Florida Archives - Deeds.com

April 24, 2024April 25, 2024

Now They’re Holding Titles for Ransom? Here’s How Real Estate Scammers Target Floridians (and the Rest of Us)

St. Johns County, which includes St. Augustine Beach, has plenty of attractive real estate. Just beware the trickster who holds a deed for ransom.

One of the seniors who lives in St. Johns sounded the alarm. Some shady firm told her to pay $20K to get her title back.

It’s a trend in which local “investment companies” (or run-of-the-mill fraud rings) take the title of a home hostage, for a payoff. Now, St. Johns County officials are warning the public about these real estate ransoms.

September 13, 2023April 25, 2024

Arizona and Florida Buyers: Now There’s a 1% Down Payment Option

Interest on a 30-year mortgage has topped 7%, bringing rates up to levels not seen since 2002. And with the prices of homes as high as they are right now, it’s harder to buy a home today than at any time in the past 40 years.

Prices will stay high because of demand for homes — that owners aren’t selling. Owners don’t want to jump back into today’s market. No surprise there!

Meanwhile, those overwhelmed by rising rents find it hard to save enough for down payments. To draw potential buyers into a market like this, mortgage companies are creating incentives. Zillow Home Loans LLC, Rocket Mortgage®, and United Wholesale Mortgage are all advertising new, 1% down payment mortgages.

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.