Having sold homes for over thirty years, I am well aware the variety of factors that need to be considered when both choosing an area and selecting a home. Typically, factors depend on where your friends are, what schools are in the neighborhood and houses of worship, transportation accessibility, and so on and so forth.

Isn’t it interesting that having sold so many homes over the years, I’ve never once had a buyer ask me the tax rate amount for the particular town? I continually point out to my buyers that the assessed value which is really the key to the calculation is multiplied by the town rate to get the year’s taxes one is obligated to pay yearly. Delinquent tax payments leads to short sales, sherriff’s sales and foreclosures, where the bank, county or town start looking to repossess the house due to non-payment.

But, let’s not jump the gun and hope that the monetary obligation taken on by the buyer will be realized for smooth home ownership. Did you ever look into the varying town rates? I’ll bet that the difference will not be as surmountable and your choice of location will ultimately depend on the commitment and passion you have regarding where you choose to reside and not based on a rate number. Alright, so this is where I, the professional realtor, is here with detailed information and facts just to enlighten the buyer with some more facts that may not even be necessary.

Did you know that in comparison to five towns in Bergen County comparing Bergenfield, Englewood, New Milford, Teaneck and Tenafly, the tax rate that is lowest is…Tenafly, yes, Tenafly, bet you didn’t guess that. OK, the rate is multiplied by the house’s assessed value and since there exists many high assessed values in Tenafly, the town maintains a “0” balance budget by keeping the rate of 2.373.

What’s next? Would you have guessed Englewood at 2.514….and then, Teaneck has a rate of 2.571, not too bad as everyone might have thought about Teaneck.

Now, here’s the surprising part……..Bergenfield comes in with a tax rate of over 3 at 3.065 while New Milford is now the highest at 3.158. Surprised?

So, let’s take some examples…..In Teaneck, a house assessed at 603,000 the tax amount times the 2.571 rate for the year would be $15,426…..compare that in Bergenfield where rate is higher, same assessment taxes are $22,010 since the same assessed value was times the 3.065 rate since……just figure out the math.

Ready to stop looking in those areas? Of course not. The difference is not that substantial and the heart and passion will lead you to your purchase of where you want to reside always factoring in your budget needs with bottom line numbers.

It’s important with all this information not to be discouraged with the higher rates in some neighborhoods just mentioned since there are also other factors which offset and determine the taxes. Since assessments are based on market value and comparable sold homes, a similar house with the exact same square footage may have different assessed values from town to town. The aforementioned areas with higher tax rates may have assessed values lower than other lower tax rate towns so it could all equalize in the end when comparing town to town. So, the example that was given of a $603,000 assessed value may have a lower assessed value in a different location for a similar home altogether. Take notice that there are fluctuations of towns which allows for higher assessments overall compared to other towns where assessments are lower and more conservative based on sold information in the locale.

Is this too much info for the home buyer? Maybe, but as a professional, my intent is based on the fact that you have a right to know. My job is to provide the facts, your job is to make decisions….hope this was helpful.

Call with any questions, I am here to diligently help my loyal customers with info, comps, details regarding housing needs.

Ruby Kaplan is a licensed realtor in New Jersey & New York. She can be reached at: 917-576-4177 or via email: [email protected] or at the V&N RE office, 201-692-3700/www.vera-nechama.com

By Ruby Kaplan/V&N Real Estate