My First Title Talk

  Real Estate Property Taxes How does state and local property taxes work? A. Jurisdictions in all 50 states and the District of Columbia impose property taxes. Most property tax revenue comes from local levies (county, municipal, township, school district, and special district) on land and improvements to it, but some states also tax personal property (such as machinery, equipment, and motor vehicles). HOW MUCH REVENUE DO STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS RAISE FROM PROPERTY TAXES? While property taxes are a significant source of local government revenue, they are a very small revenue source for most states (table 1). State governments levied property taxes in 36 states in 2017, collecting $16 billion in revenue, or 1 percent of their own-source general revenue. (Own-source revenue excludes intergovernmental transfers.) Meanwhile, local governments collected $509 billion from property taxes in 2017, or nearly half of their own-source general revenue. Property taxes are the large...

  Defective Titles or Title Defects What is a Defective Title? The phrase to have “valid title” to property means that a person has the exclusive legal right to own and use a piece of property. For a title to be valid, that title must be free of defects. If a title is defective, a seller of the property may be required to “clear title,” or remedy title defects, before the seller completes the sale of their property to a buyer. What Kinds of Title Defects Exist? The following types of title defects exist: A superior claim to ownership by another person or entity: A creditor, which is someone to whom an owner owes a money judgment, may have a superior claim to someone seeking to purchase a piece of property. A creditor protects their interest in the property by filing what is known as a lien in the county land recording office. A would-be seller of the property must pay off, or satisfy, this lien before the buyer can purchase the property. A mistake in the description o...