Franklin Lakes, NJ Taxes

I lived in Franklin Lakes for 20 years, and most of my sales and listings are in Franklin Lakes, so I know the town very well. Franklin Lakes' taxes have always been on the low side --- lower, for instance, than Allendale, Ramsey, Wyckoff, HoHoKus, Ridgewood, and especially Glen Rock. So when buyers complain to me about the taxes on my $1.7 mil listing, I launch ionto my soliloquy about how taxes work. All too often, towns over-assess homes, then make the rate lower thinking that homeowners can't figure out their taxes are still higher than they think they should be. For most of the 23 years I've been in the real estate industry, I've complained to various towns that it would make everyone's life easier if they would assess homes at their real market value, and not some random number a company in East Jabib comes up with. Then, you go over the town budget, and figure out how much tax revenue you'll need to pay the town's bills. That gives you the tax rate! So much easier to explain to a homeowner! And you don't end up with hundreds, even thousands, of tax appeals.

The simple truth is that when you choose to live in a town with great schools, a lot of services, and access to NYC transportation, somebody has to pay for all that, and it's always the taxpayer. If you want really low taxes, move to Florida. But, like a lot of my clients, you'll probably end up moving back North. Bergen County, and especially NW Bergen County, is a wonderful place to raise a family, it's close to NYC, ski resorts, hunting and fishing (two of my least favorite sports), and, of course, the "Jersey Shore." (For those who need something more upscale, the Hamptons and Montauk are only 3 hours away.)

If you want to be concerned about taxes, start wondering what will happen to tax rates when the backlog of mega-mansions don't sell. After all, it wasn't just the middle class that got whacked by this recession. Buyers of all incomes have begun to rethink their housing priorities, and most of them have realised they don't need a 10,000 sf home that needs renovating. They're now looking at 5-6,000 sf newer homes, and considering a vacation home. What happens to the town's budgets when no one is paying those $50k tax bills?

That's another blog.