Home inspections to last throughout the summer

[cranbury news]

Revaluation under way

A townshipwide revaluation of property is under way, but township Tax Assessor Steve Benner said it's too early to predict how property owners in Cranbury will be affected.

Since March, inspectors from Appraisal Systems, Inc. of Mendham have been visiting residential properties and collecting data that will be used to bring property values up to current market value.
Mr. Benner said the residential inspections will continue throughout the summer and commercial inspections will begin in July.

The new property values, which won't be available until the fall, will be certified in January and used to calculate the 2007 tax rate, Mr. Benner said.

While some residents, including Mayor Tom Panconi, said they have looked to neighboring towns that have recently undergone a revaluation to get an idea of how Cranbury's property values might change, Mr. Benner said any presumptions would be inaccurate.

"Each town is so different," Mr. Benner said. "It's hard to compare."

Cranbury's last revaluation was in 1986 and the market value of all properties has grown, but commercial and residential property values have grown at different rates. Commercial property owners have filed tax appeals with the township, saying they are paying more than their share in property taxes.

By bridging the gap between the assessed value and the market value of the properties, the township hopes to prevent further tax appeals, Mr. Benner said. The revaluation is also needed because Cranbury's database of property information has been long out of date.

...

(more...)