Tag: deed theft
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In Pittsburgh, a Title Agent Finds Dozens of Local Deed Thefts
Title agent Kelsey Green got a call from a client who hoped to refinance. But somehow, without the client’s knowing, the deed to the Pittsburgh home had been stealthily transferred. Since then, the title agent has found 35 cases of deed theft. All have occurred in Pittsburgh’s South Side neighborhoods. Allegheny County records show deed…
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Are You Ready for Arizona’s New Deed Fraud Law?
A 2026 law has changed the game for deed fraud in Arizona. The law is now just weeks from taking effect for Arizona deed transfers. Are you ready? The new law targets two steps in a property transfer: Two Republican lawmakers worked in tandem to make sure this bill got the fast-track treatment. Arizona Senator…
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Struggling With Your Mortgage Payments in a Harsh Economy? Not All Promises of Help Are Legit.
There are deep problems in the U.S. housing economy—including for deed holders. And today, for many households coping with inflation, oil price surges may be the last straw. This financial pressure will likely create many more targets for the grotesque business of promising mortgage relief in order to snatch equity from homes. You might have…
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Deed Theft News: Brooklyn Case Shows Why Facts Matter
It’s called deed theft, title fraud, house stealing, or title piracy. At its simplest, it involves the recording of a deed or other property document that appears to transfer ownership without the true owner’s permission. In some cases, criminals forge signatures, impersonate owners, or use false identities to record documents that appear valid on their…
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NYC Opens First Office to Fight Deed Theft
It is the city’s first office dedicated to deed theft prevention. Mayor Zohran Mamdani has just formed the Mayor’s Office of Deed Theft Prevention for New York City. What’s deed theft? It’s the taking of a home by shady paperwork. The culprits falsify deeds and notarizations. Then they record the falsified documents. Additional forms of…
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The Best Laws Against Deed Theft: How Does Your State Rank?
For those concerned about where deed theft is taken most seriously under the laws, the data security firm EquityProtect has the facts. The company’s new Property Protection Scorecard sums up the current status of each of the 50 states and Washington, DC. The equityprotect.com/scorecard webpage ranks states using five tiers. Tier 1 shows the…
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Title Thieves Are Robbing the Dickens Out of Homeowners
Richard Helbig is a 75-year-old retired home renovator. Now, Helbig is back to work—as a dishwasher. What happened? He lived in his four-bedroom home in North Carolina for 16 years. He redid the kitchen and bathrooms. He paid off the home loan and accumulated $200K+ in equity. But a couple of title pirates took it…
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New Deed Fraud Law Advances in Arizona
Arizona is fed up with deed fraud. Con artists who target deeds go for “a person’s home, their savings, and the work of a lifetime,” says Representative Selina Bliss. Now, a bill in Arizona’s legislature is poised to better protect deed holders from manipulators who take homes out from under people. House Bill 2080 passed—unanimously—out…
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Texas Says Time’s Up for Deed Hustlers
A wave of real estate scams has prompted action by Texas lawmakers. Real estate theft and fraud are now in the criminal code. Naming deed crimes is part of a growing trend that you might recall from a series of articles we’ve offered on New York’s new law, naming “deed theft” as a crime category.…
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End Deed Fraud! Florida Tests ID Rule, California Requires Alerts
Real estate prices keep rising. A home title is increasingly valuable. For people who specialize in deed fraud, deed records might as well be pots of gold. These smooth operators are on the lookout for properties they can control, sell, or use to obtain loan or rent money. What happened to the days when a…
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On the Rise: Deed Theft in New England
Can you imagine if someone faked a quitclaim deed and transferred your home out from under you? Years of steadily built-up equity, taken in one fell swoop. It does happen. New York has had to formally create a crime named “deed theft” to treat it with the seriousness it deserves—not just as forgery, but in…
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Keeping Ahead of the Deed Snatchers, From Albany to Honolulu
Your deed is precious. Just ask anyone who may have lost theirs to criminals. We’ve recently seen multiple governments responding to deed crimes. Actions span the country, from Albany to Honolulu — and places in between. Here’s what’s new, and what might keep a frightening fate from befalling your deed.
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Another Brooklyn Deed Theft? Isn’t This a Felony Now?
Carmella Charrington of Brooklyn has a disturbing story to tell. And New York City’s News 12 reporters listened. In a state where deed theft is now named as grand larceny under the criminal law, some self-declared “new homeowner” broke into her home earlier this month. Then the stranger tried to evict Charrington. The office of…
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A First in the Nation: Cuyahoga County to Install Two-Factor Authentication for Recorded Documents
Could the party be over for deed thieves in Cuyahoga County, Ohio? Home to the beautiful city of Cleveland, it will soon be the first U.S. county to offer two-factor authentication for the recording of legal documents. This is a milestone in the effort to stop fraudulent deed transfers. To explain the forthcoming change, we…
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Deed Theft Update: Disbarred Lawyer Jailed in New York
The New York Times reports that Sanford Solny, convicted in June in the Supreme Court of Brooklyn (pictured in banner photo), is now in jail. Solny is a disbarred lawyer and real estate investor charged with stealing New York City homes. He is now in jail for probation violations. “It’s about time,” said Lisa A.,…
