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Taxation In Massachusetts
Chapter 61 is a voluntary current use program designed by the Massachusetts Legislature to tax real property in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts at its timber resources value rather than its highest and best use (development) value. Landowners who enroll their land in the program receive property tax reductions in exchange for a lien on their property. The terms of the lien require that enrolled land remain in an undeveloped state and be managed for forest resources extraction under a forest management plan approved by the state. Furthermore, the lien provides the municipal government of the town in which the enrolled property is located a right of first refusal should the landowner put the land up for sale while it is enrolled in the program. Towns may assign their right of first refusal to a state agency or a non-profit land trust Land trusts are nonprofit organizations which own and manage land, and sometimes waters. There are three common types of land trust, distinguished ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Current Use
Current use is a phrase used to describe the present condition of land use and the corresponding scheme for property tax incentives for qualifying land owners (typically rural) who wish to preserve open space and avoid having their property assessed at the "best and highest" use that could be made of it (i.e., a housing development or a commercial use). The statutes provide significant savings when the land is ''currently in use'' for farming (agriculture and horticulture), silviculture, or comprises wetlands, or even unproductive woods or barrens. Further discounts may accrue if the land owner is willing to file a recreational easement permitting the unimpeded public to come upon the land for non-motorized recreation (e.g., hiking, hunting, bicycling, bird-watching, etc.). Some jurisdictions require a qualifying submittal of a " stewardship plan" for woodlands, while others (including New Hampshire) provide further tax reductions for these optional inclusions. Soils data must ofte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Real Property
In English common law, real property, real estate, immovable property or, solely in the US and Canada, realty, is land which is the property of some person and all structures (also called improvements or fixtures) integrated with or affixed to the land, including crops, buildings, machinery, wells, dams, ponds, mines, canals, and roads, among other things. The term is historic, arising from the now-discontinued form of action, which distinguished between real property disputes and personal property disputes. Personal property, or personalty, was, and continues to be, all property that is not real property. In countries with personal ownership of real property, civil law protects the status of real property in real-estate markets, where estate agents work in the market of buying and selling real estate. Scottish civil law calls real property "heritable property", and in French-based law, it is called ''immobilier'' ("immovable property"). Historical background The word " ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Commonwealth Of Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut [Massachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət],'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders on the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Maine to the east, Connecticut and Rhode Island to the south, New Hampshire and Vermont to the north, and New York (state), New York to the west. The state's capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city, as well as its cultural and financial center, is Boston. Massachusetts is also home to the urban area, urban core of Greater Boston, the largest metropolitan area in New England and a region profoundly influential upon American History of the United States, history, academia, and the Economy of the United States, research economy. Originally dependent on agriculture, fishing, and trade. Massachusetts was transformed into a manuf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Highest And Best Use
Highest and Best Use, or highest or best use (HBU), is a concept that originated with early economists such as Irving Fisher (1867-1947), who conceptualized the idea of maximum productivity. One of the earliest citations of the term is found in the Minutes of the Maine Legislature as early as 1831 in speaking about the assessment and valuation of real estate: "...''the land was classified preceding such change of use, had such real estate been assessed at its highest and best use''..." It is the concept in real estate appraisal that shows how the highest value for a property is arrived at. In any case where the market value of real property is sought, that value must be based on its highest and best use. Highest and best use is always that use that would produce the highest value for a property, regardless of its actual current use. Definitions of highest and best use The Appraisal Institute of Canada defines the term highest and best use as: The reasonably probable and legal u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lien
A lien ( or ) is a form of security interest granted over an item of property to secure the payment of a debt or performance of some other obligation. The owner of the property, who grants the lien, is referred to as the ''lienee'' and the person who has the benefit of the lien is referred to as the ''lienor'' or ''lien holder''. The etymological root is Anglo-French ''lien'', ''loyen'' "bond", "restraint", from Latin ''ligamen'', from ''ligare'' "to bind". In the United States, the term lien generally refers to a wide range of encumbrances and would include other forms of mortgage or charge. In the US, a lien characteristically refers to '' nonpossessory'' security interests (see generally: ). In other common-law countries, the term lien refers to a very specific type of security interest, being a passive right to retain (but not sell) property until the debt or other obligation is discharged. In contrast to the usage of the term in the US, in other countries it refers to a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Right Of First Refusal
Right of first refusal (ROFR or RFR) is a contractual right that gives its holder the option to enter a business transaction with the owner of something, according to specified terms, before the owner is entitled to enter into that transaction with a third party. A first refusal right must have at least three parties: the owner, the third party or buyer, and the option holder. In general, the owner must make the same offer to the option holder ''before'' making the offer to the buyer. The right of first refusal is similar in concept to a call option. An ROFR can cover almost any sort of asset, including real estate, personal property, a patent license, a screenplay, or an interest in a business. It might also cover business transactions that are not strictly assets, such as the right to enter a joint venture or distribution arrangement. In entertainment, a right of first refusal on a concept or a screenplay would give the holder the right to make that movie first while in real ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Land Trust
Land trusts are nonprofit organizations which own and manage land, and sometimes waters. There are three common types of land trust, distinguished from one another by the ways in which they are legally structured and by the purposes for which they are organized and operated: * A real estate investment trust is a fiduciary arrangement whereby one party (the trustee) agrees to own and to manage real property for the benefit of a limited number of beneficiaries. * A community land trust (CLT) is a private, nonprofit corporation that acquires, manages, and develops land for a variety of purposes, primarily for the production and stewardship of affordable housing, although many CLTs are also engaged in non-residential buildings and uses. * A conservation land trust is a private, non-profit corporation in the US that acquires land or conservation easements for the purpose of limiting commercial development and preserving open space, natural areas, waterways, and/or productive fa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
