Selling Anywhere in Monmouth County
Monmouth County packs 53 separate municipalities into about 468 square miles, well over the 33 in Ocean County to the south. Some are tiny oceanfront boroughs with a few hundred homes. Others, like Middletown, Howell and Freehold Township, are large suburban townships. The county's median home value, $606,100 in the latest census survey, is above Morris County's $582,500 and far above Ocean County's $398,400, so even a house in rough shape may hold real equity.
High values also mean high stakes when something goes wrong. A missed mortgage payment, a divorce, an inherited house with three heirs, a rental with a difficult tenant: each of these can eat into that equity while the house sits. Selling to us puts a date on the problem. We see the house once, make a written offer, and a title company or attorney closes the sale when you are ready, with your loan, liens and taxes paid off from the price.
- 651,035residents estimated for July 2025 (643,615 in the 2020 census)
- 75.6%of occupied homes are owner-occupied (ACS 2020–2024)
- $606,100median value of an owner-occupied home (ACS 2020–2024)
- $1,827median gross monthly rent (ACS 2020–2024)
Source: U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, Monmouth County, New Jersey.
The Bayshore, the Shore and the Western Townships
For a seller, Monmouth divides into rough regions more than single towns. Along Raritan Bay, places such as Keansburg, Union Beach and Highlands have small lots and older cottages sitting close to the water. The ocean towns from Sea Bright down to Manasquan range from summer rentals and multi-family houses near the boardwalks to very expensive single-family homes. Inland, the Route 9 and Route 34 corridors through Freehold, Manalapan, Marlboro, Howell and Wall are mostly suburban developments, and the far west, around Millstone, Upper Freehold and Allentown, is still partly rural. We buy in all 53:
- Aberdeen
- Allenhurst
- Allentown
- Asbury Park
- Atlantic Highlands
- Avon-by-the-Sea
- Belmar
- Bradley Beach
- Brielle
- Colts Neck
- Deal
- Eatontown
- Englishtown
- Fair Haven
- Farmingdale
- Freehold Borough
- Freehold Township
- Hazlet
- Highlands
- Holmdel
- Howell
- Interlaken
- Keansburg
- Keyport
- Lake Como
- Little Silver
- Loch Arbour
- Long Branch
- Manalapan
- Manasquan
- Marlboro
- Matawan
- Middletown
- Millstone
- Monmouth Beach
- Neptune City
- Neptune Township
- Ocean Township
- Oceanport
- Red Bank
- Roosevelt
- Rumson
- Sea Bright
- Sea Girt
- Shrewsbury Borough
- Shrewsbury Township
- Spring Lake
- Spring Lake Heights
- Tinton Falls
- Union Beach
- Upper Freehold
- Wall
- West Long Branch
Ocean County starts just south of Manasquan, and if your house is across that line, see our Ocean County page or the Toms River page instead.
County Offices in Freehold
The county offices that touch a house sale are almost all in Freehold. You do not need to go to any of these offices to sell to us; the title company and our attorney deal with them. Still, it helps to know who is who:
| Task | Office | Why it matters to a seller |
|---|---|---|
| Probate and estate letters | Monmouth County Surrogate, Hall of Records, 1 East Main Street (732-431-7330) | Walk-in only at the main office, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; arrive before 3:30. Letters from here give an executor the power to sell. |
| Deeds and land records | Monmouth County Clerk, Market Yard, 33 Mechanic Street | The Clerk has recorded property transfers since 1675. Deeds back to 1976 can be viewed online, which is handy for checking how title is held. |
| Sheriff sales | Monmouth County Sheriff, Public Safety Center, 2500 Kozloski Road (732-431-6400) | Foreclosure auctions run every other Monday at 1:00 p.m. Our closing has to beat that date. |
| Contested foreclosures | Superior Court, Chancery Division, General Equity, Monmouth Vicinage | If you file an answer to a foreclosure complaint, your case goes to a judge here instead of staying with the state Office of Foreclosure. |
| Tax bills and payoffs | Your town's tax collector | All 53 towns collect their own taxes, so the payoff letter comes from the town, not the county. |
| Resale certificates | Your town's fire official or code office | The smoke and carbon monoxide alarm certificate is required statewide; the inspection is booked through the town. |
2025 Property Tax Rates for All 53 Towns
The spread of tax rates inside Monmouth is wide. Small oceanfront boroughs with very valuable homes have effective rates well under half a percent, while several bayshore and inland boroughs pay more than four times that. Because assessment levels differ from town to town, compare effective rates, not general rates. All figures are per $100 of value:
| Municipality | General rate | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen Township | 1.824 | 1.949 |
| Allenhurst Borough | 0.497 | 0.528 |
| Allentown Borough | 3.547 | 2.360 |
| Asbury Park | 1.752 | 1.763 |
| Atlantic Highlands Borough | 1.530 | 1.538 |
| Avon-by-the-Sea Borough | 0.923 | 0.710 |
| Belmar Borough | 1.570 | 0.955 |
| Bradley Beach Borough | 0.885 | 0.915 |
| Brielle Borough | 1.203 | 1.284 |
| Colts Neck Township | 1.394 | 1.489 |
| Deal Borough | 0.411 | 0.435 |
| Eatontown Borough | 1.758 | 1.576 |
| Englishtown Borough | 1.799 | 1.930 |
| Fair Haven Borough | 1.427 | 1.454 |
| Farmingdale Borough | 1.725 | 1.789 |
| Freehold Borough | 2.005 | 2.141 |
| Freehold Township | 1.673 | 1.742 |
| Hazlet Township | 1.933 | 1.956 |
| Highlands Borough | 1.710 | 1.935 |
| Holmdel Township | 1.539 | 1.657 |
| Howell Township | 1.659 | 1.708 |
| Interlaken Borough | 0.799 | 0.857 |
| Keansburg Borough | 2.143 | 2.429 |
| Keyport Borough | 1.992 | 2.063 |
| Lake Como Borough | 1.002 | 1.109 |
| Little Silver Borough | 1.437 | 1.638 |
| Loch Arbour Village | 0.379 | 0.412 |
| Long Branch | 1.500 | 1.370 |
| Manalapan Township | 1.645 | 1.671 |
| Manasquan Borough | 1.755 | 0.978 |
| Marlboro Township | 2.564 | 1.689 |
| Matawan Borough | 2.087 | 2.263 |
| Middletown Township | 1.614 | 1.735 |
| Millstone Township | 2.116 | 1.429 |
| Monmouth Beach Borough | 0.887 | 0.937 |
| Neptune City Borough | 1.767 | 1.868 |
| Neptune Township | 1.770 | 1.866 |
| Ocean Township | 1.320 | 1.323 |
| Oceanport Borough | 1.475 | 1.452 |
| Red Bank Borough | 1.822 | 1.780 |
| Roosevelt Borough | 2.385 | 2.417 |
| Rumson Borough | 1.049 | 1.107 |
| Sea Bright Borough | 0.855 | 0.872 |
| Sea Girt Borough | 0.499 | 0.520 |
| Shrewsbury Borough | 1.661 | 1.787 |
| Shrewsbury Township | 1.542 | 1.899 |
| Spring Lake Borough | 0.457 | 0.444 |
| Spring Lake Heights Borough | 1.024 | 1.075 |
| Tinton Falls Borough | 1.386 | 1.423 |
| Union Beach Borough | 2.145 | 2.254 |
| Upper Freehold Township | 1.848 | 1.965 |
| Wall Township | 2.127 | 1.352 |
| West Long Branch Borough | 1.266 | 1.302 |
Source: New Jersey Division of Taxation, 2025 General Tax Rates, Monmouth County.
Loch Arbour, Deal and Spring Lake had the lowest effective rates in 2025; Keansburg, Roosevelt and Allentown had the highest. Applied to a house worth the county median of $606,100, the difference between those two ends of the list comes to roughly $12,000 a year. When taxes are overdue, the sale clears them: the collector issues a payoff, the title company pays it, and any tax sale certificate on the property is redeemed at the same time. Read more in our tax lien guide.
How Foreclosure Plays Out in Monmouth County
Like every New Jersey foreclosure, a Monmouth case is a lawsuit in the Superior Court. The usual sequence:
- Before filing
Notice of intention
Sent by certified or registered mail between 30 and 180 days before the lender sues, with the cure amount and deadline.
- After service
The 35-day answer period
No answer means the case is handled as uncontested by the state Office of Foreclosure.
- Within 60 days
Mediation request
People living in a one- to four-family home they own can ask for the court's free mediation program and get help from a housing counselor.
- Every other Monday, 1:00 p.m.
Sheriff's auction in Freehold
The Monmouth County Sheriff sells foreclosed properties by open auction at the Public Safety Center on Kozloski Road, moving to Tuesday when Monday is a holiday. Since March 1, 2026, the county has posted its legal notices on its own website. Up to five adjournments of 30 days or less are allowed by statute.
- 10 days after the sale
Final redemption window
The sheriff's office states that the owner can redeem the property for up to 10 days after the auction. Surplus money above the debt is held by the court for whoever proves a claim to it.
The sheriff's own guidance says it plainly: defendants have the right to sell their home before the sale. Up to the moment of the auction you can sign with a buyer, pay off the lender at closing and end the case. The sheriff's office has also said that, while the Community Wealth Preservation Program is under court review, it will honor only a homeowner-defendant's right of first refusal, not the rights given to relatives, tenants or nonprofits.
New Jersey's Foreclosure Rescue Fraud Prevention Act gives an owner in foreclosure a cancellation right lasting through midnight on the tenth business day following the signing, or ending at the sheriff sale if that is earlier, and the buyer cannot record a deed while it runs. Our contracts include the required notice and cancellation form, and our closing dates allow for it.
For more, see selling a house in foreclosure in New Jersey.
Probate at the Hall of Records
The Monmouth Surrogate's main office is in the Hall of Records on East Main Street in Freehold. It takes walk-ins only, so bring the certified death certificate, the original will with any codicils, a completed decedent information sheet, and a way to pay. Two satellite locations elsewhere in the county see people by appointment on set days each month. As soon as letters are issued to the executor or administrator, the house can go under contract with us.
On the tax side, deaths on or after January 1, 2018 owe no New Jersey estate tax, but the inheritance tax remains. Spouses, children, grandchildren and parents (Class A) owe nothing; siblings (Class C) have a $25,000 exemption; other heirs (Class D) pay 15% or 16%. The tax is a lien until a waiver is filed, so the title company will want one at closing. See the inherited house guide.
Heirs who live out of state should know about one more form. A seller who is not a New Jersey resident usually pays an estimated income tax at closing, and the county will not record the deed without the right GIT/REP form. The title company handles it, but it is a number to expect.
Rentals Near the Beach and Inland
Monmouth landlords range from owners of one summer rental near the beach to owners of year-round apartments inland. Under the Anti-Eviction Act, a sale is not a legal reason to remove a tenant, and the buyer steps into the existing leases. We buy that way on purpose, so nobody has to move. At closing, deposits plus interest transfer to us and tenants receive written notice by certified or registered mail. See selling a rental property.
Alarm Certificates, Town Inspections and Flood Disclosure
State law requires a smoke and carbon monoxide alarm certificate before any one- or two-family home is sold, and in towns that run their own resale inspection, that inspection can count instead. Monmouth's 53 towns set their own fees and schedules, so we confirm the local process as soon as you accept our offer and pay for whatever repairs it calls for.
Flooding is a live issue on the bayshore and along the ocean. Since March 20, 2024, every seller has had to give buyers the state's flood risk disclosure, and the Department of Environmental Protection's REAL rules, adopted January 20, 2026, tighten building standards in flood-prone areas, with a transition period running to July 20, 2027. For an owner who cannot afford to elevate, or whose buyer could not get flood insurance at a workable price, a cash sale to us is one way out.
What Selling Costs
New Jersey charges the seller its realty transfer fee at recording, with lower rates for qualifying owners aged 62 and up, blind, or disabled. On higher-priced Monmouth homes the graduated percent fee matters too: since July 10, 2025, it is also the seller's cost, at 1% of the full price from $1 million up to 3.5% above $3.5 million. Your written offer from us lists each of these charges so the bottom line is clear.
How It Works With Us
- Send the address or call, and tell us what we should know about the house and your timing.
- One visit, then a written cash offer, typically within a day.
- The title company orders payoffs for the mortgage, liens, back taxes and any tax sale certificate.
- We arrange the alarm certificate and any town inspection, and fix what they require.
- You sign the papers on the day you picked, at a title office, a lawyer's office, or remotely.