Here's One Big Reason I'm Not Going to Improve My Home Anytime Soon

When my husband and I purchased our home years ago, we opted to buy new construction. And the benefit there was not having to make many improvements during the early years.

But at this point, our house isn't so new. And there are certain projects I wouldn't mind tackling, like redoing my kitchen.

But there's a big reason I'm not going to be making home improvements anytime soon, and it's not due to a lack of money. I have the cash in my savings account to pull off the short list of projects I have in mind, including having work done on my kitchen.

Rather, the reason I refuse to make home improvements in the near term is that my property tax bill has risen substantially over the last decade. And I don't want to see it rise further.

The hidden cost of home improvements

When you take on a home improvement project, you clearly have to cover the expenses involved. But there's a lesser-known cost of renovating your property, and it's getting stuck with higher property taxes as a result.

Your property tax bill is based on your home's assessed value. So the more improved your home is, the higher an assessed value it's likely to have.

Meanwhile, I happen to live in New Jersey, which has the highest property taxes in the nation. In fact, for many years, my property taxes actually cost me more than my mortgage. The only reason I'm paying slightly more on my home loan every month is that I refinanced my home loan in 2020, when mortgage lenders were offering up ultra-low rates.

In swapping a 30-year loan for a 15-year loan, I raised my monthly payments a bit, but it was worth it for the interest savings. So at this point, my monthly mortgage payments are only slightly more than what I owe in property taxes.

But even a modest property tax hike would flip things around, and I'm not looking to have that happen. As such, I'm going to hold off on renovating.

Another reason I'm waiting to do home improvements? Property values are up in general right now due to the state of the housing market. So the reality is that my property taxes could go up soon even if I don't fix up my home at all. I'd rather not pile on by making improvements.

A big expense to plan for

The fact that I pay a lot in property tax isn't a shock. I knew when I moved to New Jersey that the state had the highest property taxes in the U.S.

But what was a shock was the extent to which my personal property taxes have risen over the past 10 years and change. And at this point, I really don't want to do anything to drive that expense upward. As such, I'm okay with holding off on renovations.

Besides, as much as part of me wants a new kitchen, mine is perfectly functional, so it's not so easy to justify the expense. And redoing a kitchen is a huge undertaking. So while not wanting to increase my property taxes is the main reason why I'm holding off on that, the associated upheaval that might ensue -- like not being able to cook for weeks on end -- is also a factor.