Hillside, NJ, NJ
Sell your house fast in Hillside, NJ.
We buy Hillside houses as-is for cash. Capes and colonials, two families on the Newark line, estates, basement units, tenants in place, any condition.
$525,000
Median Hillside sale
25 days
Avg market days
+0.0%
YoY change
About the area
Why Hillside sellers call us.
Hillside is the Union County town that wraps around the south side of Newark and Irvington, and its housing runs from one to the other. The blocks along the Newark and Irvington lines, off Liberty Avenue and Hillside Avenue, have the two family frames and brick colonials of the 1920s, built when the Bristol-Myers plant and the Newark factories were hiring. The center of town and the streets off Conant Street and North Broad Street have the capes and colonials of the 1940s and 1950s on fifty foot lots. The Jewish and Italian families who filled the town for two generations moved on in the 1970s and 1980s, and the Black, Haitian, Jamaican, and Latino families who bought the houses from them are now the ones inheriting capes that have not been touched since 1975, with a basement unit nobody registered and a Hillside tax bill that is among the highest in Union County. We have been buying houses in the NY metro area since 2000, and Hillside sellers call us because a two family on the Newark line with a tenant who stopped paying and a cited basement, or an estate cape off Conant Street with an oil tank and two years of tax certificates, is a hard sale to a bank and a normal one to us. For background on the township, see this Hillside community profile.
Nick York handles acquisitions for EZ Home Buyers, and Hillside is a market he prices on the tax bill and the rent roll before anything else. A cape in the center of town with a legal layout is a different sale than a two family on the Irvington line with one paying tenant and a cited basement, and both are different from a house near Route 22 that an estate has been carrying since the pandemic. If you are thinking about selling your house in Hillside, you deserve a number that reflects which of those you own, with the math shown. No agent fees, no repair demands, no financing that collapses at the appraisal.
Basement units, oil tanks, and why financed buyers walk
A Hillside house is usually more than the township thinks it is. A basement apartment for a relative or a tenant, an attic room with a kitchenette, a garage that was converted: income on paper, a violation in the township’s file, and invisible to a financed buyer’s appraiser. Then the lender looks at a house with a fuse panel, a boiler from the 1980s, a roof that has been layered rather than replaced, an underground oil tank the family forgot was there, and a rent roll with a tenant who has not paid since the pandemic, and the loan gets declined. The house sits, the seller is told to legalize or remove the apartment and pull the tank, and the taxes keep coming.
We close that gap. We buy with cash, we buy as-is, and the apartment, the tank, the violations, and the rent roll are line items in our offer instead of reasons the deal dies. Our guide to selling a house with code violations explains how the township’s system works.
The Hillside sellers we hear from most
Estates come first. Hillside houses were bought by families who stayed forty and fifty years, and when a parent passes the children are often in Union, in Georgia or Florida, or back in Haiti or Jamaica with a Union County probate to manage from a distance and a house full of a lifetime of belongings. We work with executors and heirs constantly, we can wait out the Surrogate paperwork, and we buy inherited houses exactly as they sit. If the heirs live out of state or abroad, we walk through what New Jersey withholds from nonresident sellers at closing; see our guide to the New Jersey exit tax.
Landlords are second. A two family on the Newark line with a basement unit is three rents on paper and a full time job in practice, and Union County landlord tenant court has a backlog that turns a nonpaying tenant into a year long project. When a landlord is done, we buy the building with tenants in place, at the actual rent roll, and handle everything after closing ourselves.
Owners buried by the tax bill are third. Hillside’s tax rate is one of the highest in the county, and a few missed quarters become tax sale certificates with interest that compounds at up to 18 percent. We buy houses carrying certificates and clear them from the proceeds at closing.
Liens, violations, and the paperwork side of Hillside
Hillside sells unpaid taxes and water as tax sale certificates, and the liens compound quickly. Add open code violations, an unregistered rental, a basement apartment that never had a permit, an underground oil tank, and the township’s certificate of occupancy inspection required before any sale, and a traditional sale becomes a maze. We deal with tax liens and title problems as part of the purchase. Our attorneys run the municipal searches and payoff letters every week, and our offer accounts for what has to be satisfied at closing. If you are behind on the mortgage as well, New Jersey’s court process is slow enough that selling during pre-foreclosure is almost always still an option; our guide to the New Jersey sheriff sale timeline walks through every stage.
What Hillside houses are actually selling for
The typical single family home value in Hillside is around $525,000, up roughly 0.0% over the past year, with houses averaging about 25 days on the market. Buyers priced out of Union and Maplewood have discovered the center of town, and a renovated cape with a new kitchen sells quickly. But the headline number assumes a house that can pass an appraisal and a township inspection. A cape with an oil tank, a fuse panel, and a 1975 kitchen, or a two family with a cited basement and a tenant who stopped paying, does not get the median. It gets price cuts, a financed buyer who disappears at the inspection, and months of carrying costs on a Hillside tax bill. We price the house for what it is, show you the math at the kitchen table, and leave the decision with you.
What we buy in Hillside
Capes, colonials, and split levels in the center of town, two to four family frame and brick houses along the Newark and Irvington lines, houses with basement units legal or not, mixed use buildings on Liberty Avenue and North Broad Street with a store below, and vacant lots. We do not buy cooperative apartments. Most of what we see in Hillside is the two family on the Newark line or the estate cape off Conant Street, but if you own something unusual, call us anyway and we will take a look.
How to reach us
Hillside is where our Union and Essex County coverage meet. Across the line we buy houses in Irvington NJ and in Newark, to the south we can help you sell your house fast in Elizabeth, and past that we buy in Roselle. Every Union County town we buy in is listed on our we buy houses in Union County page, and our full New Jersey coverage is on the we buy houses in New Jersey page.
Our written offers stay open for seven days, no pressure attached. Take the number to your family, your attorney, or a competing buyer and compare freely. Offers built on real math do not fear a week of thinking.
EZ Home Buyers is a family-owned company based in Great Neck, NY 11021. We have been operating across the NY metro area since 2000, and Hillside is part of our core New Jersey coverage. Call us at (516) 964-7222, email info@ezhomebuyers.com, or fill out the form on this page. Nick York will be in touch quickly, usually the same business day. We schedule a walkthrough at your convenience, make a cash offer within 24 hours of seeing the property, and close on a timeline that works for you.
Looking just beyond Hillside? You can also sell your house fast in Irvington NJ or sell a house fast in Newark NJ, and you can read about how we buy houses in Elizabeth NJ.
Many Hillside homeowners also ask us how to sell an inherited home in Hillside NJ, sell a house during divorce, or sell a rental property as a tired landlord.
Recent Hillside transaction
A Brick Two Family on the Newark Line, Sold by a Daughter in Atlanta With a Cited Basement and Two Years of Tax Certificates
Her mother had bought the two family in 1981, three years after arriving from Port-au-Prince, and had lived downstairs and rented the upstairs for forty years. When her mother passed she was the executor, lived in Atlanta, and inherited an upstairs tenant who had not paid since 2022, a basement apartment her mother had built for a cousin that the township had cited, an oil tank in the side yard, and two years of unpaid taxes that had become certificates.nnShe listed it from Georgia. The first buyer's appraiser refused to count the basement and flagged the rent roll. The lender wanted the tank tested. The second buyer wanted the tenant gone and a thirty thousand dollar credit. The agent suggested she start the eviction, pull the tank, close out the violation, and relist in a year. Meanwhile the estate was paying the Hillside tax bill on a building that produced no rent, and the certificates kept compounding.nnNick York walked all three levels on her one trip to New Jersey, with the tenant's permission, and sat down with her at her mother's kitchen table with the violation, the certificate payoffs, the tank issue, and the rent roll laid out. The offer accounted for the nonpaying tenant, the cited basement, the tank as it was, the roof, and the reality of a building that produced nothing. It covered the certificates with money left over, it was in writing, and the reasoning was written out.nnWe closed in four weeks, through counsel, with our attorneys handling the certificate redemptions and the money wired to the estate attorney's escrow. The tenant kept her home with a new owner responsible for the building, the violation, the tank, and the housing court case transferred to us, and she flew home with a check and her mother's building off her shoulders. She said afterward that the part she appreciated most was flying up exactly once.
Common reasons Hillside sellers call us.
Inherited a house from a parent who came in the 1980s
Managing a Union County estate sale from Atlanta, Florida, or Haiti is exhausting, and the building is full of a lifetime of belongings. We work with executors and heirs through the Surrogate process, buy the house exactly as it sits, and close when the estate is ready.
Tax sale certificates on a Hillside tax bill
Hillside taxes are among the highest in the county and a few missed quarters become certificates compounding at up to 18 percent. We buy houses carrying certificates and redeem them from the proceeds at closing.
A basement apartment the township has cited
Most Hillside two families have one, and once the township has cited it, financed deals are over. It is a line item for us. We buy the house as it is, tenant included, and handle the township after closing.
Tired landlord with a tenant who stopped paying
A Hillside two family is a full time job, and Union County landlord tenant court makes a nonpaying tenant a year long project. We buy occupied buildings at the actual rent roll, nonpaying tenants included, and take the whole situation off your hands at closing.
An underground oil tank in the yard
Lenders will not close until a tank is pulled and tested, and a bad soil result can cost tens of thousands. We buy with the tank as it is, unknown soil and all, and handle the removal ourselves after closing.
Behind on the mortgage
New Jersey foreclosure is a court process and it moves slowly, which means there is usually still time to act. Selling before the sheriff sale can protect your credit and recover equity foreclosure would take.
Code violations and the pre-sale inspection
Hillside requires a certificate of occupancy inspection before a sale and open violations pile up. They do not stop us. We buy with violations open and deal with the township after closing.
Downsizing from a house that got too big
The cape was right in 1985 and is not right now, but clearing it and showing it for four months is what keeps people stuck. We visit once, make a written offer, and let you take what you want and leave the rest.
Frequently asked questions about selling in Hillside.
How do I sell my house fast in Hillside?
Call (516) 964-7222 or submit the short form on this page. We visit the property, make a written cash offer within 24 hours, and you pick the closing date, often seven to fourteen days out. No agents, no repairs, no fees, and no obligation to accept.
How fast can you close on a Hillside house?
In most cases we close in two to three weeks from the offer. We pay cash, so there is no bank timeline and no oil tank test holding things up. Occupied buildings sometimes take a little longer for tenant estoppel letters.
There are tax sale certificates on my Hillside house. Can you still make an offer?
Yes. We buy houses carrying certificates regularly, redeem them from the proceeds at closing, and our attorneys deal with the lien holder directly. You do not need to pay them off first, and if a certificate foreclosure has been filed we can usually close before it reaches judgment.
My tenant has not paid since the pandemic. Do I have to evict them before selling?
No. We buy occupied Hillside buildings with nonpaying tenants regularly. We price the building on the actual rent roll, the landlord tenant case transfers to us, and you never have to finish the eviction.
The basement apartment was never permitted and the township cited it. Is that a problem?
It is a problem for a financed buyer, because the appraiser and the lender will not count the unit and the township will not issue the certificate of occupancy. It is a line item for us. We buy the building as it is, price the unit honestly, and handle the township after closing.
I inherited a house in Hillside and I live out of state or abroad. How does that work?
We handle the process remotely, including through counsel for heirs overseas. We coordinate with the Union County Surrogate paperwork and your estate attorney, buy the house as it sits with whatever is inside, and close when the estate is ready. New Jersey withholds an estimated tax from nonresident sellers at closing, and we walk you through that number before you commit.
How do you decide what to offer for a Hillside property?
We look at recent comparable sales on the surrounding blocks, the actual rent roll and which tenants pay, the condition of the house and its systems, any oil tank, and every certificate, lien, and violation that has to be settled at closing. Nick York walks the property and gives you a straight number with the reasoning explained.
Do I pay commissions or fees when I sell to EZ Home Buyers in Hillside?
No agent commissions and no listing fees. We cover standard closing costs on our side. The offer we present is what you walk away with, minus any existing mortgage or liens paid off at closing. No surprise deductions on closing day.
Ready to sell your Hillside house?
Submit your address. We respond within 24 hours.
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