But Julia, don't you think it sucks to never truly own your house? Is it not a violation of property rights?
And estate tax can't be sheltered by a trust. It's just a partial protection. This death tax ruins a lot of family businesses.
I truly hope it will be abolished once GOP in control.
It will be easier to get rid of then property tax.
BTW, in California we have proposition 13, which helps old people a lot -those who bought houses long time ago pay only taxes on the original purchase price.
So, here its better to buy the cheapest house, and then remodel it. The appraiser do not snoop around inside the houses.
The tax payers revolted a couple of decades ago and passed Prop 13.