Sunday, January 20, 2008

Matawan Revaluations - Part II

"I, __________, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully, impartially and justly perform all the duties of the office of _________ according to the best of my ability. So help me God." - New Jersey State’s Oath of Office

Public officials from Aberdeen Township and Matawan Borough have been trying to reassure residents that the property assessment revaluations would not drastically alter anyone’s property taxes. Their argument is that the revaluations are revenue neutral and therefore, on average, will not raise taxes. At the same time, I have been arguing that revenue neutral simply refers to the average but that a small percentage of homeowners would be severely impacted. I further urged our elected officials to devise a means to assist those hardest hit and least able to cope.

Well, the preliminary assessment revaluations for Matawan were certified just after the election and some homeowners will be getting clobbered with monster tax hikes. (Please note, these numbers are preliminary as property owners still have the opportunity to challenge them.)

2007 property assessments were based upon 40% of the property's market value. I reviewed nearly 240 residential property sales in Matawan over the years 2006 and 2007. Of the 240, I found twenty properties (including four condos) whose market prices were significantly higher than the borough’s valuations. I then checked the preliminary property assessments and estimated 2008 property taxes based upon the presumption that Matawan will appropriate (raise in taxes) $22 million for the upcoming fiscal year; my estimated 2008 tax rate for Matawan is $2.12 per hundred dollars of value (total appropriations / assessment roll = $22 million / $1.035 billion).

Finally, I only listed those properties whose taxes will increase over 15% this year. The table below may not be a representative sample but it certainly disproves the claim that no one’s taxes will go up by that much. Also, please note that all the properties below were recently purchased just prior to the revaluations and that these homeowners do not have a history of underpaying their "fair share".

 

Preliminary 2008 Assessment

2007 Taxes

2008 Est. Taxes

% Increase

67 BROAD ST  

$455,700

$7006.56

$9,660.84

37.88%

A-2 CROSS ROAD  

$119,400

$1240.80

$2,531.28

104.00%

B-9 CROSS RD  

$128,700

$2006.40

$2,728.44

35.99%

C-3 CROSS ROAD  

$115,600

$1240.80

$2,450.72

97.51%

D-4 CLIFFWOOD AVE

$121,700

$1240.80

$2,580.04

107.93%

32 FIERRO  AVE

$329,900

$5522.88

$6,993.88

26.63%

136 JACKSON ST  

$292,600

$5174.40

$6,203.12

19.88%

246 JACKSON ST  

$275,300

$4572.48

$5,836.36

27.64%

39 LITTLE ST 

$413,000

$7571.52

$8,755.60

15.64%

183 MAIN ST  

$525,100

$7015.28

$11,132.12

58.68%

24 OAK KNOLL DR

$380,200

$6040.32

$8,060.24

33.44%

32 PARK AVE  

$257,700

$4155.36

$5,463.24

31.47%

9 STILLWELL ST  

$218,500

$3368.64

$4,632.20

37.51%

59 WYCKOFF ST

$331,000

$5934.72

$7,017.20

18.24%


One correction that needs to be noted – A prior example I used was 59 Wyckoff St. where I suggested the property tax could jump 35% in one year. As the table above shows, the taxes will only be going up 18%. That’s because the borough has assessed the property for less than 80% of its purchase price (certainly a mixed blessing).

Another item to note is the dramatic impact the revaluations will have on condo owners – many, if not most, will see their property taxes double this year.

I urge Aberdeen Township to issue a notice to local property owners – if your property is worth more than triple your current assessment, expect a significant property hike. I also ask that both municipalities hold an emergency session to brainstorm possible means to assist those homeowners whom will be most severely affected.

At the very least, please stop telling homeowners there’s nothing to worry about.

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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

You can count on one thing for sure, Aberdeen will do nothing to help anyone who has a significant increase in their taxes. Maybe they could tap into the PILOT program to help, but they will not. Also, you can bet that all the council members and their supporters properties will be assessed at the lowest possible amounts.

Anonymous said...

It is a race Matawan v. Aberdeen.
Keep voting Democrat.
Socialists. Not Democrats. That is who you are.

Anonymous said...

Do you know if any of the properties you listed had improvements made to them prior to the revaluation? And do you know whether or not these improvements were done using permits etc? You say that since these properties were recently purchased that they did not have a history of underpaying their fair share - but perhaps the previous owner did! I think it is also unfair to compare the taxes paid in 2007 to the 2008 taxes because there is no tax rate formulated for 2008. It would be much better to compare the assessments because that is what is being revalued - not the taxes.

Aberdeener said...

I don't know if improvements were done to any of these properties. I doubt renovations alone would account for the tax hikes but you raise a good point. I discuss taxes rather than assessments because taxes are easier to understand. For the tax rate, I assumed a 4% increase in appropriations.

Aberdeener said...

My house on Zillow -
30-day change: -$94,500

Will be interesting to see the new assessment post revaluations.