List of Average Property Taxes in NJ released

[catherine]

New Jersey is notorious for its high property taxes. I've taken it for granted for 30 years now, but you have to see this list of average taxes in each town (https://patch.com/new-jersey/southbrunswick/s/gd62m/every-nj-towns-average-property-tax-bill-in-newly-released-list?utm_source=alert-breakingnews&utm_medium=email&utm_term=weather&utm_campaign=alert). Can you imagine paying 31k a year in property taxes?

My town falls in at the 9,300k range.

The day it crosses into 5 figures I am so out of here. My taxes in VT will be high by some people's standards--$300/month, but to me it's like chicken feed.

Do you consider your property taxes to be reasonable for what you get?

[Teacher Terry]

Ours on based on value and age of the home. So our 1950's 1400 sq ft ranch is worth 350k yet we only pay 700/year in taxes. It is probably why our schools are about the worst in the nation. If our house was newer with the same value we would pay more.

[iris lilies]

New Jersey is notorious for its high property taxes. I've taken it for granted for 30 years now, but you have to see this list of average taxes in each town (https://patch.com/new-jersey/southbrunswick/s/gd62m/every-nj-towns-average-property-tax-bill-in-newly-released-list?utm_source=alert-breakingnews&utm_medium=email&utm_term=weather&utm_campaign=alert). Can you imagine paying 31k a year in property taxes?

My town falls in at the 9,300k range.

The day it crosses into 5 figures I am so out of here. My taxes in VT will be high by some people's standards--$300/month, but to me it's like chicken feed.

Do you consider your property taxes to be reasonable for what you get?
We pay $3700 annually and I do not mind it. I use a lot of city services and love the garbage service. lOVE IT! Few love their garbage service as I do. I get giant garbage cans behind my house, in the alley. Three different kinds. I get water at a flat rate. I get wood chips and compost delivered to our community garden for all to take, and until recently I got piles of it delivered directly to my personal and private community garden, but rhey cut that service to save money. I dwill nt blame them, it was luxe.

so much of that tax money goes to the rotting school system, though, and I wouldnt send a child of mine to public schools here. So there’s that, really poor deliveray of education service.

[sweetana3]

Ours are about $2500. Water, sewer and such are separate. Love our library system which is included and our police/fire are first rate. Gentrification downtown is helping to level out the exempt church/not for profit properties. Our school system cannot seem to get their act together. They recently asked for 1 billion $$$ for salaries and such. Got so much negative feedback on lack of transparency, it is now down to $750 million. Going for the referendum vote this year. Real estate board already has come out against which is telling.

[razz]

If I was you, I would beat the rush leaving while house prices still hold in NJ.

In Ontario, I pay $3200 a year for a 1300 sq ft new home (3BR, 2 bath on main floor, double garage, small pie-shaped lot) in town with most services included but pay extra for water, sewage and utilities. The property taxes I am reading here are surprising.

[herbgeek]

Wow, you guys are getting such relative deals! I pay $5200 for a 1600 square foot house. No garbage collection, no water or sewer, and definitely no compost in that either. Just police/fire/library/roads/school. My house is assessed around 260k I think, which I would have a hard time getting if I sold.

[Teacher Terry]

HG: we also pay extra for everything you do but since ours are so cheap no complaining from me:))

[rosarugosa]

We pay about $3200. Our humble home is a little less than 1000 SF and our lot is 6400 SF. Trash pickup is included, but water and sewer are charged separately and run about $700 per year. I guess it's relatively cheap for a town quite close to Boston.

[pinkytoe]

The prop taxes for the house we sold in Austin were at $10,500 when we sold it over a year ago - a 1950s 2 BR house with a carport. Our 2000sf house here in Colorado has taxes of $1000. Which is one of the main reasons we moved here. That being said, there are some obvious deficits here like not enough policeman that goes along with lower taxes.

[ToomuchStuff]

Can you imagine paying 31k a year in property taxes?


Yes I can, pretty easily.
There is a woman I know, that has made 18 year olds, up to her age group (she doesn't look it), 60ish, drool. She lived in a friends house for a bit, where the rentals were 30K a MONTH. She couldn't figure out how to swing that.
On the other hand, a builder friend, invited me to see a house he was working on, that my house would fit in the master closet. The bought another lot, so the gymnasium roof, would NOT protrude above the rest of the houses roof, so no issues with the neighbors.
I live in a poor section of town and have mostly been quite happy there for my life. I don't always consider my property taxes reasonable, because my city chooses to give TIFF/tax breaks to companies to move, further east in the town, diminishing values of area's like mine.

[flowerseverywhere]

Moving from NY I can imagine taxes that high. Ours were close to $10,000 in a town in Upstate for a house just over $200,000 in value. We had a great school, and a lot of money went to snow removal. Plus someone has to pay for NYC to protect the Trump empire

[JaneV2.0]

I'm inclined to think my taxes are outrageous--at over 6K on a house worth (on paper) 700K--but we have relatively good, well-stocked schools, a world-class library system, and a carefully maintained infrastructure. So I guess I shouldn't complain.

[SteveinMN]

Our house is tax-valued at around $215K (mid-70s rambler, 1700 sq ft, three bedrooms, finished basement, detached garage on a city lot). We pay around $2500/year in taxes plus about $300/year in road- and sewer-maintenance fees and $350/year for garbage collection. Of course, everything beyond that (security alarm permit, "special" trash, trades permits, etc.) is extra.

Except for truly slapdash road maintenance (our city is known to be terrible at it), yeah, I think we get what we pay for. Parks are in good shape, services are available outside of "banker's hours" (i.e., when taxpayers are around to use them), most public schools (even some within the city) are good, and there's still a sense among the government employees I know that what they do makes a positive difference.

Tax revenue is an issue in my city because there is so much property (city, county, and state government buildings; churches; universities; and health non-profits) which are not charged property tax anywhere near what they would pay as for-profit entities and there is no substantial amount of open land available for further development. The only way "out" is up, which bothers lots of folks here in older neighborhoods who don't like to see the density of the city increase. But at some point they will no longer be able to yell at the new kids to get off their lawns...

[JaneV2.0]

I forgot to mention our wonderful waterfront parks, including a huge state park. Yeah, I'll quit complaining (while contemplating a move...)

[LDAHL]

It will be interesting to see what impact the new limit on the deductability of state and local taxes will have on the middle class in places like New Jersey. I would think that at some point places like New Jersey will be in even more difficulty due to their significantly underfunded public pensions.

[frugal-one]

The village where I live just recently purchased the golf course where every household is going to have to pay for it. A WASTE of my money!!! I don't care if it is only $100/year now extra on my taxes. I don't golf! There was a referendum and they are planning on spending something like $32 million on new schools for a population of 7500!! They also are planning a new fire and police department and need a new sewer plant. I can't convince my SO to move. In a few years our taxes are sure to go up BIG TIME. Now they are about $3,500 for a 1800sf, 3 br, 1 1/2 bath 2 story with a 3 car garage. The house was built in the 40s and is nice but nothing special. Water, sewer, garbage pickup are not included.

[rosarugosa]

I find the relative property valuations also interesting. Our extremely modest, one bedroom, no garage, no dishwasher, non-finished cellar etc. home is worth at least $300,000, and in fact our lot is probably worth that much without the house on it. Bot hey, we like it; it's home. But it does probably put us at the very lowest end of the property tax spectrum.

[iris lilies]

We put a market value of $235,000 on our house but at the moment that is low. But still, I believe I could sell it today,as is, for that price so it is fine. Again, our real estate taxes are $3,700 annually. Se also pay a city income tac of 1%. We also pay “personal property tax” a tax on motor vehicles. So it is all higher than just real estate.

[SteveinMN]

The village where I live just recently purchased the golf course where every household is going to have to pay for it. A WASTE of my money!!! I don't care if it is only $100/year now extra on my taxes. I don't golf! There was a referendum and they are planning on spending something like $32 million on new schools for a population of 7500!! They also are planning a new fire and police department and need a new sewer plant. I can't convince my SO to move.
Interestingly (for a place where you need an orange ball several months of the year), Minnesota is one of the top golfing states -- or was: lots of the older players are moving to warmer climes (or just dying off) and Millennials don't seem to want to spend a few hours on a golf course with any frequency. So, many public and private courses have closed over the last five years or so; the most recent being the municipal course two cities away from us.

Must be a lot of golfers where you live. Unless it's being purchased in anticipation of the course closing and then controlling redevelopment of the property.

What was the result of the school referendum? Did it pass? And is SO okay with the coming levels of municipal spending? Civic life sure would be much different if we all paid for only the civic amenities we actually used.


We also pay “personal property tax” a tax on motor vehicles. So it is all higher than just real estate.
We also have such taxes. We also have taxes levied on the properties near big things like sports arenas or light rail. And we have permit fees for just about anything you can think of and probably a few you can't. And some places use property tax in lieu of local income taxes. It is far more than just property taxes.

[iris lilies]

My Minnesota relatives are golfing fanatics but the younger generation is taking up curling as well.

[razz]

This seems to be the thing to do. Golf in spring, summer and fall and curling in winter. It is hilarious hearing about the stress levels when the two seasons overlap and timing conflicts develop. Often the two groups are the same except when some of the golfers go south for the winter.

When I think about it, the two groups are almost self-sufficient unto themselves. The general population has little 'social' contact with these two groups Is that the usual result? Is it because of the cost of belonging or choice of lifestyle?


My Minnesota relatives are golfing fanatics but the younger generation is taking up curling as well.

[iris lilies]

This seems to be the thing to do. Golf in spring, summer and fall and curling in winter. It is hilarious hearing about the stress levels when the two seasons overlap and timing conflicts develop. Often the two groups are the same except when some of the golfers go south for the winter.

When I think about it, the two groups are almost self-sufficient unto themselves. The general population has little 'social' contact with these two groups Is that the usual result? Is it because of the cost of belonging or choice of lifestyle?
I don’t know what you mean. My Minnesota relatives are very successful in life as engineers. Ut have wide social circle. They play cards, do church stuff, etc. My brother in law is that rare breed of engineer who has people skills so he has risen in his company quite far.p in management.

[SteveinMN]

My Minnesota relatives are golfing fanatics but the younger generation is taking up curling as well.
How many of them picked it up in the last two weeks? lol

Seriously, curling is "a thing" here, particularly lately. Looks like a fun sport. Appeals to the physics buff in me.

[JaneV2.0]

I like to watch curling--in fact most of the winter Olympic sports, save figure skating--I'm glad it's having its day.