Actually, LH, that guest was a cookieless CS. Sorry...didn't notice the lack of a sig when I posted.

As for the country property that is fully paid off, does the owner *truly* "own" the land? There are clauses in many areas that say you do not. If they do own it, great (not that unethical governments can't find a way around this), but check...many times, there are stipulations in the deed of trust.

As a for instance, my last sig-o "owned" a house on Kent Island. However, if he paid it off, and then "owned" the home, he could *not* leave it to a relative...seems the land was merely "leant" to the homeowners. It was very complicated in it's wording, but the end result was, the house was his, the land was not. It reverts back to being the property of the county upon his death. They either re-negotiate for the property at that point, or sell the house. But they can't just acquire it through a will.   

For those not in this area, Kent Island is *not* urban or even suburban. It's still fairly rural...so, get a lawyer to check out any claim you may *think* you have to your property. You may be surprised to find how little you really "own".