The Tax Man Commeth

[Scorpio64 5,163]

My township sent out notices that they are dispatching "assessors" to do exterior and interior inspections on all properties.  We have had an assessor in our home probably three times since we've owned this property.

What I found interesting is that the word TAX is not mentioned once in the letter, which leads me to believe the inspection is a little more broader than what the letter suggests.  Like they left out the word tax for a very specific reason.

Refusal of the interior inspection is allowed (pfft, allowed) and we plan on doing exactly that.  It's the same freaking house it was when we bought it 28 years ago.

Just wondering, without getting political in the GD section, how often does your town or borough inspect the interior of your home?

[silverado427 10,760]

In Toms River the Assessor comes around around every ten years, And its pretty funny that they schedule it when the property values are high. My taxes went up almost a thousand dollars the last time the assessor came around.

[45Doll 5,881]

1 hour ago, Scorpio64 said:

It's the same freaking house it was when we bought it 28 years ago.

Think so? Check your property card.

My mother's house hadn't changed since it was built in 1952. But back in the 2oth century when the property taxes were skyrocketing, I went to look at the property card in the assessors office. Among other nonexistent features I found on it was a finished basement and two extra baths.

Even better, the office manager tried to tell me that the arithmetic on the card (based on the features listed) that resulted perfectly in the property tax total, had NOTHING TO DO with the tax levied.

The last assessment they did on our current home was all wrong. Fortunately I had the blueprints for the house and corrected all the mistakes in the assessor's measurements.

[CMJeepster 2,780]

ALWAYS CHECK "THEIR" WORK!!!  The last one we had been subject to was a total hack job.  We fought it and got it corrected.  We weren't happy with the increase, but it could have been worse.

[Tunaman 558]

27.00 and change in tolls to drive down the shore from Rutherford,  47.00 in tolls to go out to Long island to visit dying relatives. Now I read they are going to raise the fees in the DMV. Murphy lied just to get elected when he said that seniors will get a significant tax break with his StayNJ" program to stop us from leaving.   Keep voting for democrats...this is what you get.  Tax and spend is all they know.  Never cut anything.  This state sucks.

[raz-0 1,259]

7 hours ago, Scorpio64 said:

Just wondering, without getting political in the GD section, how often does your town or borough inspect the interior of your home?

In 50 years of living in NJ I've never experienced any attempt to inspect the interior of the home, and only one definite inspection of the exterior for an announced reassessment of all properties and that was a drive by. About 9 years of that was living in an apartment, but still, uncommon. Every place I lived had either a finished attic, basement, or both. But they were also included in the habitable square footage on the taxes when we got there. 

[1LtCAP 4,264]

i've lived in this house nearly my entire life. and i can't remember my town sending an assessor to look inside.

[Shocker 151]

I’ve lived in my current house six years and they sent an inspector once, some time around when the lockdowns were starting to lift. 
 

They sent a postcard ahead of time, it said something like, “if you don’t let them in we’ll assume you added ten bedrooms and all your toilets are solid gold and tax you accordingly” (paraphrasing, obviously) 

[W2MC 1,699]

17 hours ago, Tunaman said:

27.00 and change in tolls to drive down the shore from Rutherford,  47.00 in tolls to go out to Long island to visit dying relatives. Now I read they are going to raise the fees in the DMV. Murphy lied just to get elected when he said that seniors will get a significant tax break with his StayNJ" program to stop us from leaving.   Keep voting for democrats...this is what you get.  Tax and spend is all they know.  Never cut anything.  This state sucks.

This "senior" left almost 5 years ago ... for this reason

Just wish all the NJ/NY transplants up here would realize there's a reason they left.

[leahcim 680]

We never let then inside.  Last re-evaluation was 6-7 years ago, wife politely told him that he was welcome to look around the property and he could look in the windows. He saw two white resin chairs in the basement and told her that this constituted a finished basement. And everything in the basement is bare concrete/ cinder block, and mechanical systems. Nothing finished about it.

Ultimately he relented and I'm sure that was a ploy to coerce us to allow him in

[CMJeepster 2,780]

I hate this state...