After three years of increasing property tax appeals, homeowners in 2010
are filing fewer appeals, county clerks say. “Last year at
this time we had a lot more appeals,” said Miami-Dade Clerk of the
Court Harvey Ruvin. “It’s a good thing because it does give us some
relief from the record-high appeals from last year.” In Miami-Dade
County, there were less than 25,000 appeals filed as of last Friday, compared
with 140,000 last year at the same time. Today is the deadline to file appeals with the
county value adjustment boards in Miami-Dade County and Broward County.
The deadline was Sept. 16 in Palm Beach. [Miami
Herald]

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Property tax appeals in Miami-Dade County rose to nearly 143,000 in 2009, after more than doubling from an average of 40,000 per year to 104,000 in 2008. The steep rise has forced the Value Adjustment Board to find more people to handle the appeals. More and more property owners are appealing the amounts, however small, as they struggle with falling home values and rising tax rates. Miami Dade Clerk of Courts Harvey Ruvin said the number would likely rise in 2010. While home values have plummeted, property tax revenue has actually increased nationally, by 2.7 percent to $421.8 billion, according to a report by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. [USA Today] Comments

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Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties are moving toward eBay-style online foreclosure auctions with a hope that it can speed up the selling process and reduce the distressed property glut.

Miami-Dade went live with its Web site Monday and plans its first auction for Jan. 11. Palm Beach County has scheduled its first online auction Jan. 21. And Broward is working toward a February launch. in November 2008.

The online auction system is designed to open up the bidding process to anyone with Internet access. With more bidders and a more efficient system, officials hope to push through the backlog of foreclosures faster than holding the traditional auctions at county court houses. And getting through that glut is a necessary step for the residential real estate market to recover. [more]

The Miami-Dade Value Adjustment Board is hustling to find enough people to handle the 40 percent rise in property tax appeals. The office said 2009 appeals are projected to reach 140,000 as homeowners contest the valuations that determine their tax rates. The board is still counting the appeals it received by the Sept. 18 deadline, and the tally is up to about 80,000. Miami-Dade County clerk Harvey Ruvin said Tuesday he’s hunting for more locations to hear the appeals expected, and wants to increase the number of magistrates, now 33, who are hearing 50 to 60 appeals a day. That number will jump to 41 in December, when the 2008 appeals are complete. [Miami Today News]