there has to be more to this story.

The property owner you rent from must have recently visited the Pot states and still be high, because it doesn't take a genius to know that property taxes are owed, and the second you don't pay, is the second leins are going to be levied.
If hes willing to believe there are no consequences to not paying his property taxes and the problem will "go away", then his problem isn't bad advice from a lawyer, but pure personal idiocy.

No offense if the property owner is your friend, but seriously, thats pretty amazing. Believing some nonsense like "if you don't pay it will go away" with owed property taxes is the same type of brain lapse as believing that you don't have to register, insure, or plate your car because some guy told you that was totally cool with the cops.

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