Sell Your Clifton House for Cash, As-Is

On the state's 2025 table, the general rate here reads 6.129. That number is applied to assessed value, and the state's 2025 abstract for Passaic puts the city's equalization ratio at only 36.09%. So the state's effective rate, 2.193, is the better gauge of what you actually pay against market value.

Where does it go? The 2025 breakdown in that abstract: 2.947 to the district school tax, 1.736 to municipal purposes, 1.316 to the county, and smaller pieces for the municipal library and open space.

No revaluation was listed for the city in 2026, so the regular county deadline applied. The county tax board in Totowa told filers to send a 2026 petition on or after February 1, once the assessment card arrived, and no later than April 1, 2026. That window is closed. Added or omitted assessments follow a separate deadline of December 1, 2026. When you do file, the board wants hard-copy evidence only, nothing by email or fax, and suggests including a photo of the property. If an appraiser's report is your evidence, the appraiser has to show up at the hearing. Hearings for 2026 are held at 930 Riverview Drive in Totowa. Only you or your attorney may file. Corporations, LLCs, partnerships, estates and trusts that paid $25,000 or more in property taxes the year before need a lawyer at the hearing. No decision comes at the hearing itself. The judgment arrives by mail.

Redfin's median from June through August 2026 came to $620,000, 3.3% higher than June through August 2025. The big change is speed. Homes sold in 36 days on average, against 60 in the prior year. Sales count held about even: 180 closings in August 2026, one fewer than the 181 a year earlier. The sale-to-list figure of 105.8% means buyers were paying over asking.

The city code's definitions in Chapter 210 are where a lot of older houses get into trouble. A basement may not be used for sleeping. A bathroom in the basement is allowed only if the sole way to reach it is through an existing dwelling unit, and a full bath down there isn't permitted in a dwelling unit at all, only a partial one with a sink and lavatory. Attics can't have a bathroom, full or partial. Each dwelling unit may have just one kitchen.

Why it matters: the inspection described below checks the house against the city's smoke detector rules and its housing standards chapter, then the city issues a certificate setting out the permitted use of the dwelling. If someone turned the basement into a bedroom or added a second kitchen years ago, sort it out before that inspection, not after.

On flooding, First Street data on Redfin's page calls the city's risk minor. About 9% of properties (1,544) could see severe flooding by its 30-year projection. Ask your insurer or check your flood history before you fill out the state disclosure. Any house built before 1978 also brings federal lead disclosure duties.

Under Chapter 210, the dwelling certificate gets filed with the city within the 60 days leading up to the conveyance of title. An inspection then has to happen before title passes to the buyer, unless one was done within the prior six months. The code is blunt: title to a dwelling unit can't transfer without it, and the city's Tax Search Official hands out a notice about the rule with every tax search.

The fee is per dwelling unit and depends on lead time. Give the city over 20 business days of notice before you need the certificate and it's $125. With 4 to 20 business days left, it's $200. Four or fewer and it's $300. Each fee already includes the smoke detector, carbon monoxide detector and fire extinguisher certification. If you or a tenant don't provide access to the premises, common areas, basement and attic, a second inspection costs the fee again. On a two-family, multiply everything by two. Skipping the process isn't cheap either: the chapter sets fines up to $1,250, with a $100 minimum, and each day a violation continues counts as a separate offense.

Separately, the state's consumer protection forms page carries the seller disclosure form and a flood risk addendum. Homes built before 1978 add the federal lead package: an EPA pamphlet, your known lead history, warning language in the agreement, and a 10-day testing window unless the buyer passes on it.

Short on time? Easy Sell is able to close in as few as 7 days and offers up to $10,000 cash before closing.

About two months before your target date, call City Hall at 900 Clifton Avenue. Passaic County's contact sheet gives 973-470-5830 for tax collection and 973-470-5843 for assessments. Get your balance and bring any late quarter current.

Inside the 60-day window before title transfers, file the dwelling certificate with the city. On a rental, the owner and the tenant both certify that it's accurate. If the tenant won't, the code lets the owner file anyway with a written statement that the tenant refused. Ask for the inspection right away. Twenty-plus business days of notice keeps the fee at $125 per unit instead of $200 or $300.

Before the inspector arrives, walk the house with the code in mind. Smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors and a fire extinguisher are part of this certification. Nobody can be sleeping in the basement, each unit can have only one kitchen, and the attic can't have a bathroom. Make sure the inspector can get into the basement or cellar, the attic and any common areas, or you'll pay for a second visit.

After the inspection, the city issues a certificate showing the permitted use of the house. Get it to your attorney, and keep a copy, since it spells out the permitted use the city recorded. Title can't pass without it, and the Tax Search Official flags the rule on every tax search, so the buyer's side will be looking for it.

Meanwhile, finish the seller disclosure (flood questions included) and the EPA lead forms if the structure predates 1978. If an added or omitted assessment shows up on your 2026 bill, that appeal has a December 1, 2026 deadline with the Totowa board.