We Buy Houses in Paterson, NJ

Paterson in Numbers

Paterson squeezes nearly 160,000 people into a little over eight square miles, close to 19,000 per square mile. Households run larger than the county average, and only about one home in four is occupied by its owner. In plain terms, Paterson is a city of renters, and the people who sell here are very often small landlords, heirs, or owners who moved out years ago and kept the building.

• 159,732residents in the 2020 census; 161,793 estimated for July 2025
• 26.9%owner-occupancy rate (ACS 2020–2024)
• $360,100median value of an owner-occupied home (ACS 2020–2024)
• 3.15people per household, against 2.86 for Passaic County (ACS 2020–2024)

Source: U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, Paterson city and Passaic County, New Jersey. Median gross rent in the city: $1,548.

The city is split into six wards, each with its own council member, and the housing changes from block to block, from older mill-era buildings near the Great Falls to two- and three-family houses and single-family homes. We buy in all six wards, whatever the building type.

The City Office You Will Hear About Most

For a Paterson seller, almost every city requirement runs through one place: the Division of Community Improvements at 111 Broadway, phone (973) 321-1232. It contains three bureaus, and each can touch a sale.

One practical tip from the city's own page: inspectors are only in the office from 8:30 to 10:00 in the morning and 3:30 to 4:30 in the afternoon, and are out on inspections the rest of the day. When you sell to us, we make those calls and visits ourselves.

Vacant and Abandoned Buildings

Paterson treats empty buildings seriously, and owners are sometimes surprised by how quickly the rules kick in. Under the city's ordinance, a building counts as vacant when no one is legally living there and it shows at least two signs from a long list, such as mail piling up, utilities shut off, boarded or broken windows, no furniture, or a code violation left uncorrected for the past year.

The owner of a vacant building must register it with the city within 30 days of the building going vacant, or of acquiring it, or within 10 days of a city notice, whichever is earliest. The registration lasts one year and must be renewed each year the building remains unoccupied, each tax lot is registered separately, and the owner has to file proof of insurance. A fee applies, and failing to register leads to legal action. Separately, the city may label a property abandoned once half a year has passed with no lawful occupant and other conditions are present, such as needing rehabilitation that has not happened.

If your Paterson property is sitting empty, a sale ends those obligations. We buy registered and unregistered vacant buildings alike, and any registration fees or violations are dealt with in the price rather than by you, up front.

Selling a Rental in Paterson

With roughly three homes in four rented, this is where most Paterson questions come from.

The tenants stay. New Jersey's Anti-Eviction Act does not treat a sale as a reason to end a tenancy, and a lease binds the new owner. Occupied buildings are fine with us: the leases, the rent, the deposits and the interest on those deposits all pass to us.

Rent leveling. Paterson has a rent leveling ordinance, Chapter 381 of the city code, administered by the Rent Leveling office at (973) 321-1242. Covered landlords file a property registration form every year; there is no fee, but it is due within 30 days of getting it. Missing registrations and disputed rent increases come up in due diligence, so bring whatever records you have, even if they are incomplete.

Lead and re-rental inspections. State law requires rentals built before 1978 to be checked for lead-based paint hazards at every tenant turnover or every three years, and Paterson will not re-rent a unit without proof of that lead check and a fire inspection. If a unit has sat empty because it could not pass, we can still buy the building; the work is reflected in the price.

The statewide rules are covered in more depth on our New Jersey rental property page.

Taxes, Water and Sewer at Closing

Paterson's 2025 general tax rate was 5.335 per $100 of assessed value, with an effective rate of 2.421. As everywhere in New Jersey, the four installments come due on February 1 and then on the opening day of May, August and November. State law caps interest on late payments at 8% a year on the first $1,500 and 18% above that, and lets a town waive interest on payments made within ten days. The city's Revenue Collection division, in the Finance Department at City Hall, 155 Market Street, provides the payoff figure, and whatever is owed, including any tax sale certificate, is settled out of the sale price.

Water in Paterson comes from the Passaic Valley Water Commission, at 1525 Main Avenue in Clifton, (973) 340-4300, and you or the title company should contact it about the final water bill when the house changes hands. Sewer is billed separately, by the city's own Sewer Billing division. The title company checks both before closing so nothing follows you.

The commission's records show lead or galvanized service lines in Paterson. Its free replacement program has ended, but you can still ask it for an inspection, and its online lookup tool shows what its records say about your address. Behind on taxes? See selling with back taxes or a tax lien.

Historic Districts and Exterior Work

Parts of Paterson, including the area around the Great Falls, are historic districts. The city's Historic Preservation Commission reviews building permit applications for exterior changes to any structure in a municipally designated district or to a designated landmark, and it meets once a month at City Hall. For a seller, this mostly matters if a previous owner replaced windows, siding or a porch without approval, or if a buyer is planning major exterior work. We look up the property's status and price accordingly.

Flooding Near the River

The Passaic River runs through Paterson, and properties near it can carry real flood risk. From March 20, 2024 onward, sellers across the state must disclose known flood history and whether the property sits in a FEMA flood hazard area. FEMA's online Flood Map Service Center will show the mapped zone for your address. If your house has taken on water, tell us when and how high; we buy flood-affected houses as they are.

Estates and Foreclosures

Probate for a Paterson owner happens downtown, at the Passaic County Surrogate on Hamilton Street, by appointment. Foreclosure auctions, on the other hand, are run by the county sheriff's office out in Wayne. If a foreclosure is underway, a sale to us has to settle before the auction, and because you have ten business days after signing to cancel under state law, we build that time into the schedule. Read selling a house in foreclosure in New Jersey or our inherited house guide for the details.

Free Help Before You Decide

If one of those programs solves your problem and you can keep the house, that is a good outcome. If selling is still the right move, we are glad to make an offer.

How a Paterson Sale Works With Us

• Call or enter the address, and tell us about tenants, vacancies and any city notices.
• We see the property once, every unit we can get into, and send a written price.
• The title company orders payoffs for the mortgage, taxes, sewer and any liens.
• We deal with the CCO, the smoke and carbon monoxide certificate, and any vacant-property registration.
• You sign on the day you choose, locally or by mail.