Manalapan, NJ

Manalapan NJ Homes will be Reassessed, Township Losing Tax Appeals

In the face of a real estate market that has seen property values drop significantly over the past several years, Manalapan officials have decided to have all properties in town reassessed.

A reassessment is different from a revaluation, which the township conducted several years ago, in that a representative from an appraisal company will not be inspecting the inside of homes, according to township officials.

Manalapan will be using the services of Professional Property Appraisers Inc., of Delran, to conduct the reassessment. The firm will provide a reassessment of all vacant land, residential properties, regular farmland, qualified farmland, commercial and industrial properties, and exempt properties in Manalapan.

Manalapan will pay Professional Property Appraisers Inc. a fee not to exceed $200,000 and the work must be completed in 2009, according to the resolution passed by the committee.

The purpose of a reassessment is to bring the assessed value of a property to its current market value, Manalapan Mayor Richard Klauber said.

During the Oct. 14 meeting of the Township Committee, Klauber announced the decision to have all of the properties in Manalapan reassessed.

"Our initial revaluation was conducted at the height of the real estate market, and many homes in Manalapan are now assessed at more than what they would sell for," Klauber said. "We have had a number of tax appeals and we have spent a large amount of money defending those appeals."

The mayor said when a property owner wins an appeal and has his taxes lowered, the township loses part of its revenue stream and other taxpayers must make up the difference.

"We are looking to stop losing these tax appeals. We've gotten approval from the county to go forward. We need approval from the state to go forward. If we don't get that, we can't go forward with the reassessment," the mayor said.

Manalapan underwent a townwide revaluation in 2007 and the value of an average home in the township was set at $429,600. Some homes are assessed at less than that amount and some homes are assessed at more than that amount.

The assessed value of a home determines how much the owner will pay in property taxes to support the operation of schools and government.

He said an individual homeowner may not see a change in the total amount of property taxes he pays after the assessed value of the home and the tax rates are readjusted.

The reassessment will bring the properties in Manalapan to a value in line with current market prices.

Manalapan New Jersey Real Estate

Click here for a Home Sales Heat Map to our hottest areas

I continuously monitor local real estate statistics to keep my clients informed and ahead of the real estate trends. Below you will find Manalapan's real estate statistics for the week of October 14 - October 21, 2009.

New Homes on the Market 15

New Homes Under Contract 13

Number of Homes Closed 7

Number of Homes Expired 8

To find out what your home is worth with a free over the net evaluation,, please visit my website: www.jodigoldberg.com or HomesbyJodiGoldberg.com

If you would like a free list of homes in this area/neighborhood, or would like more information about Manalapan, then give me a call at: 908-770-2150.

Jodi Goldberg

RE/MAX Central

908-770-2150 Mobile

www.jodigoldberg.com

jodigoldberg@remax.net e-mail

Manalapan New Jersey Real Estate

Click here for a Home Sales Heat Map to our hottest areas

I continuously monitor local real estate statistics to keep my clients informed and ahead of the real estate trends. Below you will find Manalapan's real estate statistics for the week of October 8 - October 14, 2009.

New Homes on the Market 23

New Homes Under Contract 9

Number of Homes Closed 6

Number of Homes Expired 9

To find out what your home is worth with a free over the net evaluation,, please visit my website: www.jodigoldberg.com

If you would like a free list of homes in this area/neighborhood, or would like more information about Manalapan, then give me a call at: 908-770-2150.

Jodi Goldberg

RE/MAX Central

908-770-2150 Mobile

www.jodigoldberg.com

jodigoldberg@remax.net e-mail

I love to have flowers in my Manalapan backyard. My yard backs up to beautifully manicured woods and I love to plant flowers along the border. The pop of color adds so much to greenery. I also have many pots scattered all around especially in the front yard. Since I am a Manalapan Realtor, I recognize the value of curb appeal. A buyer needs to feel that your home is well maintained and manicured landscaping is key. Many buyers just drive by and won't even go inside if they don't like the way the outside of the house looks. I digress...I was writing about flowers!

When I first moved to this home my husband painstakingly dug out beds for me all along the back of the property. Since it is partially shaded from the woods and trees, I plant impatiens. Every spring I buy 7 flats of impatiens, usually in 2 different colors, and spend 2 - 3 days planting them in the ground. I no time they are huge and gorgeous.

Every morning when I wake up, I look at my bedroom window to see them. They make me happy to be alive. Several years back, we were planning a family BBQ and my husband made sure that the yard was just perfect. He takes a lot of pride in manicuring his property. The morning of the BBQ, I awoke and looked out the window as I always do, and I could not believe my eyes. Every single flower was gone!! All that was left was the green stalks. My friendly neighborhood deer must have gotten word that we were having a party and didn't invite them, so they decided to help themselves to my precious flowers. I was devastated. Why on THAT particular day? They couldn't wait one more day until everyone had left and seen my beautiful blooms?

Needless to say my yard was dismal the rest of the year. I proceeded to do my research and found out that deer love impatiens. Who knew? So, the next year I planted begonias. Pretty, but not the same. They need more sun to grow large and I have too much shade. I decided that I was going back to impatiens the following year but was going to use one of the deer repellent sprays and hope for the best.

I came to find out that deer prefer a bland diet of plant material. Deer repellents are sprays that protect plants from being browsed by covering their leaves and flowers with a smell suggestive of either animal elements (from eggs or bloodmeal ingredients) or spicy taste (from minty oils, garlic or hot pepper ingredients). I was afraid of a chemical because my dog goes into the woods. Upon further investigation I determined that all of these repellents contain natural ingredients and are safe to use even with children and pets around. I spent a lot of time researching and decided to go with a product called Deer Off. Catchy name, I liked that. Deer Off protects two ways, by odor (from putrescent whole egg solids) and, in case Bambi has a stuffy noise, by taste (from capsaicin and garlic). OMRI certified organic. Dries clear.

I am here to report that Deer Off is hands down the best product I have every used. It works just as it advertises. Its smells really, really bad at first and then you hardly notice it. I see deer strolling around the yard and they make no attempt at all to go near my flowers. YAY!!! Until....you forget to follow up. You need to spray every few weeks to ensure safety. What we have been doing the past few years is that in mid to late September we just stop spraying and let the deer have their feast. They fill up for the winter. This past week, all the little Bambi's were out having a major feast at my expense. As much as I love seeing my flowers all summer, I do like to see the young deer munching on my flowers. I feel like I'm contributing to nature!

Great Neighborhood

Desirable Oak leaf Estates

3 Mallard Ct Manalapan NJ

$550,000

SITUATED ON A PRIVATE CUL DE SAC IN DESIRABLE OAK LEAF ESTATES THIS 5/6 BEDROOM 3 1/2 BATH COLONIAL FEATURES HARDWOOD FLOORS THROUGHOUT 1ST FLOOR & UNDER CARPETING UPSTAIRS FAMILY ROOM HIGHLIGHTS A WOOD BURNING FIREPLACE W/MARBLE SURROUND EXPANDED MASTER BATH W/OVERSIZED CORNER STALL SHOWER & SKYLIGHT FULL FINISHED BASEMENT INCLUDES BEDROOM, FULL BATH, OFFICE & REC ROOM KITCHEN SLIDER LEADS TO A PRIVATE YARD W/WOOD DECK OVERLOOKING HEATED IN GROUND POOL ALSO UNDERGROUND SPRINKLERS, CENTRAL VAC & SEC SYS AHS HOME WARRANTY INCLUDED.