Tag: property records
-
New Development in West Virginia: Tax Lien Registration Act
Legislators in West Virginia have introduced the Tax Lien Registration Act, which would create one statewide system for filing tax lien notices. Here’s what the public needs to know.
-
Rare Deeds as Collectibles (What’s in Your Home’s Past?)
Is there anything unique and valuable about an old deed? Many deeds still exist that were recorded more than a century ago. Old deeds were made out of large pieces of hefty parchment paper. The old ones are works of art, with beautiful scripts and seals. Oddly enough, an antique deed usually won’t be considered…
-
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.…
-
Some Colorado Deeds Predate the Civil War. Now, They’re Going Digital.
Ever wonder what deed recorders do with those fees they charge? In Colorado, fees from nine years of deed recordings have funded a 21-million-dollar project to make all records into digital, searchable documents. Arapahoe became a county in 1861 — before Colorado gained statehood. Now, it has reached the final stages of digitizing county deeds…
-
Will Louisville Make New Rules to Stop Quitclaim Fraud? The Question Is Now a Political Flashpoint
In Louisville, Kentucky, residents are demanding that officials create safeguards to prevent the recording of fraudulent deeds. Louisville is located in Jefferson County, the largest of the Kentucky counties. The county has been in the news over quitclaim deed fraud. In a recent, high-profile case, a con artist got away with transferring a deed out…
-
Counties Restore Old Deed Books to Preserve Centuries of History
U.S. history can be traced through generations of property deeds. Embracing that knowledge, many deed recorders’ offices are working behind the scenes to preserve deed books. The books contain old plat maps, mineral rights records, and the deeds to homes — thousands upon thousands of beautiful, handwritten documents.
-
Beyond Bizarre: Milwaukee’s Racial Deed Restrictions
Milwaukee is dealing with a race matter — affecting tens of thousands of the city’s property deeds. Two researchers, Profs. Anne Bonds and Derek Handley, shared their progress with more than 200 interested attendees this month at Milwaukee Central Library. The findings were beyond bizarre.
-
Setting the Example: Bergen County Migrates 370,000 NJ Deeds to the Blockchain
Bergen County, New Jersey has jumped on the blockchain train. The county is digitizing all of its property records. The County Clerk has inked a five-year contract with Balcony Technology Group, a blockchain-focused records company based in New Jersey. Once they’re digitized, 370,000 property deeds (representing $240 billion in property value) will migrate to…
-
Received an Offer to Have Your Deed Mailed to You for a Fee? Toss It!
This year, Recorder of Deeds Jeanne Sorg has an important message for home buyers in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Look out, Sorg tells homeowners, for deceptive letters mailed to residents from outfits like Property Site. (That’s just one example of the companies who send out these letters, Sorg notes.) The letters at issue say the companies…
-
Deed Records Go Digital: Getting Up to Speed in Delaware County, PA
Delaware County (“Delco” to the locals) is home to more than a half-million residents, making it Pennsylvania’s 5th most populated county. It borders the southwest edge of Philadelphia. It’s a little bit country, a little bit urban. It includes scenic Ridley Creek State Park. Several universities stand at least partly within it: Cheyney, Villanova, and…
-
eRecording Is Next-Level Deed Processing. Know What It Is, and Why It’s Legal.
For centuries, deeds went through a manual filing process for transmitting, recording, and storing. This is changing, with eRecording emerging as the new standard. Why the shift? The shutdowns in the early days of Covid jolted offices into a different mode of operating. Around the same time, county offices began strongly recommending eRecording. Electronic signatures…
