Sell Your Paterson House for Cash, As-Is

Passaic's county tax board names Paterson as the municipality that underwent a revaluation or reassessment for 2026. That's why the city's 2026 appeal deadline was May 1, 2026, instead of the county's regular April 1 date. Once May 1 went by, the only 2026 appeal Paterson owners still had was the one for an added or omitted assessment on the bill, due by December 1, 2026.

For context, here are the pre-revaluation numbers. In 2025 the general rate was 5.335 for each $100 of assessed value. The state's effective figure was 2.421. Assessments averaged only 45.68% of true value that year, which shows how far the old assessments had drifted below market. In the 2025 rate breakdown, the municipal purpose rate (2.906) was bigger than either the district school rate (1.307) or the county rate (1.026).

If you appeal at the county board, the filing fee depends on your assessed value: $5 under $150,000, $25 from $150,000 to under $500,000, $100 from $500,000 to under $1,000,000, and $150 at $1,000,000 or more. The board's office moved to 930 Riverview Drive, Suite 250, in Totowa. It won't take evidence by email or fax, so bring hard copies. The assessor's copy of the petition has to be delivered to the assessor's office in your municipality, or the appeal may be denied.

Redfin's three-month median, for the summer through August 2026, hit $600,000, 12.1% more than a year before. Time on market didn't budge, holding at 67 days both years. Sales slowed slightly, 160 in August 2026 versus 175 a year before. On average, buyers paid 2.7% over list (sale prices averaged 102.7% of asking). Prices climbed but homes didn't sell any faster, so pricing right still matters.

The city's land development ordinance names the Great Falls National Historic Landmark District, also called the Great Falls Historic District, and the Downtown Commercial Historic District, plus any district or site on the Paterson Register of Historic Places. Exterior changes, demolitions, signs and new construction in those areas are reviewed by the Historic Preservation Commission. Approved work gets a Certificate of Appropriateness. Certificates of No Effect cover work the city's Historic Preservation Professional finds not detrimental. Because Congress created Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park there, the commission must forward applications affecting the landmark district to the National Park Service within 14 days.

The rent leveling rules are in Chapter 381. It applies to rentals of three or more units when the owner lives there, and two or more units when the owner doesn't. A building where only one unit is rented is exempt. So are multiple dwellings built after December 23, 1999, for up to 30 years or the life of the first mortgage, whichever is shorter. Owners file an annual Property Registration Form with the Rent Leveling office, with no fee, within 30 days of getting it.

First Street's 30-year model, shown on Redfin's page, rates flood risk moderate and flags 2,047 properties (17%) for possible severe flooding. If you rent out an older home, the state's lead law called for lead-based paint inspections of certain pre-1978 single-family, two-family and multiple rental dwellings by July 22, 2024, or at tenant turnover if that came first.

Under N.J.A.C. 5:70-2.3, a one- or two-family home or an attached single-family house can't change hands until the owner holds a smoke and CO alarm certificate. Without a local fee ordinance, the state code (section 5:70-2.9) charges $45 if you apply over 10 business days ahead of the new occupant, $90 if you give four to 10 business days, and $161 inside four. A town with its own enforcing agency can set a different fee by ordinance, so call the city's fire prevention office for its current figure. Ask early. That's the cheapest tier.

Selling a rental building? The city's re-rental rule (Chapter 175) requires a certificate of re-rental approval from the Division of Community Improvements before any new tenant takes possession. The unit must be empty at inspection, and that inspection can't be older than 30 days when the tenant moves in. Anyone buying to re-rent inherits that step, so expect questions about the units' condition.

The Office of Consumer Protection's forms page carries the condition disclosure sellers fill out, along with its flood addendum. Pre-1978 house? The EPA's rule adds its own list: hand over the lead pamphlet, tell the buyer about known lead paint, put the lead warning in the contract, and give them up to 10 days to test if they want it.

Easy Sell makes cash offers within 24 hours and buys houses in any condition.

Begin at 155 Market Street. Per the county's directory, the collector's line is 973-321-1300, and the assessor answers at 973-321-1380. Ask for your 2026 post-revaluation assessment and a payoff of anything owed, because those are the numbers a buyer's title search will show.

Look over the 2026 bill for any added or omitted assessment. If one is wrong, file the petition by December 1, 2026 at the county board, 930 Riverview Drive, Suite 250, Totowa. Call (973) 720-7399 with questions. Make the fee check out to the Passaic County Tax Administrator, and deliver the assessor's copy to the assessor's office, with a copy to the municipal clerk.

Own rentals? Check whether your building falls under rent leveling: three or more units if you live there, two or more if you don't. Submit the annual Property Registration Form if it isn't current. There's no charge, and it has to be in within 30 days after you receive it. The Rent Leveling Administrator is at (973) 321-1242.

If the property is in the Great Falls district or the Downtown Commercial Historic District, gather any approvals for past exterior work, since alterations there go through the Historic Preservation Commission.

With a signed contract, request the smoke and CO alarm certificate right away. Under the state schedule, asking 11 or more business days ahead keeps you at $45. Waiting until the last few days costs $161.

Finally, complete the state disclosure with the flood addendum attached, and attach the federal lead paperwork if the home went up before 1978. Your attorney will want them early, along with the certificate and your tax payoff.