NJ property taxes...

OH YEAH!!!

Not only that, but they charge you a tax for selling your house. Does any other state do that? My cousin calls it an "exit tax" although they really don't tax you for leaving.

You have a lot of houses there that were built during the boom that really are mansions - worth well over a million - but the taxes kill it and - now with the market downturn - something that should be priced over a million is now priced at 999,000 - to avoid the increased "fee" rate. (They don't call it a tax, but it is) People lose money. And even in the lower priced houses, the taxes are a huge issue - and it is an insult to add a transfer fee for closing payable to the state of NJ on top of it.

My cousin was living in a little cape in a dubious neighborhood in northern NJ, and paying $7000 a year taxes on it. No garage, small lot, couldn't send her kids to public school.

The taxes just kill the monthly payment on what people can afford, so they often wind up with less house. Of course, in parts of NYC, the prices are much higher.

I know someone who paid over 15,000.00 to live in Haddonfield, NJ. They sold the home and moved to NC and now pay only 1,800.00 for a 4/3 home with more square footage and more land. I discovered if you move to NC you will have to pay annual property tax on your automobiles too. Depending on the car, the costs is between 50.00 to 300.00; and, it comes no where near the outrageous TAXES that being charged to live in NJ.

Tell me about it. My cousin moved to Florida, right near the beach. And even with increased homeowners, she has a bigger house, newer, nicer, better neighborhood - about $2000 taxes (not including the homestead exemption) and about $1400 insurance. Plus she pays for flood insurance too. And private trash pickup. But when you add it together, it is no where near what she was paying just for property tax in NJ - and a lot nicer too.

THey really have to get with the program there. Home rule costs way too much. All these separate little pieces of local government make the towns little fiefdoms ripe for corruption and graft, and no longer improves the quality of life. It's better in the city.

As for me, I'm in Bergen County - got a good deal on a house as a buyer, but the taxes went up last year and it is a really unpleasant surprise - with more expected. I thought Queens politics were crooked, this is really something.

I love the area, but the taxes really depress the market, I think.

On the topic of Florida I lived near the Gulf of Mexico in 2004 before they had a mandatory state increase for homeowners insurance which could only be purchased through Citizens Property of FL that’s sponsored by the state. Most of the private insurance companies moved out of the state.

I lived there where I only had a 250.00 to 500.00 deductible. Because of this being a hurricane region the deductible (out-of-pocket expense) has now changed to 5% of the home’s total value minus the land of course before the claim is settled regarding damages from WIND & RAIN.

The FLOOD policy is a whole other issue and addition expense.

Finally, one must shop around to at least 6 to 8 Independent Insurance Agents in order to obtain a decent auto policy. My 1st quote as a GOOD driver w/o points was 1,800.00; the policy I had at the time of transferring was only 563.00.

By my shopping around I finally found a policy for half the rate of my 1st FL quote.

http://www.streetadvisor.com/florida/port_richey/san_vincente_way/review/3061.

Agreed about insurance and cars. Still, coming from NJ, a break for her.

I think things are cheaper north of the gulf rather than in S Florida. My cousin is in the Pensacola area, where I am headed for Christmas.

Can you believe that a friend of mine who lives in Staten Island pays only $2000 a year for taxes while a friend in Verona, NJ with a similar sized house pays $10,000 a year. It really is ridiculous. The towns in NJ really have no sense of how to use their money wisely. It's just spend, spend, spend.

I read the court house there spent $200,000 to renovate it and put plasma TVs in. Can you believe it? Absolutely ludicrous.