This article by the NY Times says they are giving away free land in Beatrice, Nebraska in order to get it back onto the tax rolls and so the city can quit having to pay someone to mow it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/26/us/26revenue.html
Beatrice, Nebraska is the town where the Federal homesteading began, back in the day. Well, they're at it again it seems, but this time it's local instead of federal.
This isn't just happening in Nebraska. They're also doing it in Dayton, OH and Grafton, IL. Dayton's a nice size city, but there have been orange barrels on I-75 there for the last ten years straight at least. It's annoying, and I suspect it's some kind of pork for the highway workers. But I digress.
It also says that some communities in New England are considering making non-profit organizations pay property taxes, or reviewing them to see if they should be taxed. Bad news for non-profits, if this practice starts to spread.
I've heard a saying that someone can be "land rich and cash poor". Used to be said of impoverished gentry or farmers. Seems that local governments are finding themselves in this position now.
Anyway, I think you have to put a house on the land, but that would be less expensive than usual if you get either a used trailer for cash, or a tiny house (see previous post on tiny houses), and just truck it in. You can often get a used trailer for under $3,000 - if you have the cash, take out an ad saying you buy trailers for cash and people will call you.
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