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“We would not have moved here, because the taxes would easily have priced us out,” Mr. Mueller said, “except that it was the perfect house for us, and we were able to get a deal since it needed significant repair.”
Are these people SERIOUS?!? "It was the perfect house, but the taxes priced us out, so we bought anyway and only now do we have a legitimate gripe!!!!!" GMAFB.
I'm not sure why these articles always single out West Orange. They fail to mention that similar homes in towns like Montclair cost over $100k more and have even higher tax bills. That's what we found when looking for houses. And in towns like Verona and Cedar Grove (where we also looked), similar houses cost $100k more with about the same in taxes. For comparison, my home in West Orange was about 350k with an 8k tax bill. A similar house in Montclair was about 450k with a 15k tax bill. And another similar house in Verona was $430k with a 9k tax bill. WO was the only option we could afford.
I'm not sure why these articles always single out West Orange.
Because it has exceptionally high taxes in proportion to property values. Your taxes are unusually low (don't let the town know your place is worth 350k!). Most WO houses have property taxes at about 3% current market value, though some are more like 4 or 5%. In Montclair it's more like 2.5%. It's true that the 420k WO house with a 12,600 property tax bill is probably a nicer house than a 500k place in Montclair house with a 12,500 tax bill.
Always high, but WO's taxes also grew very quickly over the last 10 years or so. The tax rate -- gross property tax as a percentage of home value grew even more conspicuously, because the high tax bill also reduces the price. For example, a place worth 500k that "should be" taxed at 10k (2%) but instead is taxed at 16k is going to sell for only 400k because of the higher tax bill, so the tax rate jumps from 2% to 4% -- e.g. a 60% in gross taxes resulted in a 100% increase in the tax rate.
There are two sides to this -- one is that a 400k house in WO is probably as nice as a 500k or 600k place in Montclair (and the tax bill is about the same, maybe slightly less than the Montclair place). However, that's not much of a consolation if you bought recently (after 2000) and you're watching tax hikes destroy the equity in your home, or if you bought before then and those property tax bills grew faster than your income.
I'm not sure why these articles always single out West Orange. They fail to mention that similar homes in towns like Montclair cost over $100k more and have even higher tax bills. That's what we found when looking for houses. And in towns like Verona and Cedar Grove (where we also looked), similar houses cost $100k more with about the same in taxes. For comparison, my home in West Orange was about 350k with an 8k tax bill. A similar house in Montclair was about 450k with a 15k tax bill. And another similar house in Verona was $430k with a 9k tax bill. WO was the only option we could afford.
so true ansky. it's not like the other towns have significantly lower taxes AND similar prices. the taxes are lower, and, as a result, the prices are much higher (for the most part). the result is, at the end of the day, mortgage, insurance, and taxes comes out to be the same. i looked at a house in verona that had a tax bill $3,000 smaller ($250/month) but a price tag $50,000 higher (approximately $250-$300/month depending on mortgage interest rate) - so what's the difference?
but - something does need to be done about the waste in NJ with tax dollars.
so true ansky. it's not like the other towns have significantly lower taxes AND similar prices. the taxes are lower, and, as a result, the prices are much higher (for the most part). the result is, at the end of the day, mortgage, insurance, and taxes comes out to be the same. i looked at a house in verona that had a tax bill $3,000 smaller ($250/month) but a price tag $50,000 higher (approximately $250-$300/month depending on mortgage interest rate) - so what's the difference?
but - something does need to be done about the waste in NJ with tax dollars.
the difference is your purchase price is static, your taxes aren't. i would argue that WO unfortunately has high prices AND high taxes.
the difference is your purchase price is static, your taxes aren't. i would argue that WO unfortunately has high prices AND high taxes.
i'm not sure i'd want to pay out $100,000 more now to save a few thousand a year on taxes. that $100,000 extra is accruing interest over the life of your loan.
but i understand, taxes rarely, if ever, go down - they likely will only go up. but we as residents need to voice our concern and hold our elected officials accountable.
i'm not sure i'd want to pay out $100,000 more now to save a few thousand a year on taxes. that $100,000 extra is accruing interest over the life of your loan.
but i understand, taxes rarely, if ever, go down - they likely will only go up. but we as residents need to voice our concern and hold our elected officials accountable.
where in the general vicinity of WO is a comparable house $100K more? (not talking mansions)
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