| Author | Message | ||
     Eb1154 |
I'm sure everyone is aware of what is going on in town with the taxes and with the residents who feel they will be overpaying. In case you don't know I will fill you in on a little of the situation. There are residents who don't want this reval to go through (as seen on this thread and in the New Record today.) They have formed groups to put a stop to the whole process. And they want the whole town to come together in the fight against this process. I do sympathize with these residents. However, if they win the fight to get the town to reval or throw out the reval, we on the Eastside of town will lose out again!!! We have seen the revals and now know what our taxes should be and that we have been overpaying for years. We need to stick together and let our voices be heard just as the residents who don't agree with the revals are doing. WE CAN NOT JUST SIT BACK AND LET WHATEVER HAPPENS HAPPEN!!!! WE NEED TO FIGHT FOR OUR RIGHTS!!!! We need to form a group and get out there and get our neighbors to sign a petition to let the Town Committee know we don't want the revals thrown out and that we are tired of paying more than our share. If you feel the same way and would like your voice heard you can contact me at Eastsidevoice@aol.com If you are involved with the Hilton Neighborhood Association or any other Association who agrees with this message and would like to help it would be greatly appreciated. Please leave your number or e-mail address Thank you | ||
| Michael |
All this talk about "east" and "west" sides has me wondering where exactly the so-called dividing line is? Is it possible that there is also a "middle" that may very well get screwed as a result of this whole process ? Especially if it involves litigation and the reduction of taxes on the "west" side? | ||
| Golden |
Before these postings concerning the reval, I never really thought about Maplewood as being "East Side" vs. "West Side". I moved to Maplewood because I liked the town, and purchased a home that I could reasonably afford. What is the basis for the assumption that the east side of town is the "bad part" of town. Interested to hear in specific why people feel this division. Many of the posting refer to Maple "hood". What does that mean aside from an obvious inference that could be made. | ||
| Dave23 |
Eb: There is very little sentiment among those of us seeing our rates go up by 50% - 90% to see the east side of town bear more than their share. Our main concern is that the reval was done when our neighborhoods were experiencing a skyrocketing--and temporary--price surge. Speaking for myself, I bought in August and am now faced with the possibility of seeing a hike of 50% less than 6 months after purchasing. People like me are simply trying to find a fairer way to redistribute the tax burden. Also, a lot of people on the east side are facing similar prospects. | ||
| Napes |
Michael, I posted a message this morning on a similar point on a thread below, that all this East vs West stuff (besides sounding like civil war) is too black-and-white. Technically, I suppose my house is on the East Side, since it's on Prospect. But with a tax bill of $16,000 a year BEFORE the revaluation, soon to go up to around $18K, I don't see any reason to cheer the reval, like East Siders are supposed to. Yet I am not facing the sort of tax increase, percentage-wise, that West Siders are facing. I am truly in the middle ground. My home is not small; it's about 5200 sq ft and has seven bedrooms. It stands as proof that not ALL houses on the East Side are small, not all are valued at less than $300K, and not all will see tax decreases. I think my house is an example of how this should not be seen so much as a geographical argument as much as a financial argument. What's next? Civil war? | ||
| Jfb |
I owned a home on the east side overpaying for nine years. I want a rebate for the unfair tax I payed!!! | ||
| Joso |
Napes, Notwithstanding the aesthetic and arboreal differences between sections of town ÷ the point is that it is more nearly black vs. white than it is eastside vs. westside. The neighborhoods AND local schools on the eastside are more generally black majority and lower income, while those on the westside are more generally white majority and upper income. Property values in our cuurent society do not go up evenly in this situation. Witness what has happened in Manhattan vs the outer boroughs. While the extreme spike in "whiteside" property values may not be entirely sustainable over the next year or two, the will not go away until the percieved differences are lessened. | ||
| Njjoseph |
I'm not sure how you came to this race/income generalization. My experience living on the east side (o.k., maybe I'm really "middle", but I'm only a few houses away from the swimming pool on Boyden), does not show you to be correct. Maybe you could elaborate on how you came to this conclusion? | ||
| Joso |
My eyes. | ||
| Davel |
I'm curious. Several posters have said that the appraisal was conducted at the height of the market. But is there any objective evidence that the market is past its height? I spoke to my quite successful realtor over Halloween and he said that there was still a feeding frenzy of multiple bids going on. I can imagine that the rate of increase may have declined, but I have not heard of any houses declining in value. As some have noted, the reappraisal may dampen housing prices, but I assume no one has any hard evidence of this yet. | ||
| Eb1154 |
Let me clarify my position. I just want the people who will be getting a reduction in their taxes to have a chance to be heard. It has been proven that we are paying too much in taxes and have been paying too much for years. I am not looking to make this an Eastside Westside war but I am also no longer going to sit by and watch other people voice their opinions until things change in their favor. (At my expense) I use Eastside -Westside for lack of a better term, if you know a better term then please share it with me. And as far as the petition is concerned; it is simply to let the Town Committee know that we agree with them and the revals. You will be protesting for your cause and that is your right just as it is my right to protest for my cause. | ||
| Dave23 |
Davel: I just got off the phone with Evan at South Mountain Appraisals and he said that the market is definitely softening. Part of it is seasonal since people don't usually buy in the Winter. However, he said that data is trickling in that clearly indicates the market is indeed cooling down (such as houses staying on the market for months, not days). | ||
| Tom |
Though to say that it's a "spike" implies that prices rapidly shot up, and will just as rapidly drop. | ||
| Uncleelmer |
I have to agree with EB 100% residents living on the so-called eastside of town should be allowed to protest. They have a valid point. Go for it EB!! we're behind you all the way!!!! | ||
| Cfa |
Davel....I'd ask your friend if he's been to the west side of town where in my neighborhood alone, there are 5 houses on the market and have not been sold, or if they were, the sign is still up. They have been on the market for more than a month now. | ||
| Allprohome |
Most people buy the biggest home they can afford which includes taxes. Example You bought a home 5 years ago for $100K with $4000 in taxes. That was what you agreed to pay in taxes. You now felt your over taxed. (should be $2,660 with the reval) If you bought a home 5 years ago for $300K with $10,000 in taxes that should have been $12,000 to be in line with the $4,000 on the 100K house that was all you could afford. If the taxes where higher you would have been forced to buy a less expensive home. ($13,300 with the reval) Now I ask what more services do you receive for the bigger home from the town. With higher taxes are your roads plowed first. Do your children get special attention at school. | ||
| Librarylady |
Instead of East/West or Black/White ,let's use Hilton/Jefferson. These were the original names of the areas and use of these names might be a little less inflammatory. | ||
| Marie |
Michael, What's left of the "middle" class here in Maplewood is going to get hit hard if the Jefferson community wins their threatened litigation against the township committee. We end up paying the big, fat legal bill!!! When I said I wouldn't vote for Vic DeLuca in November because I didn't feel he represented me -now you know what I meant!!! This re-eval is just the next step in the quasi-socialist agenda this town has actively been involved since I've moved here anyway! It's too late folks - you voted them into office again and again and again!!! IT'S TOO LATE to start PAYING ATTENTION - now all we get to do is PAY! BTW prices of homes in Union and Springfield are suddenly surging since the new direct train line will be coming through in two years. Anyone know what their taxes are? I know class sizes are small! | ||
| Tgb |
As someone who has just sold his home last month, one main reason was the tiny, though significant, tax increases that have gone up in the year and a half my wife and I bought our 3 bedroom house on Richmond Ave. When I bought my home in July 1999 taxes were 6800, six months later they went up to 7200. Six months later 7500 and then we were informed that our taxes starting in August would be 8100. Reval stinks, but what amazed me is that taxes keep going up at approx. 400 - 600 bucks a clip. We asked ourselves, before we committed to bail out of Maplewood, what would our taxes be in 2 years 10,000 - 11,000? We decided it was easier to cash in on our house, rent until the market cooled off. Some may think this is a gamble but I would rather have rent receipts than getting taxed out of my home. By the way I don't live on West-side, and my question is this, many are saying that there will be no additional taxes raised, that this is just a shift in the tax burden. But if the "west-side" is getting hit with 5,000 - 8,000 dollar tax increases, are the "east-siders" getting a 5,000 - 8,000 dollar tax decrease? My neighbors on Richmond or Norfolk aren't getting any tax relief, so who and how much tax relief are these eastsiders getting? | ||
| Harold |
Sorry, eastsiders...the westsiders have the finances and the clout to force the township to ease their tax burden by virtue of a lawsuit. The eastsiders have not the resources nor the cohesiveness to to much about it. Wait till they put the brakes on the so-called Springfield Ave. Re-vitalization. |
