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Colonial Legacy in Maryland — Why the Heck is Land Rent Still a Thing?
I’m British, so I’m familiar with a few things that are less familiar to the average American.
Things like freehold versus leasehold and, yes, land rent. (My parents owned my childhood home freehold, but I know people who did have leasehold).
Land rent comes in when you own your home but not the land it’s built on. (Where I grew up it was called ground rent, but it’s the same thing). Land rents tend to be a very token amount.
Today I learned that land rent is still common in one particular U.S. city…which somehow I didn’t know despite it being just down the road and having friends who live there. I can only assume it’s normal to them and never came up.
It’s All About Lord Baltimore
Yes, I am talking about the wonderful city of Baltimore (And that’s not sarcastic…Baltimore has a reputation, but it’s a lovely city with gorgeous buildings and wonderful people).
When the state of Maryland was first founded, it all belonged to Lord Baltimore, hence how he got a city named after him.
He owned every bit of land, and he wasn’t selling any of it. Which meant that everyone owned their houses leasehold and paid ground rent. When he did sell land, it was subject to…