this post was submitted on 15 Apr 2025
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Trippin' Through Time
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Try tracking down ownership of the property a bank sits on.
It's wild. They'll buy it under an LLC they dissolve, and the ownership transfers to an heir LLC in another state that's also dissolved, rinse and repeat for 40 steps.
When I ask for a bank building to show proof of ownership in a development application, they usually just cancel the project because it'll take 8 months and 150 grand in lawyers' fees just to prove they own their own fucking building, and a new ATM lane just isn't worth it.
Huh, today I learned. Mucho respect to you, not the banks.
Hiding true ownership.
Fun fact, when hunting down the history of a major bank, I was able to trace its origins to a rural Baptist church in the 50s.
Why do they do that?
It's always money. At a guess I'd say it's cheaper to create a company and buy/sell that (including the assets it owns such as property) then dissolve the company rather than just buying/selling the property. Scale that up to a big company that has to deal with lots of different laws and you're left with this nonsense.
It sounds like a tax dodge. New LLC in charge until just before the end of the tax year then it's wound down and the property moves to another
I have a morbid curiosity for USA/California property law, but is this the sort of thing that a quiet title action might be able to clarify? Or would that open an invitation for multiple, competing claims to come out of the woodwork? Insofar as real property, surely somebody has been paying the property tax?
I can't go into detail, but I work in a municipal jurisdiction with unique circumstances. It's a bit of an enclave for the super-wealthy and sir to media/security concerns, I have to be a huge PITA about paperwork establishing who can access and work on properties.
There are fairly unassuming properties in town that will get you tackled or shot if you don't follow the proper procedures.