Deeds.com Archives

September 20, 2023April 25, 2024

I Deeded My Property to Someone Else. Can I Revoke My Gift?

Giver’s regret isn’t unusual. A desire to void the gift of a home after transferring the deed could happen for various reasons. Perhaps you recovered from a serious illness and could really use that home after all. Or maybe your tax expert told you that letting someone wait to inherit your home would be better for the beneficiary, or for you. Perhaps you just don’t like the way your recipient is behaving, and now feel you made a mistake by giving your home away to an irresponsible person.

And now you need answers. Can you take back the deed that you transferred?

September 6, 2023April 25, 2024

The Big Tease: Look Out for Rising Interest on a Home Equity Line of Credit

Once you get a deed to your own home, you have special wealth-building powers. Pay off the mortgage faithfully month by month, and you own increasing home equity. This is how your home turns into value you can tap when you need or want it.

A home equity line of credit (HELOC) gives you an account to tap for ongoing or surprise expenses —costs like tuition, medical or accessibility needs, starting a new business, or anything else you’d like to pay for without putting debt on a credit card. You use your home equity as collateral. This means banks offer interest rates as low as 9%. That’s a lot lower than credit card rates.

While HELOC rates might start off seemingly low, they can turn into trouble.

August 28, 2023April 25, 2024

Look Out for These Bizarre Real Estate Listing Scams

Nationwide, real estate scams siphon hundreds of millions of hard-earned dollars into the accounts of fraudsters. Some new and unusual scams can fool real estate professionals.

Consider the use of AI by cutting-edge scammers. As the news show 60 Minutes recently noted, hackers now use artificial intelligence to copy someone’s voice, and have access to apps that change what comes up on a caller ID.

Here are a few hallmarks of scams that every home seeker or home lister should know. Keep in mind that tech-savvy scammers make these sneaky ploys all the harder to avoid or trace.

July 12, 2023April 25, 2024

Quitclaim Forgery Is Snatching Florida Homes From Seniors and Dead People

Some people will steal their own mothers’ homes.

In a stunning case of deed fraud, a woman named Wanda donned a wig and pretended to be her own elderly mother, then tried to steal her home in Hillsborough County, Florida. A video recording shows Wanda using the Notarize computer-based notary service, signing a quitclaim deed. She signed her mother’s name to take the deed for herself.

In May 2023, the Tampa police apprehended Wanda on counts of forgery and elder exploitation.

A weird and unusual case, surely? Alas, there are quite a few deed scoundrels alive and well in Florida. The state is among the top three for identity theft, according to the 2022 figures from the Federal Trade Commission.

November 7, 2022April 25, 2024

Using a Quitclaim Deed: What Are the Drawbacks?

A quitclaim deed is a simple form that transfers a piece of real estate from one person to another. Any homeowner can fill out a quitclaim deed with their name and the name of the recipient, and the property’s existing legal description, sign it in front of a notary and record the document. That effectively and quickly passes a property on. No wonder these forms mistakenly get called “quick claim” deeds.

Yet quitclaims are not a good pick for most property conveyances. Read on to learn more.