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Who owns home title lock7/26/2023 Although there are instances where title theft has occurred, certain demographics are more at risk than others. It may convince you to purchase title theft protection so that you don’t lose your home. “There are other types of fraud that are way more likely to happen,” Snyder said.The advertising for home title theft sounds ominous and rampant. ![]() ![]() According to the website, the basic program will notify homeowners of any new records but not of historic records on the property. The state of Colorado offers a similar service to Title Lock for free. It might take you five minutes to find it,” Snyder said. ![]() “If you look at your deed, you will see you have access to county records and your deed. Home titles are public records and are accessible by anyone either through the internet or by visiting their county clerk’s office. So is there anything homeowners can do to? “Nobody needs this … it is unnecessary for anybody to sign up for it,” Snyder said. “In case something does happen … you probably still have to pay to get it resolved through an attorney … You’re in the same position if you didn’t know (about the record against your home).” Title Lock is not a type of insurance, Snyder said. It is likely that person will tell someone else what happened and the aforementioned process would begin. Snyder said that even if a person with memory problems is approached at their door, asked to leave and then leaves, they are no more at risk of losing their home. The Title Lock companies claim that homeowners, seniors, those with high equity, a free and clear title, multiple properties, those with aging parents and industry professionals are at risk for title fraud. “It’s just not realistic that somebody is going to do it,” Snyder said, referring to getting away with title fraud and stealing someone’s home. “I think the whole idea of this thing is to create fear that this can happen … but it would be really difficult to get somebody out of their house,” Snyder said. Also, the person with the false claim has to prove they paid you for the house. Without a proper signature, the sale cannot stand, Snyder said. In order for your home to be sold, the owner must sign the deed. This is the moment when most fraudulent title claims fail, Snyder said. That person would have to go to court to get an eviction notice, giving the homeowner the ability to defend themselves in front of a judge, Snyder said. “They can’t just throw me out of my house onto the street.” “That isn’t going to go well,” Snyder stated. While anyone can put a lien on a property, the person recording the lien is responsible for proving their lien is legitimate, Snyder said.Īccording to Snyder, if a person did file a lien against a homeowner’s deed, that person would have to knock on the homeowner's door and tell them to leave, Snyder said. It happens quite often but it never goes anywhere because it’s clear that it is fraudulent,” Snyder said. ![]() “Anybody can record anything against anybody’s property and it can be fraudulent. Nowhere do these companies offer to prevent your title from succumbing to fraud. If you have watched TV or listened to the radio, you have likely heard the frightening words of Title Lock commercials stating that you could be at risk of losing your home.įor only a few dollars each month, Title Lock states it will monitor a customer’s title for any records filed on it. This is how all cases involving title fraud have been handled, Snyder stated. He dismissed the case and cleared titles on all the properties, Snyder said. The judge looked at the documents provided by the tenants and immediately saw they were fraudulent. According to Snyder, it took only a few months to resolve the issue. Within weeks, the executor of the estate discovered the situation and took the case to court. Without children, the man’s estate was handled by a third party.ĭuring the process of settling the man’s estate, two of his tenants filed quick claim deeds to his properties and tried to sell them, Snyder said. In his 17 years in real estate, Associate Executive for First American Title Kyle Snyder has only seen one case of title fraud and it was in Longmont.Īccording to Snyder, a Longmont resident who owned several rental properties died. Do you need Title Lock protection for your home? A local real estate guru says he can think of no reason why anyone would.
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