West Windsor Real Estate including Plainsboro & Princeton - Jerel Washington - Realtor

Property taxes are a fact of life.  When values go up and as time passes, your local assessor may periodically conclude that your value has increased and therefore increase your taxes.  Since this can happen every few years, the vast majority of homes are over-assessed and you're likely paying more taxes than you should.  In periods of declining values, you are not likely to see a decrease in taxes unless you do something about it.
 
If you want to reduce your property taxes, consider contesting the assessment of your home's value.  Less than half of all homeowners do this despite the fact that they are allowed to do so by law.  The process is rather simple.  Most homeowners who appeal the tax assessor succeed in getting their property taxes reduced.  You could save anywhere from $100 on a small home to a few thousand on a larger home.  The point is, why give it to the government?
 
If you find that your house has a higher value than that of your neighbors, find out why. For example, do you have more bedrooms or bathrooms? Is your home on a bigger lot?  Or, does your home contain elements that lower its value, such as bad wiring, bad drainage, an outdated air conditioning system or a bad roof?  Have your neighbors let the appearance of their homes slip dramatically?  Any of these factors can help you get your tax bill reduced.
 
So how do you get started?   The best source is your friendly loan officer or Realtor.  Since they are familiar with the area and maybe even your home specifically, their expertise can short cut the process.  They can check the prices of recently closed, comparable properties near you.  If in fact the value has dropped, they can supply you with print outs of these comparables or 'comps'.  When you get this information, contact your local tax assessor tell them what you are looking to do--that is, supply them with information that indicates a lower value and therefore the appropriate drop in your tax bill.  Their information is located on your property tax bill.  You can also locate them on line.  One final note.  There are services, not affiliated with the government, that will help you with this process for a fee.  That is not necessary, however.  If you need more help, contact your loan officer or Realtor^.