The Register of Deeds of Shelby County, Tennessee recently took to a live television newscast to warn the public about scammers scouring funeral listings and obituaries. They’re looking for dead people whose homes they can steal.
They forge deeds. They record bogus title transfers.
Once they have control over their ill-gotten homes, criminals sell them, borrow against them, rent them out, and evict rightful owners.
Too Easy? Abuse of Quitclaim Deeds Highlighted
Here’s Willie Brooks, taking to the airwaves to talk about protecting some of our most important assets: our homes. Brooks emphasizes criminals’ easy access to quitclaim deeds as a threat to owners.
Are quitclaims the problem? No! But the abuse of them is. As our regular readers know, a quitclaim deed is simply a legal document conveying (but not guaranteeing) the home’s title. It’s a good tool to pass homeownership between:
- Divorcing partners.
- Family members.
- Individuals and their businesses or trusts.
- Co-owners, when one is ready to come off the deed.
Quitclaims are easy to use. The downside? Many fraudsters prefer quitclaims.
Warranty deeds, in contrast, do come with a guaranty that the transferor stands behind the title’s integrity. But even warranty deeds are used in improper transfers, as technology is making fake documents more believable and easier to create. Either way, when a bad actor goes to record a forged or otherwise improper transfer, ownership is officially gone from the earlier owner. The county will record the deed transfer if it meets all the procedural rules. Under Tennessee law, the county must do so. Under many states’ traditional real estate laws, the county recorder’s role doesn’t include investigating deeds presented to them.
Free Title Alert System: County Encourages Residents to Sign Up
Now, the county’s Register of Deeds, Willie Brooks, Jr., wants residents to know about an important resource: the county’s free Fraud Alert system.
Alert systems are showing up in county after county, as local governments focus on letting deed holders know if anything happens with their deeds. Without such systems, shady actors can sell, borrow against, or slap a lien on a title, without the owner having any idea.
Shelby County’s Fraud Alert system notifies a deed holder within 24 hours if anyone records a claim on the deed. Residents have three ways to sign up: by phone, through the county’s new mobile app, or by logging onto the county’s Fraud Alert webpage and entering their email addresses to get started.
An impressive 19,000 households have already registered for deed fraud alerts in Shelby County, Tennessee.
Seniors Targeted: How Titles Get Chosen by Thieves
Senior citizens are the most vulnerable targets of quitclaim fraud, says Willie Brooks. Many older adults have held their deeds for decades. They’ve paid their mortgages off. So there’s a lot of equity in their homes. And there’s no lender ready to spot a new recording and contact the homeowner.
Some seniors have moved out of their homes for medical support. Others leave second homes untended. Many die with deeds in their names. Their homes are easy targets.
But how do these deed thieves know which homes fit their profiles?
Bad actors cruise neighborhoods, says Brooks, looking for vacant homes. They comb through funeral listings and obits. Some criminals use obituaries, death certificates, etc. for identity theft purposes.
All of their fraudulent schemes, says Brooks, involve leveraging your grief for their gain.
In Detroit, Financial Vulnerability Enables Quitclaim Fraud
This year, Realtor.com® reported on a Detroit case that shows how financially vulnerable deed holders can also be easy victims. Be careful who you trust, this case seems to say.
This federal case involves more than 30 Detroit-area homes. All were stolen with forged quitclaim deeds that transferred ownership to fake companies. The homes were then sold to unsuspecting buyers.
And here’s the zinger. The deed forger held a management position with a charity group meant to help vulnerable people keep their homes.
It gets worse still. In this alleged conspiracy involving identity theft, wire fraud, and money laundering, the forger worked with a county employee and a notary to take the deeds from their rightful owners.
Owners chased out of their homes included sick, poor, and older adults.
Proposed in Georgia: Not on My Deed Act
Claudia Marie lived in Clayton County, Georgia. In April 2022, Marie supposedly signed her deed away to a company known as EBA Capital Inc., which recorded the deed in the county.
On the date the deed was signed and transferred, Claudia Marie had been dead for three months.
Investigative journalists from the Atlanta-area outlet WANF went to Marie’s former home to check things out. Someone was home — but who?
A police report shows investigators asking the home’s resident, presumably Clark, for identification when they were called to the home in late 2023 by family. The home’s occupant declined to show an ID. Police let the matter go.
Under Georgia law, those who file claims or conveyances with the county deed recorder need not show ID. This is why someone who doesn’t even own a home can transfer the deed. The recently introduced Not on My Deed Act would let Georgia’s county deed recorders ask for a government-issued photo ID before accepting a deed change. State Rep. Mandisha Thomas of South Fulton County introduced the bill after a wave of incidents like Claudia Marie’s case. “I’m baffled,” Thomas stated, that such a law hasn’t been passed before.
A Florida County Forms Teams
Unfortunately, Florida’s sunshine laws — which create transparent, open legal records — give scoundrels information on whether people dying in Florida have or don’t have heirs. But Broward County’s Property Appraiser’s Office, located in Fort Lauderdale, now collaborates with Trauma Services and the Medical Examiner’s Office to deal with the issue.
Using software that automatically flags unusual activity, these county officials now watch over the homes of people who die. If there’s any change in property ownership, they investigate.
Additionally, the Chief Administrative Judge in Broward County has issued an order to help the victims of title fraud. Their cases will now go into an expedited court process to help people recover their titles ASAP.
Fallback Plan: Does Title Insurance Help?
County deed fraud alert systems only notify homeowners after the fact. That’s somewhat helpful, because it’s more likely to get a title back through quick action. But getting a title back is still a court process which no one should have to go through.
Some companies offer more than ordinary title insurance, with options known as the extended title policy or a homeowner’s policy of title insurance that covers loss of title identity theft and/or forgery. This is separate from regular homeowner’s insurance.
With the right coverage, a homeowner can make a claim and let the insurer resolve the issue in court.
What if a homeowner isn’t covered for a bogus claim against a title? Calling law enforcement quickly can help, and there are other potential backup mechanisms. If the home was acquired by warranty deed, the seller’s title company may be able to help.
Takeaway: Awareness Matters
We all need to know what’s going on with our deeds. And counties are stepping up to alert us.
No matter which U.S. state you happen to live in, your county might have (or might be considering) a similar system. Check the website or call your county’s register of deeds learn more.
Supporting References
Kontji Anthony for WREG News Channel 3 (Memphis, TN) via WREG.com: Live at 9 – Scammers Stalking Funeral Listings to Steal Property, Says Register of Deeds Willie Brooks, Jr. (published Mar. 4, 2024 by Nexstar Media).
Lisa J. Huriash for the South Florida Sun Sentinel via Sun-Sentinel.com: As Thieves Steal Dead People’s Homes, Here’s a New Idea for Fighting Fraud (Aug. 24, 2023).
Ciara Cummings and Amanda Alvarado for WBTV News via WBTV.com: ‘It’s Been Really Hard’: Woman Dies, Then Her Family’s Home Is Stolen (published Feb. 14, 2024 by WANF Atlanta/Gray Television, Inc.).
Keith Griffith for Realtor.com®: Deed Fraud Is On the Rise. Here’s How To Protect Your Home (Apr. 1, 2024).
Deeds.com: Home Buyers, Cover Your Assets: Choosing Between Standard and Extended Title Insurance (Dec. 11, 2020).
And as linked.
More on topics: Seniors targeted for real estate fraud, New York makes deed theft a crime
Photo credit: RDNE Stock Project.