Orange is the only Central Florida county handling foreclosure-auction paperwork in a way that can allow sale prices to be artificially inflated, resulting in higher profits for investors while misleading new buyers and lenders.
Officials on Friday were still trying to determine what was in it for the investors, who paid more documentary-stamp taxes on the properties than they were required to, boosting the sale price recorded by the Property Appraiser’s Office.
One motivation could be that inflating the price they paid at auction leaves prospective buyers and their lenders with the impression that they are paying only slightly more for the properties.
via Orange foreclosure sales: inflated sales prices – OrlandoSentinel.com.