Increase in assessed value Trenton, NJ

[Arjun Sapra]

I purchased a 2 family home in Trenton, NJ last year. Did some work to add a second furnace so each unit had their own heat source (with permits). That’s about all the work that was done. 

This year, the ‘improvements’ portion of my assessed value jumped up by 50k, causing a 70%+ increase to my property taxes for 2022 (a tax assessor never came out to see the property). I reached out to the Tax Assesor’s office to get information on the increase, and they explained it was because they made a correction on their end as they had the address listed as a single unit,  but it’s actually a 2 unit home. I looked at all other comparable 2 family homes that sold around the time I purchased mine, and their assessed values have not increased at all are are significantly lower than mine. Some even had a higher purchase price and are bigger, so I’m struggling with understanding why mine was increased, but others were not. I understand a property can be reassessed when it is sold, but I am not seeing that done consistently. 

The assessor’s office said they can do an ‘informal review’ at the end of the year to see if they can decrease it for next year, or my other option is to formally appeal. 

Looking for feedback and thoughts on what other factors could have got the attention of the tax assessor to reassess my property’s value, but not increasing it for other similar properties.