about it with an actual citation. (And assuming their search function is working, the word "allodial" doesn't occur in the TX Code.)

[tschmidlin]

GM onstar is another similar situation - if you're upside down in a creek and the water is rising and you hit the blue button.... should they save your life? Obviously, in this situation you have not been an active subscriber for some time. They've already run this past their lawyers,btw. So,you're gonna drown and they know about it - but there's no legal obligation by Onstar.

No legal obligation maybe, but a moral one.  If it was me answering that call I'd send whoever I could to help.  I'd dare say onstar would too, I think the bad press would screw them.  In my mind, that's even worse than the fire department - the fire fighters are risking their lives, the onstar operator is sitting in a chair and making a phone call. 

But anyway    Drew, did you do any painting or remodeling before you moved in?  We probably painted 60% of the interior and replaced all of the carpet upstairs in this place before we moved in.  And we replaced the carpet in the master bathroom with some vinyl type flooring until we can remodel it.  Yes, I said it.  Carpet in the master bathroom.   

[euge]

I can see that. Spent years in a parents house with it. As long as it isn't linoleum. I'm a tile or berber man myself.

[tschmidlin]

In this area you really don't want carpet in your bathroom.  In some areas it might be ok, but not around here.  Moisture is a big enough problem without carpeting, I had to rip out the subfloor on the two bathrooms we've remodeled.

I like tile too, but we went for cheap and fast until we redo the whole thing.  The master bath is the last on the list, the other two we did first since they were smaller projects and more public.  They were easier to figure out too, the master might involve moving the toilet, tub, and shower.   

[euge]

My parents live in the desert but our humidity levels off the gulf are fairly nasty. The only carpet in my house is the actual bedrooms. Nice when it get chilly. You know- down in the 60's...

[tschmidlin]

It must be downright frigid here by your reckoning, a balmy 47 right now.   

[euge]

We had an unseasonable or early cold front last week and I just loved my new window-fan. Cooled the entire house down and the AC didn't kick on all night. Got down into the 50's at night which is unusual- especially for early October. Nice...