SARASOTA, Fla. (WFLA) —These days, Florida homeowners are getting hit from all sides with rising mortgage rates, skyrocketing insurance premiums and increased fees. But what about your property taxes?
One man turned to 8 On Your Side Investigator Mahsa Saeidi, convinced his parents overpaid on their taxes, for decades. The local property appraiser admits his office made a mistake, but he says it didn’t impact the tax bill.
The appraiser does not plan on issuing any refunds.
“First of all I would like justice for my 94-year-old father, a veteran who paid his taxes faithfully on the belief that no mistakes are made,” said Michael Scarlatos.
After the death of his father, Michael was tasked with selling his home in Sarasota. That’s when he says he discovered the mistake.
His father’s home is 3,501 sq. feet but it was listed as 4,093 sq. feet by the local property appraiser. For years, the size of the home was overstated by nearly 600 square feet.
“They corrected it immediately,” said Michael.
Michael says Sarasota County Property Appraiser Bill Furst updated the square footage but denied the tax bill was inflated as a result of the mistake.
County appraiser’s report to the Florida Department of Revenue.
To calculate a tax bill, you must multiple the “value” by the “millage rates.”
“They don’t want to admit that in general the higher the square footage, the higher the assessed value, the higher the assessed value, the higher the taxes,” said Michael.
Furst and his staff spoke with 8 On Your Side on the phone. They say although the square footage was inflated, in this case, the market value was not. They point to the sale price of the property.
Furst says, in 2005, Michael’s family purchased the home for $845,000. This year, they sold it for more than $1 million.
Furst says the valuation didn’t get close to those numbers in the past decade, maxing out at around $631,000.
Fursts’ office does not have data dating back more than a decade. He says the family isn’t owed anything.
“I want you to help me highlight this risk to property taxpayers at least in the county of Sarasota,” said MIchael.
So why did this mistake happen?
Fursts’ office says this was a peculiarly shaped courtyard house.
They say they don’t think they made mistakes with other homes.
Michael is still fighting to get a refund and he thinks all homeowners should double check the numbers.
If you have a tip or comment, email Mahsa at MSaeidi@WFLA.com