objectimpermanence t1_irgyzn3 wrote on October 8, 2022 at 1:30 AM

Reply to comment by ProBillofRights in NY Times Real Estate weekly article "The Hunt" features couple looking in the Heights... by Chris_NJ

Assuming a 1.6% tax rate, a $40k property tax bill implies an assessed value of around $2.5 million, which may even be below the property’s market value despite the recent reval.

All I’m saying is that at the end of the day, they will probably emerge from this situation in a better financial position than most.

Sure, it’s sucks to be forced to move because you can’t afford the property taxes on your dream home, but so many people are being forced to move under much worse circumstances than your friends. Hence my lack of sympathy.

SonOfMcGee t1_irikfc8 wrote on October 8, 2022 at 1:50 PM

They don’t even have to move to another town. It sounds like they’ve put roughly $1M into a property that is now worth over $2M. They could sell and buy a $1M house with cash.

ProBillofRights t1_irh1al0 wrote on October 8, 2022 at 1:51 AM

It's going to get worse. Rents are sky high and when taxes go high so do rents. Forcing people to move out as well. Not to mention the small mom and pop landlords selling off their rent control properties and rich land developers buying the land and turning them into so called luxury rentals.

JC can turn into Detroit if they can't control the tax hikes. Families like my friend are leaving, and in a decade or two what will be left? I don't see JC doing well in the future.

objectimpermanence t1_irh7fnt wrote on October 8, 2022 at 2:51 AM

High property taxes are not what killed Detroit. The decline of manufacturing and the rise of suburban sprawl are what killed Detroit.

There is nothing of that scale currently happening in JC or in the broader metro area. It would take a protracted financial crisis or other major event for that to happen.

If anything, higher property taxes are a symptom of increasing prosperity because they generally reflect the fact that property values are also rising. Property prices and rents only go up as long as people are willing and able to pay them.

ProBillofRights t1_irhbizn wrote on October 8, 2022 at 3:33 AM

Car manufacturing jobs made up most of the jobs in Detroit back in the 60's. With the new upward mobility from the jobs in Detroit, young families realized they could live in the suburbs and they started moving out of Detroit, just like the people did in Newark in the early 60's.

The manufacturing jobs didn't start leaving until the late 70's and accelerated into 90's with NAFTA. But, the major point is the families were leaving the cities in the 60's because they could get a bigger home, better schools, and safer neighborhoods with their tax money than the inner city.

JC suffered the same fate in the 70's and it lasted all the way into the early 2000's. If it wasn't for the cheap tax, low rent, and close proximity to NYC, JC wouldn't be so attractive to young people. Hence why my friend bought in 2010. He thought he could live here and retire here, but he was wrong. And, it's a shame because JC needs young families like them to make the school system better, to make the city safe by voting for a Mayor that cares, a school board that cares, but instead they'll move away and take that tax base with them to the suburbs.

JC will not survive in 20 years if things don't change.