Real Estate deed theft

[tprice]

I have seen something like this mentioned before but saw a short article on WYFF this am about people “stealing property deeds” buy falsifying documents .

In the article it mentions Anderson County is looking at a system that would notify anyone by text/email when any changes to you deed

Eating breakfast with buddy of mine and we can not wrap our heads around how this could happen with the way real estate deals are done in SC

Guess I am getting to be one of those old men that see’s crap on TV and then starts thinking about it

https://www.wyff4.com/article/scamme...ud-sc/63706354

[scatter shot]

Two thoughts-

1 if there is a mortgage on the property I don't see how the property could be stolen.

2 Let a mf'r show up at my property and try to displace me from my home.

[cajunwannabe]

Forged deed, no title search, record the deed. Family utilizing Power of Attorney to transfer assets is a big one. Family + Money = temptation to steal.

I can promise you the folks in the county records department don't have a clue as to whether a mortgage has been satisfied on a property when they record the deed.

I ran into a scenario recently where a spouse had a POA over his wife who had dementia. While wife was alive the Seller deeded her interest in their personal home to himself using a POA, not legal (unless specified in the POA) but an attorney signed off and the county folks recorded it. It became a problem when he sold though. No title insurance company would insure the title since a son, daughter or a relative could challenge the Seller's ownership after Seller's wife died. It made sense to me. Seller had to pay to reopen probate (wife had been dead 2 years now) and get a judge to approve the sale and sons signed an affidavit saying they weren't due any money from the sale of the home. This delayed closing over a month for my buyer.

Get title insurance when you buy property, it's worth every penny if something should arise.

[Hogg]

Standard owner's title insurance policies are retroactive in coverage so they would not cover this. Ask your title insurance agent if they can offer enhanced coverage to cover this event.

[WoodieSC]

I talked to a homeless guy in Greenville a few months back. He was older, but well spoken, seemed reasonably intelligent, and clear of drugs and alcohol. I asked him why he was homeless, as I was buying his puppy a bag of food and a new collar, and he said after his mom died he inherited her house. He took in a renter, who at one point instigated a fight that got this guy tossed in jail for 10 months (he sure didn’t strike me as having a tough bone in his body). While he was in jail the guy forged a copy of the deed to himself and stole it right out from under him. A lawyer said there was nothing he could do for him. I’m sure it doesn’t help that these County systems show the world how they can forge your signature.

[Hogg]

If you think the clerks at the Register of Deeds, who record hundreds if not thousands of documents a day, should be obligated to examine the title to every property for which a document is presented for recording, then you need to either have your head examined or put a little bit more thought into how things work as a practical matter.

[tprice]

If you think the clerks at the Register of Deeds, who record hundreds if not thousands of documents a day, should be obligated to examine the title to every property for which a document is presented for recording, then you need to either have your head examined or put a little bit more thought into how things work as a practical matter.

I agree, if I understood the story this was why Anderson County was looking at some type of alert system anytime you had a change on a real estate deed

[Tater]

As surveyor I have seen the absolute shit that attorneys record as “deeds”. And the county has to take them. Not all, but a disturbing amount are pure trash and border on being downright criminal. Used to be you could see the tape on the mimeographed copies where they simply perpetuated the prior legal description. Now they have Adobe to do it for them. Deed Mills, pure and simple.

And SC, of the states I have worked in, has the worst deeds and it’s not even close. I would think you could take a HS class of 25 students, give them the assignment of getting a fraudulent deed recorded and 75% or greater would succeed.

[Southernduck]

So to summarize Taters analysis, lawyers suck, lawyers in SC suck even more and the system that said lawyers put in place is the suckiest.

[2thDoc]

i worry about this about as much as I worry about all them drug commercials for meds that keep you from getting the HIV

[flockbuster]

i worry about this about as much as I worry about all them drug commercials for meds that keep you from getting the HIV

Dude, you play soccer. You've probably already got it.

[Tater]

Dude, you play soccer. You've probably already got it.

As soon as I read that I knew the convo had switched to Aids and the 2th Doc was the victim, lol

[2thDoc]

decently funny....