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Every town is different but 18K on a house that might be assessed at 700k is very common. Your town may just happen to have lower tax rates but every house is different as well. New construction will usually get taxed at the full rate. Older homes that have not been remodeled often get a lower tax rate. I know in my neighborhood if you do a tear down but use the old foundation you also get a more favorable tax rate. If you never did anything to your house and have not been reassessed in some time you may enjoy a lower rate. Any time a homeowner gets a permit to have work done on their house you can be assured that the town will reassess and tax you more if you made any improvements. So when you go to town hall to get permits they are gonna get you twice. Once for the fees for the permit and also again when they charge you more tax because you increased the value of your property.
my tax rate isn't low by any means. every town is different which is the point I was trying to make. with a little research you don't have to pay $18K taxes on a house assessed at 700K and can get into a "top 50" school district.
Off the top of my head, Millburn and Summit are both around 1 and 2/3 %. But I agree with your other point (also, houses are likely to be more expen$ive in places with lower property tax rates)
Actually, I think it is the opposite. Places with high property tax usually have good schools as the high property tax goes to support those schools. If you take out a map New Jersey and look at the most expensive towns then take a look at all the top ranked schools you are going to see that they are all the same towns. It is all about the school systems. Sure some houses in towns with bad schools systems can be fabulous and expensive but if you move that same exact house to a town with a good school system, that house is going to worth much more.
Princeton, Summit, Millburn, Westfield....its all the same story. Its all about the schools. Some areas can still be expensive with bad schools such as hoboken and edgewater but their value is propped up because of proximity to NY.
I didn't ask you to post it, I asked for DM. I can only assume that GR's property taxes all over are about the same, and this house is not an anomaly. Did he get a great deal for $275k?
I found an anecdotal property on the mkt in GR. Purchased almost 14 yrs ago for $290K. Property taxes now are $15.2K.
Another property is on the market for $735K with taxes at $12.5K.
Its a nice house in a good neighborhood. I would say it certainly was worth what he paid. But he did do a lot of work to improve it.
The only odd thing about the house is that it is zoned commercial/residential. Its on a main road and I believe at one time a doctor of some sort saw patients and lived at the house.
Its a nice house in a good neighborhood. I would say it certainly was worth what he paid. But he did do a lot of work to improve it.
The only odd thing about the house is that it is zoned commercial/residential. Its on a main road and I believe at one time a doctor of some sort saw patients and lived at the house.
If a doctor ran a business out of the house I would assume that would affect the assessment. That is just a pure guess but that and all the improvements might explain the tax situation.
Actually, I think it is the opposite. Places with high property tax usually have good schools as the high property tax goes to support those schools.
A couple of points -- first, it depends on how you count property tax. In terms of gross $ amount per head, Summit and Millburn are quite high. But in terms of % of home value, they are quite low. What I meant was, as % of house value. But if you count the $ amount instead, you're probably right.
Second, more spending doesn't always mean better schools. Rich towns are more likely to spend more on schools because they can afford it, but it's not clear that this money substantially improves test scores (it may for example improve the quality of extra curricular activities and instead) But there are plenty of crummy schools with high spending (e.g. Abbott districts)
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If you take out a map New Jersey and look at the most expensive towns then take a look at all the top ranked schools you are going to see that they are all the same towns. It is all about the school systems. Sure some houses in towns with bad schools systems can be fabulous and expensive but if you move that same exact house to a town with a good school system, that house is going to worth much more.
If a doctor ran a business out of the house I would assume that would affect the assessment. That is just a pure guess but that and all the improvements might explain the tax situation.
yeah, that could be it - i don't know how zoned business properties affect rates - do you pay more? <shrug> from the few properties in GR that I looked at and from what we know for certain $18K seems awfully high.
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