Xanny t1_it122vz wrote
Reply to comment by Cunninghams_right in Reddit Democracy by bearjew64
> so the city would have to spend years in court and tax sale
The city doesn't "spend" a lot on tax sales, its mostly an automated system. The courts only get involved if the owner of a tax lien takes their lien to court after 9 months of non-payment, and then its procedural - nobody will show up on the other side, so the lienholder gets title rights.
Like I said, right now every new property that goes to tax sale gets bid on without fail. Investors are losing a lot of money on tax lien buys, even. There were tax liens on two houses on my block in 2021 that both got bid up to the property appraisal rather than the lien value, and then both liens were paid, so those buying the liens were out tens of thousands each (which are just a business tax expense writeoff for them).
Now to be fair, there is a reason those tax liens are bought at inflated prices, its because someone who can get that 9 month court hearing for title rights doesn't actually become owner of the property, they obtain title rights to it. Which means they can sit on assignment of title forever without ever being responsible for the taxes. They own it, but they aren't responsible for it. This is another broken system that needs revision, but for now investors are definitely buying tax lien property in Baltimore if the lien amount is less than the appraisal.
> it's not the tax structure that is stopping development
There are 10 year old vacant notices still in effect in Downtown. Some of these lots pay hundreds of dollars in property tax in the heart of the city. For damn sure they are being floated in perpetuity thanks to the tax code. Investors love hoarding, and property in Baltmore is cheap and taxes favor them letting it sit and rot, so that is what they do. Yes, there are neighborhoods where violence keeps investment out, but plenty of the city is not that bad yet still is plagued by persistent vacancy.
Some of my favorites are 37-41 W Preston St. Huge commercial office zoned buildings, one vacant since the 90s and the other for a decade, and the church across the street owns and pays their taxes. But the windows are rotted and the buildings have gone unused for forever. The church probably holds them in trust, but the fact thats even happening despite them being prime commercial real estate in the middle of Midtown right by Penn Station highlights the problem.
Cunninghams_right t1_it13y4o wrote
you're focusing on the microcosm of problem that are solved by LVT and ignoring the problems created. meanwhile, the city could absolutely pass ordinances so places like 37-41W Preston get fined up the wazoo and could solve that problem if they wanted.
Xanny t1_it15uuf wrote
What problems are created, again? As we already discussed the homestead tax exemption in MD already protects current residents from seeing huge upswings in property tax, and you already claimed and I rebutted that vacants don't pay taxes or that nobody buys tax defunct property
The city could pass a piecemeal of ordinances to address this, or it could just reform the tax code - something people have been hankering for for years, anyway - in a way that adds revenue and creates positive rather than perverse incentives (atm, improving your property makes you pay more in taxes, and at such high property tax rates as Bmore city has, it means you are pressured to make your property minimally functional for your needs to avoid paying more taxes).
Cunninghams_right t1_it2uomt wrote
you rebutted that people buy tax defunct property but have not shown that they would do so if such properties were required to bare the majority of the city's tax burden.
it is also not true that people stop improving houses to avoid taxes. look at the renovated houses in wealthier neighborhoods like roland park or bolton hill. people renovate those and make them amazing.
you're hand waving away all the problems.
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