Hi Janadeen,
I'm a Realtor with Burgdorff in Maplewood/South Orange, and the short answer I often give is that our property taxes are the premium we pay for living close to NYC (30 minutes on NJ Transit mid-town direct) and having great schools. We lived in Bklyn for a decade and thought about buying a beautiful home in Ditmas Park and sending our 2 kids to private school, but at the end of the day, we thought the quality of life would be better here in Maplewood, NJ, and I'm happy to say it's been five years and we were right. If you are interested in this area, please check out my website, http://www.amypaternite.com. I would be more than happy to show you around.
Regards,
Amy

Hi Janadeen,
Rick from USA Real Estate here.
I love to to work in neighboring counties/ cities next to NYC.
I find myself speaking with many people moving in from NY looking for a "different appeal".
Taxes...I primarily work within the Essex, Bergen and Union County towns.
I currently have an incredible listing in West Orange. The house and property are fabulous, taxes are $23K.
People ask, why...well, basically amenities, school tax, and your town. West Orange for example is a town that offers a TON for its residents. There is a NJ Transit bus that stops down the street from this home and the ride in is 45min. There are two local train stations that have access to the city. Steps away from the city, but still be in a country side environment.
Im having an open house this Sunday from 1 - 4 pm. Come and check it out!
1 Allsop Court
West Orange, NJ http://www.ricardocostaonline.com

Hi Jandeen,

In my area, as I understand it 65% of my local taxes go to the school system. So I weighed the $ amount for me in particular, my house, yard and amenities, location of East Brunswick and great neighborhood and as I said, this versus sending my kids to "private" school @ 3500 each it works out to be the same.

Don't get me wrong, I miss Brooklyn... and I still go backl every 4 weeks to get a haircut on New Utrecht Ave, have pizza, pick up cheeses and bagels.... so it works out : )

Call me and we can discuss further, I can show you around the area and see some homes.

John Sacktig
Broker / Sales Associate
732-213-1409
http://www.orangekeyrealty.com

Janadeen, in the last comment I think you're talking about our homestead rebate program. It really doesn't amount to much in the scheme of things. It's a state issued check that goes out in October, interestingly, just before the election! Our municipalities are also supposed to work un a CAP law, capping increases in annual budgets, but there are numerous exemptions.

Good luck in your search for a home! If you have questions about Ocean or Atlantic counties, let us know!

*Laura*
Thanks very much for this detailed response.

I think it's exactly what I was looking for. I wasn't up on all the detail as to what exactly makes up our taxes. Great to know.

*John*
I still can't wrap my head around the why of NJ's being so high though. Like everyone else though, I'll guess we'll have to accept it and move on.

I vaguely recall something in the news, maybe last year or so, about a rebate or a halt in the increases or something like that. Wonder whatever happened there ...

I moved from Brooklyn 6 years ago, Bensonhurst. I wanted some grass, a yard and central A/C. I also planned it around my first child going to school. As I looked at into East Brunswick, a highly rated public school system was the point. 65% of the taxes here go to the school system. Either way, If I stayed in Brooklyn and sent my kids to Our Lady of Guadalupe..@ 3500 per child... do the math. It paid off and still does, I am 10 minutes from Rutgers, 20 minutes from Princeton. The commute into the city is great and East Brunswick is a great place to live.

Better schools and a better environment for the kids = higher taxes

Janadeen, my husband and I moved to Bergen county, NJ from Brooklyn 15 years ago because I became pregnant with my first child. We still live in Bergen county, albeit in diferent town but still love it here. Close commute to the city, schools are great, no taxes on clothes. As far as property taxes, I understand, NYS has much higher taxes for much less land. If you are interested in looking in Bergen county, I would love to help you. PS special service would be better roads, better school systems, more parking spaces in the stores just to name a few...

You can basically blame our high taxes on our state government. It's just the way it is here. Some people think it is worth it to live in such a beautiful state, other get priced out.
Like Laura said, there are municipalities that have managed to keep the ratable low so that even high priced homes have low taxes.
Find the are you want to live and then check out the ratables for the towns there, keeping in mind that a town with a good tax rate may have homes that cost more, but in the long run, you may be able to afford a house there as easily as in a town with cheaper priced homes but a high ratable.
If your travels bring you to Monmouth or Ocean county, I have the ratable charts for those counties and would be happy to share/discuss them with you.

Hi Janadeen, my husband and I moved to Somerset County from Brooklyn 15 years ago. We decided on this area because it was close enough to the city for a reasonable commute, you got more for your money in terms of both property and home, and the schools are great. This area became an option when Interstate 78 opened up. Depending on what you are looking for and your budget, there are several communities in Somerset County that are worth considering, and all in all, offer a good value tax-wise. I'd suggest you think about Warren, Watchung, Basking Ridge, and Bridgewater.

As pointed out, taxes vary community to community and you are wise to keep your eye on this component. In terms of services, keep quality of schools in your view - even if not important to you now, it will impact resale.

I can help you in any of these communities as well as others. I'm working with a couple now that is making the very move you are contemplating - from Brooklyn to NJ. They were first attracted to Watchung/Warren because of the larger properties, but we have now extended our view to include Morris Township for commuting purposes.

You can find me online at http://www.feenick.com You'll find school info there - I find the Star Ledger Interactive School Report Card most helpful because it allows you to compare/contrast districts/schools.

I hope to hear from you - I'd be honored to assist you in your search and purchaes in NJ.

Best,
Jeannie Feenick
Weichert Realtors
Search and connect at http://www.feenick.com

New Jersey property taxes are set at the local level. There are 4 components: the county tax rate, the municipal tax rate, the school tax rate and in some communities a fire district tax. If you are looking for lower tax rates more likely than not you'll have to look at NJ municipalities further south. For example, some taxes in Ocean County municipalities are very reasonable, we're about an hour from NY and Philadelphia.
If you'd like more info on NJ taxes and the rates in various towns, contact me.

Hi. For the extra tax money that we pay, NJ homeowners (such as myself) receive the privilege of more traffic jams, more bureaucratic red tape for anything remotely connected to a state agency, more corruption at the state level, major flooding every couple of years, a state budget that is irreparably broken, and rapidly depreciating equity in our homes upon which those taxes are based, than any other state in the region. Where else can you pay 10K per year in taxes for 2007 on a house you bought for 630K last year, only to have both your taxes raised by 20% and the value of your home lowered by 20% at the same time in 2008?

While there are many towns in NJ that have excellent school systems and passable local government, there are just as many towns that do not. Unfortunately, the taxes for the municipalities that are run like crap are often higher. Why, you ask? Because those municipalities are run like crap, that's why!

Believe it or not, I actually like it here overall. But boy did you hit a sore spot!