A Big Win for Nomads

[TrailerManNJ]

[font=Roboto, Arial, sans-serif]Washington State Supreme Court Rules Homeless Man's Truck is his "Home"[/font]

[font=Roboto, Arial, sans-serif]Please view the following video on Youtube (link below), as I feel it's not only huge, important news for nomads, but more importantly, it represents a win for individuals who call their vehicle "home".[/font]

[font=Roboto, Arial, sans-serif]Summary of video: A construction worker was living out of his van in 2016, when out of nowhere, the town where he had the vehicle parked towed it to the local impound lot. The van's owner was given the choice of paying more than $1,000 in tow/storage fees (which he couldn't afford), or having his vehicle auctioned off. The van's owner (and his Attorney) argued that this behavior is unconstitutional and illegal, since it's a violation of the Homestead Act. And since a nomad's "home" IS their vehicle, the same considerations should apply. End result...The Washington State Supreme Court upheld a lower court's ruling that YES, it is unconstitutional for a person's vehicle home to be held hostage with the threat of being auctioned off.   [/font]

[font=Roboto, Arial, sans-serif]As you'll see from the video, it isn't a TOTAL victory, as vehicles can still be towed and fines can be levied. [size=small][font=Roboto, Arial, sans-serif][size=small][size=small]But losing the ability to threaten the auction of a vehicle leaves towns in a complicated pickle.[/size][/font][/size] The giant win (IMO) is that a State Supreme Court is actually recognizing a person's vehicle as their home. The legal precedence this sets for similar future cases should be celebrated by all nomads.[/size][/font]
[font=Roboto, Arial, sans-serif]Video link on Youtube: [/font]

[font=Roboto, Arial, sans-serif][size=small]P.S. - If anyone hasn't seen Lehto's Law on YT, it's a great channel. Steve (the podcast host) is a lawyer, and he highlights the latest newsworthy stories having anything to do with the law. He then breaks it down by explaining the legalese for laypeople like us, and finally offers his opinion on the matter.[/font]

[font=Roboto, Arial, sans-serif]P.P.S. - Has anyone here actually filed a Declaration of Homestead? If so, an explanation of the process would be appreciated.[/font]

 

[Sofisintown]

A declaration of Homestead is a document you file with the county, where your property (house) is located.
27 out of the 50 states have Homestead protection laws, so it is not everywhere.

Since this law is geared to protect the owner of Real Property (piece of land or house) in the county, I doubt if it can be used for a car.
Especially if your car is roaming around and not in a certain county all the time.

(The Homestead Act says that your house is protected up to $20,000. (Amount depends on state)
That means if you owe $15,000, a debtor can not legally force you to sell your house and get his money.
BUT
If your house is worth, say, $25,000 the debtors can legally force you to sell the house to get their money. You will get the $20,000 that the law protects you from losing, and the debtor will get the remainder, even if it does not cover the whole debt.)

Declaring your home a Homestead, also reduces your RE tax by a bit in certain states (Homestead exception) .

 

[izifaddag]

I filed for Homestead in Florida. Everyone does but I don't know why. I bow to sofisintown's superior knowledge.
I hope the op is on the money because that could really help folks.

 

[jacqueg]

Yes, it's a big help to Washington nomads. But it's based on a specific, long-standing Washington law. Whether it will help nomads in other states is a very big question, and I wouldn't count on it.

 

[TrailerManNJ]

Yes, it's a big help to Washington nomads. But it's based on a specific, long-standing Washington law. Whether it will help nomads in other states is a very big question, and I wouldn't count on it.

You might be right. But you may also be wrong. Nobody knows what the long-term ramifications of this ruling will be. I AM sure of 1 thing however...

Having a Supreme Court recognize that an automobile CAN legally be considered a home is a HUGE precedent in & of itself. Further...

This will provide more ammunition for those fighting similar cases in the future, whether they be in 27 states where the Homestead Act is enacted, or even in other places.

The FACT that nobody can deny is this: The amount of people living out of their vehicles (through necessity, choice or both) is growing at an astonishing rate. At some point the nomad demographic will be too large for this country to continue simply sweeping under the rug, or dealing with it using the same Draconian bullying measures it does now (unfair nonsensical ordinances, ticketing blitzes, etc.).

As a whole, if you analyze the situation, nomads a very strong, very large, active community, collectively speaking. One which has a lot of spending power. Couldn't this spending power be used to help towns & cities across this nation? Smart politicians can gain a LOT by simply working with us, instead of fighting our community tooth & nail. Imagine scenarios like this...

*A town has an old defunct parking lot or commuter station that's collecting dust, becoming an eyesore and not generating any revenue. What if they initiated a paid permit system where nomads could purchase a permit and park in the lot as a home base. Sure beats stealth parking! I'd easily pay $50-$100 per month for something like this...especially here on the east coast where there's no BLM options. If they could accommodate 250 cars at say $100 per month, that's $25,000 in revenue they'd collect...EVERY MONTH. This would be in addition to the revenue generated from nomads shopping at nearby businesses. You're talking millions of dollars per year in revenue, which most of your average, small townships could DESPERATELY use.

*Similar to electric vehicle charging stations, what if towns used vacant land to install shore power hook-ups, where for a fee, nomads can pull in for 2 or 3 hours, pay $10 or some other small fee to recharge their electronics, fill up with water, take a short nap, etc., before getting safely back on the road.  

I'm obviously just throwing out some quick examples, but you get the point. Uncle Sam can get more with honey than he can with vinegar. Sooner or later smart politicians and savvy private businessmen will look at nomads and address the problems with this lifestyle. And they'll get rich doing it. 

I'm sure most of us would rather be out west on free BLM land, or enjoying dispersed camping at no charge while being in a gorgeous, picturesque backdrop, but that's not a reality for many nomads, unfortunately.

Sometimes the greatest of battles are won by simply taking the first step. I believe this court ruling might be that step.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

FWIW: here is the opinion, if anyone cares to plow though it:
https://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/988242.pdf
It does give a good explanation of 'homestead'.

I'm not sure this clears things up or muddies the water.  Is a homesteaded vehicle now considered a 'mobile home' and not an 'RV'?  Then they would be subject to a different set of rules and taxes.

 

[jacqueg]

Having a Supreme Court recognize that an automobile CAN legally be considered a home is a HUGE precedent in & of itself. Further...


Sometimes the greatest of battles are won by simply taking the first step. I believe this court ruling might be that step.

Maybe. But keep in mind that the IRS has recognized that an RV or boat can be a person's primary residence since just about forever. In fact, it is possible to buy an RV with a mortgage! 

All I am saying here is that it is an arcane area of law. It IS a BIG win for the poorer folks among us, that is certain. How much application it will have to others is an open question.

 

[TrailerManNJ]

Great find, Spaceman! I breezed through it, and honestly have NO idea what 90% of that gobbledygook means   but I got the gist of it. Very, very interesting. ***For those wanting a brief synopsis of the court's ruling, just jump to page 44 of the PDF, where one of the judges provides a less convoluted, easier-to-understand overview.

Jacque, NONE of us knows what this ruling means long-term. Anyone's guess. Most politicians, bureaucrats & Attorney's are slimy bastards however...THIS I'm positive of. So you can be sure that they'll take this small win for nomads and find a loophole somehow...a way to stick it to the little guy regardless.

Anywho, I'm only at the beginning of my nomad journey. But I've been researching for a few years now. I'm also one who believes this is a FREE country, at its heart. I sincerely hope this helps someone, somewhere, at some point.

Whether through necessity or choice, if someone resides in their vehicle, they don't deserved to be looked down upon, treated with indifference, or made to suffer. We're ALL beings of this mysterious orb called Earth, which is spinning in the middle of a vast universe for reasons unknown. Live and let live.

 

[WayOutWest]

I have even better news for many who live in their vehicle.
The truth about laws and your rights to live in your vehicle (as well as all your other rights) is more amazing and powerful than most of you could imagine. And because the truth has been avidly suppressed by the "powers that be" for a long time, many people will not easily believe the truth when it's presented to them. I'm not here to convince anyone, I'm just here to present info that you can either look into more, or ignore, as you will. Here's a place to start your exploration: https://tasa.americanstatenationals.org/

When our nation was formed, the Constitution was created which gave 19 enumerated powers to the British crown, which controlled the Sea jurisdiction and international waterways, as well as the Holy See, which controlled the "Air jurisdiction". Over time, those foreign powers came, through a process of fraud and deceit, to rule this whole nation....long story short, we should be a nation under Common Law, which is the only law that should apply to you, but instead, we've come to be a nation regulated by "codes, statutes, ordinances, Congressional legislation", none of which actually applies to you, because foreign nations have no lawful authority over Americans. So the ordinances whereby any city attempts to prohibit living in one's vehicle, or create parking regulations, are null and void. It's basically the same as if a government in France, Indonesia or Pakistan were to write "laws" about what you as an American could do in America. It's nonsense that doesn't apply to us.

That said, this doesn't mean that it will be easy to get out from under the unlawful edifice of false governmental authority that exists all over our nation. But it's meant to point to fundamental God-given rights we have that in time will be better understood.

 

[DannyB1954]

The ruling was based on their homestead act. It applies only to Washington. I see Washington attracting more homeless people. Seattle already has a big problem to solve there. My tent is my home, you can't dispose of it. My cardboard box is my home you can't dispose of it. All Washington needs to do is revise the law and it again can become legal to take "portable housing".

 

[Dennys Adventures]

Washington state can change all the laws they want but it will not make it legal to live in an auto. the law that needs to change is the 911 laws and that is just the start of making it legal to live in your auto. the 911 laws do not allow anyone to use an auto as a home they only allow real locations/address's as your home. the feds require a real address for banking, ID, and social services. they require it because of 911. they want a real location where you can be found.

 

[aytee]

Insurance companies also require a "real" home. I was immediately canceled by Geico, after years without a single claim, when they somehow figured out that my address was a UPS store. They didn't even tell me, I only found out when I went to renew two months later.

So now I have to lie in order to be legal and have car insurance. Not something I want to do.

 

[Freelander]

There are a few companies that sell RV Insurace, I think Geico is one. I have mine through Allstate.

 

[RonDean]

There are a few companies that sell RV Insurace, I think Geico is one. I have mine through Allstate.

I think this poster missed the point that buying RV insurance when you live and travel full-time can be a problem.

I also don't think resorting to some convoluted theory of sovereignty as one poster suggests is going to help those of us just trying to get by and avoid the tripwires of a culture insisting we all just "settle down."

All of this IS a real problem. I use a relative's physical address. I know there are other solutions RVers use as well. It "would be nice" if we didn't have to find loopholes to cheat the system. But, that is not yet the case.

Not trying to sell anyone anything, but I, and a few friends, use an app called what3words (https://what3words.com/) to locate one another. Works in the city AND in the boondocks.

 

[unaccompaniedsenior]

The biggest problem facing folks without homes today, is folks with homes--including politicos, media, corporati, pigs--telling us how to live.

 

[aytee]

I think this poster missed the point that buying RV insurance when you live and travel full-time can be a problem.

As well as the name of this forum!