Westfield Tax Evaluation? (Scotch Plains: how much, buying a house, buying)
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When was the last time taxes have been evaluated in Westfield? We're looking at houses there, and the taxes seem very comparable to taxes in Essex county. Scotch Plains taxes too seem really high. I guess I should look in Morris county, huh?
They haven't in a long time. That is why two very similar houses, one can pay $12K/year and the other $22K/year. The only difference is one was a rehab (taxed based on "improvements") and the other was a complete tear down and rebuild (taxed as a new house). Not exactly fair, but you know this when you buy your house
if a tax reval happens it doesn't mean your taxes will go up. that would not dissuade me from buying a house there.
but you can pretty much tell which ones will get higher taxes. If the house across the street is exactly like yours, and they are paying 50% more taxes than you are, if there is a reval, you will probably go up (probably close to 50%)
I have seen sellers get more for a house because the taxes "are low". How much is it worth to you to save $500/month in taxes? Over 30 years, it would be like having $100K less on your mortgage. The only problem is that is could just disappear tomorrow.
I agree that it would not stop me from buying a house there, but it would also make me a little careful when buying something that has obviously low taxes and the seller wants a huge premium for that
but you can pretty much tell which ones will get higher taxes. If the house across the street is exactly like yours, and they are paying 50% more taxes than you are, if there is a reval, you will probably go up (probably close to 50%)
I have seen sellers get more for a house because the taxes "are low". How much is it worth to you to save $500/month in taxes? Over 30 years, it would be like having $100K less on your mortgage. The only problem is that is could just disappear tomorrow.
I agree that it would not stop me from buying a house there, but it would also make me a little careful when buying something that has obviously low taxes and the seller wants a huge premium for that
+1
That being said, is Westfield the exception or more like the norm in NJ with tax rev being put off?
but you can pretty much tell which ones will get higher taxes. If the house across the street is exactly like yours, and they are paying 50% more taxes than you are, if there is a reval, you will probably go up (probably close to 50%)
I have seen sellers get more for a house because the taxes "are low". How much is it worth to you to save $500/month in taxes? Over 30 years, it would be like having $100K less on your mortgage. The only problem is that is could just disappear tomorrow.
I agree that it would not stop me from buying a house there, but it would also make me a little careful when buying something that has obviously low taxes and the seller wants a huge premium for that
how would someone, even in an town with older housing stock, have the *exact* same house with taxes 50% higher? the only way the taxes would be higher is if there were some renovations done, in which case the houses are not exactly the same.
the majority of people have the notion that "reval=higher taxes". I could link post after post after post after post where people are freaked out because their towns are being reevaluated. They don't realize 1/3 go up, 1/3 stay, 1/3 drop. They also don't realize that the TAX RATE DROPS (well, this is assuming the town hasn't been revaled in forever) after. I've seen posts where people actually thought their taxes increased 72%!
so, my point is that in general, the fact that a town has not been revaled in a long time is no reason to write it off!
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