FRAUD ALERT – Is it REAL or RECYCLABLE?

You have probably heard the advertisements on TV or received a mailer from a company alerting you that your home could be stolen away by some crafty thief. The claim is that someone might forge documents to transfer ownership of your house right out from under you!  The perpetrators use scare tactics showing people being evicted from their own homes by the sheriff! It’s a sensational story, but not the whole story. They leave out important information just to sell you a service. The service would monitor your home against unauthorized ownership transfers. Home Title Lock, one of these companies, even got on local news stations to legitimize their claim of you needing this protection. Aura.com is another company getting in on the band wagon. This is not new either, at the start of the pandemic many people were reporting on this.  Do you need to worry about this new threat?

NO

As your trusted real estate advisors, we would certainly alert you if you needed additional protections. The truth is your title policy is that protection. It is insurance against claims by any others to your right of ownership, from the beginning of recorded time to when you purchased. The scam here is that someone will try to record a fake deed and transfer ownership away from you.

SO

What can you do to hedge against this new scary story?  Simply go to your county website and search for “property fraud” and you’ll find a community service, provided by the county, allowing you to set up a fraud alert on your property…FOR FREE!  With your title policy you received when you bought your home protecting your past, the fraud alert to protect your future, the odds are ever in your favor!

Oh, and by the way, Beth and I are always happy to research into something you get in the mail, just snap a picture of it and we can tell you if it’s real or recyclable!

• Roger Steinke, REALTOR
• CENTURY 21 Judge Fite Co.
• Have questions?  682-777-5748