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Hello! first time ever posting. So here is the deal, My wife and i are looking for a home in morris county due to the taxes are just too high in essex. We are looking in morris county but not too far west in morris county.We are also expecting a baby in a couple weeks. I am from Verona and love the suburbs so looking for something like that. Also would love younger couples in the area. so far we like denville, parsippany troy hills, maybe even randolph but no nothing about them
-Looking to spend-200-350k- 400 the most but must be move in ready-also dont mind fixer-upers
-looking for suburban atmosphere. Park, nice nieghborhoods to walk around
-I will be commuting to Montclair, NJ
-NOT looking for too "woodsy" love the suburban feel
-Of course as everyone else, Looking for affordable and low taxes(obviously)
-Open to all options, We just know NOTHING about Morris County
Hello! first time ever posting. So here is the deal, My wife and i are looking for a home in morris county due to the taxes are just too high in essex. We are looking in morris county but not too far west in morris county.We are also expecting a baby in a couple weeks. I am from Verona and love the suburbs so looking for something like that. Also would love younger couples in the area. so far we like denville, parsippany troy hills, maybe even randolph but no nothing about them
-Looking to spend-200-350k- 400 the most but must be move in ready-also dont mind fixer-upers
-looking for suburban atmosphere. Park, nice nieghborhoods to walk around
-I will be commuting to Montclair, NJ
-NOT looking for too "woodsy" love the suburban feel
-Of course as everyone else, Looking for affordable and low taxes(obviously)
-Open to all options, We just know NOTHING about Morris County
Thank you!
Check out Boonton; it has a sort of South Orange vibe. The housing stock is older but you should find something nice at your price point. The downtown is really sweet with a lot of great restaurants. There is even a NJ Transit train station with service to Montclair should you wish to commute via train. I can't vouch for the elementary and middle schools, but IIRC Boonton students attend Mountain Lakes High School which is VERY highly rated.
Check out Boonton; it has a sort of South Orange vibe. The housing stock is older but you should find something nice at your price point. The downtown is really sweet with a lot of great restaurants. There is even a NJ Transit train station with service to Montclair should you wish to commute via train. I can't vouch for the elementary and middle schools, but IIRC Boonton students attend Mountain Lakes High School which is VERY highly rated.
The students from Boonton (the town) go to Boonton High School, along with students from Lincoln Park.
The students in Boontown (the township) go to Mountain Lakes High School, along with students from Mountain Lakes, of course.
Yes, there are two Boontons, just as there are two Chathams, two Mendhams, and two Chesters, lol.
how many bedrooms? what size lot (if important)? are schools quality a key factor or might you move again before that's critical? those will drive which towns are realistic for your budget.
how many bedrooms? what size lot (if important)? are schools quality a key factor or might you move again before that's critical? those will drive which towns are realistic for your budget.
Don't care about lot size really, 2-3 bedrooms, I prefer ok schools
Don't care about lot size really, 2-3 bedrooms, I prefer ok schools
You mentioned Denville on your list. That is the town that came to mind. I think you'll have more luck getting something in your price range than in Morris Plains.
1. It's a myth that property taxes in Morris County are cheaper than Essex County. You need to compare individual TOWNS, not county against county. You also need to compare each towns effective tax rate (and not the general tax rate). Below is a list of all the towns in both Morris County and Essex County, sorted by effective property tax rate, with Morris County towns in red, and Essex County towns in blue.
Harding 0.99
East Hanover 1.504
Florham Park 1.517
Hanover 1.557
Chatham Twp 1.607
Madison 1.653
Chatham Boro 1.697
Riverdale 1.724
Morris Twp 1.829
Millburn 1.835
Mendham Boro 1.894
Mendham Twp 1.937
Fairfield 1.997
Pequannock 2.01
Boonton Twp 2.017
Essex Fells 2.02
Morris Plains 2.034
Roseland 2.043
Montville 2.054
North Caldwell 2.104 Denville 2.133
Cedar Grove 2.146
Long Hill 2.213
Chester Twp 2.223
Morristown 2.225
Mountain Lakes 2.225 Parsippany 2.272
Mount Arlington 2.299
Dover 2.31
Livingston 2.319
Kinnelon 2.358
Washington 2.384
West Caldwell 2.39
Chester Boro 2.398
Victory Gardens 2.407 Randolph 2.419
Caldwell 2.447
Butler 2.487
Jefferson 2.56
Rockaway Boro 2.568
Boonton Town 2.595
Lincoln Park 2.606
Mine Hill 2.619
Roxbury 2.676 Verona 2.698
Wharton 2.772
Rockaway Twp 2.84
Newark 2.902
Montclair 3.002
Nutley 3.048
Glen Ridge 3.126
Mount Olive 3.146
Netcong 3.157
Maplewood 3.231
South Orange 3.262
Belleville 3.556
Bloomfield 3.616
West Orange 3.698
Orange 4.208
East Orange 4.422
Irvington 4.623
In my opinion, if your sole concern is property taxes, you can take Randolph out of the running. You're barely saving any money on property taxes. You're talking about going from 2.698% in Verona, to 2.419% in Randolph. You can stay in Essex County and move even to Livingston and have cheaper property taxes. Yeah, you're not going to get a big shiny mansion for $400,000, but you don't seem to be asking for one, and you don't care about a big yard either. Contrary to popular belief, there are homes for sale in the likes of Livingston at that price point. And even in the $300k's.
This is what I mean when I say that it's a myth that Morris County property taxes are cheaper than Essex County.
2. I'd think hard about Parsippany and Denville as well, again, if your sole concern is the property tax bill.
To repeat, the effective tax rate in Verona is 2.698%.
Denville = 2.133%
Parsippany = 2.272%
Let's use a home with an assessed value of $350,000.
Is that really that much of a savings to you? We're talking about $1,500 to $2,000 saved each year. That amounts to $125-$170 a month. When you factor in the extra gas and wear & tear on your car from the longer commute to Montclair, you are basically breaking even.
3. I would suggest looking in East Hanover and Hanover. (FYI, Whippany and Cedar Knolls are both a part of Hanover). With (a) property tax rates of 1.504% and 1.557%, and (b) a good amount of reasonably priced average houses, you have a good chance of lucking out and really saving a significant amount on property taxes...enough to make a move worth it. These towns are also closer to Essex County/Montclair than almost all other towns in Morris County. East Hanover, especially.
FYI, Harding is an outlier with that 0.99% tax rate. That tax rate is what it is because the average house in Harding cost $2 million, or something like that. So those people pay "low" property taxes of $20,000 a year.
4. Don't rule out towns entirely because you've heard that they are too expensive. For example Chatham. Believe it or not, there ARE decent homes for sale in Chatham in your price range. Not many, but they exist. Will you find a mansion with all the bells and whistles? No. But it sounds like you have reasonable expectations, so it's worth it to at least look. Example: MLS# 3288784.
Also, Florham Park.
Madison, obviously, is also great, but it will be harder to find anything $400,000 or lower. But again, it doesn't hurt to look. Even if there is nothing out there right this minute, you never know when something will come on the market.
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