Investors may be cheating system

Housing tax rebates probes, Investors may be cheating system , from the Arizona Republic, reports that real estate investors who falsely claim their rental houses as "owner occupied" are potentially draining millions from the state treasury and soon could face criminal charges. Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas launched an investigation this week to find homes and owners that have claimed homes as owner occupied when they were rentals. Owners of homes that are designated as "owner occupied" get a 35 percent "aid to education" tax rebate subtracted from the school portion of their property tax bill each year. That amount, an average of $200 a home, could be costing the county millions of dollars in tax payments. Intentionally claiming a rental as "owner occupied" is a felony! The problem is that the County Assessor doesn't have anyone checking the affidavits of values and following up with owner addresses to see if there are homes being falsely classified. The state Department of Real Estate earlier this year issued a warning to agents not to encourage clients to lie about rental status on affidavits of value and threatened disciplinary action against those who do.

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