Old Tappan/Bergen County - taxes and in ground pools (sale, rent)

[eggzlot]

We are kicking around the idea of adding an in ground pool to our house. Anyone have any estimates on how much more it will cost a year in taxes in Old Tappan? Considering a moderately sized in ground gunite pool. We talking 1,200/year more (so like $100 month) or are we talking $5k+? Would add moderate landscaping too to the area but we already have a patio so would just be coping stones around the pool and a small path to the pool, etc.

[bookspage]

The best idea is to go talk to your town. They're pretty honest about this stuff although they can't give you final numbers until the job is done. But they will be able to give you a ballpark

[JaRuss01]

Guy up the street recently bought a house with a pool. He was under assessed compared to his purchase price. so the tax assessor claimed they never knew the house had a pool. His assessment was upped 110k, applied to 3.5% tax rate. Essex county. Taxes are now 36k. Fought it, and lost.

In any regard, the incremental value was 110k and under 4K/yr

[Retriever]

In addtion to the property tax factor, anyone who is contenplating the addition of a backyard pool needs to explore the following questions:

How much more will your home insurance company charge for liability coverage after you have added a pool?
How much will it cost to add a child-proof fence around the pool, which will be required by your home insurance company?

[HudsonCoNJ]

Yikes. Sounds like mucho dinero. Just buy the family a season pass to Mountain Creek and call it a day.

[JaRuss01]

If you really want to get into the nitty gritty of the economics of having a pool - just throwing around loose arbitrary numbers

Ongoing Cost:

Sacrificed backyard space - how much allocated property taxes do you pay for that land? 3, 4, 5, 6k+ / year (thats 300-600/mo)
Increased tax assessment - 2, 3, 4k / year (thats 200-400/mo)
Maintenance cost - pool cleaning, mechanical upkeep
Increased home insurance cost - xxx

Upfront cost:

Pool installing, paver surround, fence

Return:

50% of your upfront costs


.....i mean, you could join almost any local country club for significantly less, pretty much take your pick. The joiner fee would be significantly less, and the monthly dues would be less all of the costs cited above. You get gym memberships, a pool, no liabilities, ongoing cancellation, preserved backyard space, golf, restaurants...

[bookspage]

Pools are a fun luxury to have, but they don't make any financial sense here IMO. The season here is soooo short. If you don't have a pool heater, it will be freezing well into June.

But not everything has to make financial sense...if it's something someone wants, then great.

[eggzlot]

Thanks all. I was only talking tax increase, nothing to do with the sale or value of our house. We moved in a little over 3 years ago and its a large house for us to grow into, so we are hoping to be fortunate to be around for a while so we do not mind investing in our property. We are already looking at adding a fence regardless because we have a dog, so that cost is already a sunken cost as we are doing a fence regardless. And yes we are aware insurance will go up, and I can call them and get a specific # whereas you cannot call someone to get a specific tax # which is why I was curious if anyone had some real world examples from my area.

Not to sound like a snob, but you cannot compare the town pool to a pool in your yard - there is something nice about the privacy, cleanliness, ability to host family/friends, accessibility, etc. Why buy a car? Whenever you need one just call Avis or Hertz and see what you can rent for the day? Why have a grill - you can go to the park and use their grills for free. Why even have a large property when you can get a small plot and just go walk around the neighborhood park. There are lot of things that are a luxury that may not have value to all but some may value it.

I'll just take a trip to my tax office in town when I have some time to inquire.