5 ms·

The fact that the state does not have to sanction land ownership is pretty cool. I did not even have this in my mind as a possibility of existing in an advanced

The fact that the state does not have to sanction land ownership is pretty cool. I did not even have this in my mind as a possibility of existing in an advanced country. I wonder what other countries have this situation. It goes in line with the idea of common law (law is just made of what people find customary and when there are serious conflicts, a judge with a jury sorts it out[1]). I learned about the Magna Carta in high school history in the US, but I didn't know that the anti-authoritarian roots in England were so deep. No wonder people who live in places with corrupt governments prefer to own land in England and other places where culture and law descended from English culture(Australia, Canada, the USA, etc.) [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juries_in_England_and_Wales https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juries_in_England_and_Wales

pmyteh 8y ago
Sadly, this has little to do with an anti-authoritarian streak. It's mostly a combination of continuous property rights going back more than a thousand years (some of these unregistered bits have belonged to the Crown since the Norman conquest), and it being not-inconvenient for large landowners to be able to avoid scrutiny. People with dodgy money would indeed like to buy English land, partly for the legal certainty you suggest, and partly because we've historically been very slow to ask from where you got it...
- walshemj 8y ago
  Its also I suspect a reaction against they naughty shit around expropriating land in the english civil war an dteh wars in Ireland. The echo's of the ECW still effect politics in the UK today
joshuaheard 8y ago
In the U.S., the general rule is that you are not required to register (record) your property transfer in order to make it valid. Of course every state and county has its own rules. There are also large lots in the U.S. that aren't owned by anybody. The last two subdivisions I lived in had tracts that were not owned by anybody, just wilderness.
- toomuchtodo 8y ago
  > There are also large lots in the U.S. that aren't owned by anybody. The last two subdivisions I lived in had tracts that were not owned by anybody, just wilderness. This interests me immensely, as I'd love to figure out how to take ownership of these "unowned" wilderness parcels, get some title insurance for them (if someone shows up with unrecorded ownership interest, there is some recourse then), and then deed them to land conservation entities to preserve them indefinitely. Small efforts in helping the US get closer to Europe as it relates to ownership of land where anyone can still walk, hike, camp on the land ("Freedom To Roam") [1]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_to_roam https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_to_roam

pmyteh 8y ago

Sadly, this has little to do with an anti-authoritarian streak. It's mostly a combination of continuous property rights going back more than a thousand years (some of these unregistered bits have belonged to the Crown since the Norman conquest), and it being not-inconvenient for large landowners to be able to avoid scrutiny. People with dodgy money would indeed like to buy English land, partly for the legal certainty you suggest, and partly because we've historically been very slow to ask from where you got it...

walshemj 8y ago
Its also I suspect a reaction against they naughty shit around expropriating land in the english civil war an dteh wars in Ireland. The echo's of the ECW still effect politics in the UK today

joshuaheard 8y ago

In the U.S., the general rule is that you are not required to register (record) your property transfer in order to make it valid. Of course every state and county has its own rules. There are also large lots in the U.S. that aren't owned by anybody. The last two subdivisions I lived in had tracts that were not owned by anybody, just wilderness.

toomuchtodo 8y ago
> There are also large lots in the U.S. that aren't owned by anybody. The last two subdivisions I lived in had tracts that were not owned by anybody, just wilderness. This interests me immensely, as I'd love to figure out how to take ownership of these "unowned" wilderness parcels, get some title insurance for them (if someone shows up with unrecorded ownership interest, there is some recourse then), and then deed them to land conservation entities to preserve them indefinitely. Small efforts in helping the US get closer to Europe as it relates to ownership of land where anyone can still walk, hike, camp on the land ("Freedom To Roam") [1]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_to_roam https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_to_roam