Mistake Raises Maplewood Home's Property Taxes to $27K, Report Says

A mistake by the Maplewood tax assessor caused an increase of $9,000 in property taxes for a Maplewood home, according to the Star-Ledger's Bamboozled columnist Karin Price Mueller.

In 1988, lifelong Maplewood resident Jerry Auriemma bought a four-bedroom, 2.5 bath colonial for $295,000 and had property taxes of about $11,000.

By 2010, the home was valued at $394,000 with property taxes of $18,365.

Just three years later, the home was valued a $784,000 in 2010 and the property tax bill went up to $27,246, an increase of nearly $9,000.

The family, who could no longer afford to live in the home, did not realize the mistake until the house was put up for sale.

The appraiser hired by the town in 2010 mistakenly added 660 square feet and an extra top-of-the-line bathroom with two sinks to the home, according to the report.