Because THIS is how easy it is to find out the owner of a house.... http://sdatcert3.r esiusa.org/rp_rewr ite/ (May 20, 2008 | post #46)
If only it were that simple... This is one of the worst state websites I've seen. Been there, tried that. Still needed a local title company to figure it out. The only helpful information that it does give is to tell you that the subject of ground rent is complicated and confusing, and you'll probably need a real estate attorney or title company to assist you. (May 19, 2008 | post #42)
Thanks for the compliment; however, I was trying to make two points. #1 - that is difficult at best for someone of average intelligence to redeem ground rent and #2 - whether you owe $24 or $36 or $200 or $1,500, no one should be able to take your home worth $100k, $200K or whatever. All you should be entitled to collect is what is owed. Period. Secondly, while I don't know what ultimately got passed, there was legislature pending (or at least proposed) that mandated the redemption of the ground when either the house changed hands (sold) or a mortgage was refinanced. (May 19, 2008 | post #38)
As as added detail, I know exactly who my ground rent check was getting paid to. When I first contacted that management company about redeeming my property (back in 2005 - another refinancing), 3 attempts by phone and fax went unanswered. In 2007, I was determined to get it done, especially b/c of all the media coverage. I contacted the same management company to determine who owned the actual ground. Again, more unsuccessful attempts. How can a company in charge of managing ground rents not know who owns the ground??? Ultimately, it was my persistance and a local title company that got the job done. (May 19, 2008 | post #32)
In my case, when I refinanced my house last year, I wanted to buy my property. My gound rent was only $36 a year, and had been paid on time by my mortgage company for the 6+ years I've owned my home. However, with all of the media coverage, I didn't want to take my chances of losing my house over a couple of dollars. There is a formula you can use to determine how much it is to buy your land. In my case, I was paying $36/year. Divide that by 6% (the standard percentage), and you have a cost of $600. With added legal fees, I paid $900. Well worth it in my opinion for a house that has more than doubled in value since I bought it. The only major issue I had was that since it took over 3 months to track down the owners of the ground rent, that I lost out on lower interest rate on my mortgage. I'd recommend the process to anyone looking to refinance these days who isn't Fee Simple. (May 19, 2008 | post #29)
Don't blame refs, but Ravens' claims deserve attention
Bad calls are made in every game, and are bound to go against your team at some point. That is the "human" element is sports that cannot be decided by a photo finish. So be it. My question is this: I want to know why it took the memory of Sean Taylor (the Ray Lewis huddle with Ed Reed and Willis McGahee before the game started) and the possibility of beating the 12-0 Patriots to bring out the competitive nature in the Ravens. These athletes are paid millions of dollars to do what they do, and if they brought that kind of game and energy into the stadium each and every time, you might have seen two 12-0 teams face each other last night. They certainly played well enough - at least for 56 minutes or so. Boller was quite impressive, too. What happened in the last few minutes was a combination of unfortunate and disgraceful. If Rex Ryan hadn't called the time out and the Pats had scored, he would have taken the heat for not allowing the defense to get properly set. On the flip side, where is the sense of accountability? When you're a grown man doing your job, behavior like Bart Scott's on the field (regardless of the reason), is, in a word, inexcusable... (Dec 4, 2007 | post #104)
Bad calls are made in every game, and are bound to go against your team at some point. That is the "human" element is sports that cannot be decided by a photo finish. So be it. My question is this: I want to know why it took the memory of Sean Taylor (the Ray Lewis huddle with Ed Reed and Willis McGahee before the game started) and the possibility of beating the 12-0 Patriots to bring out the competitive nature in the Ravens. These athletes are paid millions of dollars to do what they do, and if they brought that kind of game and energy into the stadium each and every time, you might have seen two 12-0 teams face each other last night. They certainly played well enough - at least for 56 minutes or so. Boller was quite impressive, too. What happened in the last few minutes was a combination of unfortunate and disgraceful. If Rex Ryan hadn't called the time out and the Pats had scored, he would have taken the heat for not allowing the defense to get properly set. On the flip side, where is the sense of accountability? When you're a grown man doing your job, behavior like Bart Scott's on the field (regardless of the reason), is, in a word, inexcusable... (Dec 4, 2007 | post #20)
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