In compliance with a new Florida law, the Miami-Dade property appraiser's office is reexamining tax assessments that may have been inflated by fraudulent home sales.
Mortgage fraud wreaked havoc in South Florida's housing market over the past several years, contributing to inflated sales prices that may have led to inflated property taxes for innocent homeowners.
A new law meant to ensure homeowners have not been unfairly assessed is being utilized in Miami-Dade County, one of the nation's hotbeds for the once pervasive crime. It has not led to any tax reductions, though.
The law, which took effect in July, requires appraisers and tax assessors to determine whether a home that may have been used in a scheme has led to the overvaluing of nearby properties for tax purposes. The law requires law enforcement agencies to submit addresses to them once they have made arrests in fraud cases.