“Should I appeal my tax assessment?”
As the April 1st tax appeal deadline approaches, that’s the question du jour.
Town-wide re-valuations are done every 5 to 10 years in an effort to fairly distribute the tax burden across all property owners according to the value of each property. However, sometimes the system fails. If your home was measured incorrectly or if an extra bathroom was inadvertently added into your assessment, you may be paying more than your fair share in real estate taxes.
Over-assessment can also be the result of a neighborhood that declines in value relative to other neighborhoods, or a shift in buyer preference for a certain style of house. If you believe you’ve been assessed unfairly, you have the opportunity to challenge your assessment, and this is especially important to do if you’re planning on listing your house soon.
According to Jeffrey Otteau, one of New Jersey’s most respected appraisers, there’s not only a direct relationship between an over-assessed house and its selling price, there’s even a rule-of-thumb calculation you can apply to determine how much it will affect your selling price.
Otteau says that when selling, a home’s value is reduced by 7.5 times the excess valuation. So, for example, if most of the 1,800 SF, 2-Bath houses in the area have yearly taxes of $16,000 and the taxes on your 1,800 SF, 2-Bath house are $18,000, all other things being equal, that additional $2,000 translates to a $15,000 reduction in value in the marketplace.
The key in evaluating your tax burden is understanding how your home – and assessed taxes – compare with similar homes/taxes. I’m always happy to meet with sellers a year (or more!) before they put their house on the market to determine whether it’s worthwhile to challenge their current tax assessment. Call or text: 973-809-5277
