An Innovative Home Ownership Option

There isn’t anything about the building at 2021-2025 NE Rodney to indicate it is unconventional, but there is. It is the way the current owners financed its purchase for an affordable price and how that good fortune will be “paid forward.”

Typically, a home is purchased on a “fee simple” basis. You own the home, the land it sits on, and are free to do with it what you will – within the limits of local zoning and building regulations. One of the most important benefits of this form of ownership is that the owner is entitled to all profits upon the sale of the home.

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Taxed to Death? Part 1 of 2

By Mike Warwick

Introduction

It’s winter, a time for holiday cards and, less welcome, property tax bills. This time next year you may look back fondly at your tax bill as the Governor, Speaker of the House, and legislators from Beaverton and Hood River have all indicated they want to revisit our property tax system. Their public justification is that “gentrification” has resulted in “those homeowners” not “paying their fair share.” Of course, “gentrification” is a code word for homeowners in inner N/NE Portland; namely, us. To see how this might affect you and your neighbors, look at the difference between the “assessed value” and “market value” of your home. “Reform” will likely reset assessed value to market value so the difference (currently about 4 times for an older Eliot home), is how much taxes could increase; 400%!

Continue reading Taxed to Death? Part 1 of 2