According to the Journal of World Economic Research, real estate deed thieves stole $547 million in 2020, and this amount increased last year. A real property deed fraud occurs when a property gets transferred illegally without the authority and knowledge of the actual owner. This usually happens to vacant properties whose owners have died recently or are too old and busy to maintain them. Most deed fraud committers use forged signatures and stamps to commit real estate deed fraud.
However, you can take these preventative measures to ensure that your property doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.
Never Leave Your Property Vacant
As mentioned above, real estate deed fraud mostly happens to houses that have been sitting vacant for a long time. Therefore, the first step to ensure that your property doesn’t transfer without your authority is to keep your house occupied.
If you have additional properties that you don’t live in, you should sell them as soon as possible. However, if you don’t want to sell a property, we recommend renting it out at affordable rates. Make sure you leave a guard or a trustable manager in your home while you’re waiting for the right buyer or tenant.
Verify Credit Reports Regularly
If you see a significant discrepancy in your credit reports, chances are you’re a victim of real estate deed fraud. Your credit reports are the first things that are affected when things go wrong, and if you spot that in time, you can protect your property from real estate deed fraud.
You should check your credit report once a year and always address every irregularity. For instance, if the electricity bill of any of your additional properties has increased, a thief might be making themselves at home.
Don’t Provide Your Information to Strangers
Well, many people talk about the importance of not providing your personal information to strangers, but we will repeat it. Most real estate frauds happen because property owners trust people with their house addresses, house owners’ names, debit and credit card information, and more. Therefore, you should never provide your information to an unverified source or an untrustable person.
With estate planning NYC, you will be able to protect your real estate property from real estate deed fraud. At Ledwidge and Associates, our Real Property Law firm lawyer can guide you on taking property insurance and other legal steps to prevent deed fraud.
Reach out to us, and our estate law attorney Brooklyn will assist you further.
Ledwidge & Associates
