Sell Your Paramus Home for Cash

Paramus in Numbers

Paramus covers about ten and a half square miles, more than three times the land of Bergenfield or Garfield, yet holds fewer people than either: roughly 26,700, or about 2,560 per square mile in 2020. Owners occupy upward of 80% of its homes, and 26.2% of the people living there are 65 or older. The borough is also a major shopping destination; the 2022 Economic Census recorded more than $5.4 billion in retail sales there.

• 26,723residents estimated for July 2025 (26,698 in 2020)
• 82.6%owner-occupancy rate (ACS 2020–2024)
• $813,900median value of owner-occupied homes (ACS 2020–2024)
• 26.2%of residents aged 65 and over (V2025 estimate)

Source: U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, Paramus borough, New Jersey.

With a median value above $800,000, some Paramus sales land at or above $1 million. On those, New Jersey's graduated percent fee applies to the seller for deeds recorded since July 10, 2025: 1% of the entire price from $1 million to $2 million, rising in steps above that. It is charged in addition to the ordinary realty transfer fee, and that fee drops to a reduced rate when the seller is at least 62, blind or disabled. Our written offer lists both, so you see them before you sign.

The Certificate of Compliance for a Resale

Paramus requires a Certificate of Compliance to sell or rent a home, and the borough states that the certificate is mandatory for real estate closings. The fee is $100 for a sale. You can apply through the borough's online permit portal or in person at the Building Department, on the lower level of 1 West Jockish Square. The counter there is open 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., and it does not take credit cards at the window.

Before you even apply, every open construction permit has to be closed out, and the borough's guidelines want that done seven days or more ahead of scheduling. Once the application is accepted, the inspection is booked for a weekday morning between 9 and noon, and the inspector needs someone on site to open the door. A home that passes gets its certificate by email or at the counter.

If you are selling to us, we confirm the permit history first, schedule any final inspections that were never done, file the application and handle the visit. You do not need to take a morning off or stay in town for it.

What the Paramus Inspector Looks For

The borough's guidelines, revised in June 2025, list the items that decide whether a house passes:

• a smoke alarm on each level and near every bedroom, with hard-wired alarms kept hard-wired, and ten-year sealed-battery units where wiring was never required;
• carbon monoxide detectors in the immediate vicinity of every sleeping area;
• if the home has a generator, solar panels, a battery system or any other second source of power, a permanent warning label no more than 18 inches from the main electrical panel, and another the same distance from the meter;
• the house number visible on the mailbox, the front door or above the garage;
• the borough-issued garbage and recycling containers on the property, with serial numbers, bought from Public Works beforehand if they are missing;
• a proper fence around any pool.

If smoke alarms are tied into a burglar alarm, the borough asks you to warn the alarm company at least fifteen minutes before the inspector tests them and to have the reset code at hand. And work done without permits blocks the certificate until permits are taken out and inspected; work that had permits but never got final inspections has to pass them first. The label requirement is new to many owners: a solar array or standby generator installed years ago may never have had one. We check for all of this on our first visit and price it into the offer, and the as-is page explains how.

Senior Owners and Downsizing

An older owner selling in Paramus may be moving closer to family, into something smaller or into care. A move like that can mean clearing out a full house, coordinating dates with a new apartment, and wanting fewer strangers walking through. We buy with the contents in place if you prefer, let you pick the settlement date, and handle signing through a mobile notary once you have left the area. Our downsizing guide covers the state-level details.

The borough runs a Senior Smoke Detector Program through its Fire Prevention Bureau, which supplies and installs smoke detectors for Paramus seniors and replaces batteries or units when needed (201-265-2100, ext. 2290). The Joseph Cipolla Senior Activity Center, 93 North Farview Avenue, runs programs for residents 62 and older (ext. 6200).

Taxes and Sewer Through One Office

The Paramus Tax Collector, upstairs at 1 West Jockish Square, takes both property tax and sewer payments. Quarterly installments are due Feb. 1, May 1, Aug. 1 and Nov. 1, and the office allows ten calendar days of grace, after which interest runs at 8% on the first $1,500 and 18% above it. Since January 21, 2025, the office no longer accepts cash for tax or sewer payments; checks go to the Borough of Paramus, and cards carry a 2.75% convenience fee.

The state's 2025 tables put the Paramus general tax rate at 1.499 and the effective rate at 1.434 per $100 of value. Unpaid prior-year taxes and utility charges go to an annual online tax sale. If a lien is already outstanding, note that the borough charges $100 for each redemption statement after the second request on the same property, so it pays to ask once, at the right time; we have the title company request it near closing. The tax lien page explains redemption.

Water Service and Disclosures

Veolia's Hackensack water system lists Paramus among the municipalities it serves; arrange a final meter reading with Veolia for the closing date. Every New Jersey seller also fills out the state's flood risk disclosure, covering any known flooding, flood insurance claims and the property's flood zone. Answer it from what you know, and we will price the home with those answers in mind.

The Steps of a Paramus Sale to Us

1. Send us the address and a few lines about the house, including any solar panels, generator, pool or work done without permits.
2. We walk through once and send a written cash price, usually within 24 hours.
3. After you sign, we close out old permits, file the Certificate of Compliance application and prepare for the inspection.
4. The title company pays your mortgage, taxes and fees from the price, and you sign at a title office or remotely before a notary.

Out-of-state owners selling a Paramus house should expect the state's nonresident estimated tax at closing, 10.75% of the gain but not less than 2% of the price, which the title company collects with the GIT/REP form. Paramus is one of the municipalities of Bergen County; we also buy in nearby Hackensack and Fair Lawn.