If you were able to buy a piece of property that was evenly divided by a state border what would the implications be?
For example, if you bought 10 acres and exactly half (5 acres) were in each state, and you built a house that was half in each state (down to the millimeter), and the driveway, front and back doors were exactly on the border, could you decide which state you lived in? Would your decision be permanent, or could you change your mind depending on political reasons?
Would you have to pay income taxes in both states? Could you vote in either state you chose? Could you vote in both states on state and local issues?
Interesting question, but I have only a nitpick and WAGs:
Nitpick: ‘Spanning two state lines’ would suggest more than two states. (Or maybe a sandwich style arrangement, state A on two sides with state B between, where the two parts of state A rejoin down the road.) If you’re in two states, divided by one border, then that’s spanning one state line.
WAGs: I suspect that even if the pieces adjoin, they might be legally considered two properties, one in state A and the other in state B, and there might even be legal regulations against building a residence spanning the border. Then again, I’ve heard of cases like this, often when the building predates accurate measuring of the border in question.
I’ll be interested in what other dopers have to contribute.
I did mean spanning a single state line. The question as originally stated is probably impossible.
Also on the Quebec issue (which is even more interesting), I thought of that when I mentioned that the line evenly split the front and back doors and the driveway. Or that is how I meant it to be interpreted. I concede to sloppy writing.
The answer is going to vary depending on exactly where this is, but generally speaking you will probably be making things incredibly complicated for yourself.
There was a town that crossed state lines featured in the TV show “How the states got their shapes” and there were all sorts of things like a bar that crossed the state line and literally had a line drawn down the middle inside of it. Since state liquor laws varied, at certain times none of the customers on one side or the other of the line could have alcohol where others on the other side of the line (in the same room) could.
IIRC there was a building (a library I think) that had a lot of its rules governed by which state its front door was in.
In the few cases I have read about, taxes and such were divided by the proportion of the property in each state, which in the OP’s case would be exactly 50/50.
Cal Neva Tahoe is on the NV/CA border. The CA side has no gambling. The border is clearly marked.
I know people who live in the same “town” but on both sides of the border (not contiguous so not literally across the border). One implication is that the property tax is much higher on one side.
I should add - the reason it would be two pieces of property is because you couldn’t ever get into the situation where it was one piece of property. Chain of title insists a piece of property’s ownership can be traced back to when the land was first a part of the state, and would be recognized as a piece of that jurisdiction. The state would never allow a union of property between something in itself and something in the neighboring state - nor would it have the jurisdiction to do so.
Don’t have a cite; I used to do title searches. Google ‘chain of title’ rather than take my word.
Buildings, obviously, sometimes straddle state lines, and I would imagine there are backyards in different states than the houses they yard-back somewhere. Legally, however, it’s two pieces of property.
I live right near the North Carolina/South Carolina state line. Even if your property straddles the line, it counts as one property. From what I understand, as long as you pay property taxes to one of the states, everyone is happy. Just declare you live in whichever state your street address is in, and don’t try to vote in both states, and you’re okay.
You could call up Sheldon Fireworks on the Indiana/Ohio border and ask how they get around having a building in two states (check out the satellite view). Do they sell fireworks in just half of the building? Where is the cash register? Who do they pay taxes too? Who responds to a fire?
“They” could say whatever they want within reason-what does the deed say? Are there any property deeds that show a single piece of property to be in two states?
The late Huell Howser did a show on the California/Oregon border once and some of the homes there were built as you describe. If memory serves me correctly, only one state profited from each home although I do recall there being disagreements over who should collect. For example, Oregon was collecting money that California claims belongs to that state and vice versa.
I’ve met a couple of people who owned such properties. They have a lot of complaints. They get taxed in both states. In both cases their house is entirely in one state. Having a structure crossing the line probably creates more problems.