{"id":1005,"date":"2020-10-01T06:00:44","date_gmt":"2020-10-01T10:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/?p=1005"},"modified":"2024-04-25T23:20:29","modified_gmt":"2024-04-26T03:20:29","slug":"elders-and-real-estate-fraud-a-burgeoning-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/elders-and-real-estate-fraud-a-burgeoning-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"Elders and Real Estate Fraud: A Burgeoning Problem"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Evelio and Milagros Esteban are in their 70s and they\u2019ve been homeowners for years. But recently they ran into trouble paying their mortgage. That was when they mistakenly transferred their home deed<\/a> to another Miami resident, who offered to help them rent out their home. Thinking they were signing a Section 8 housing application \u2014 which would help them rent out space affordably to low-income people \u2014 they in fact signed a quitclaim deed<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Quitclaims have appropriate uses. They can work perfectly to convey property interests between trusted people in the right situations. Unlike a transfer by warranty deed<\/a>, a quitclaim doesn\u2019t involve a title search, so it is an efficient way to convey a home from one person to the next, without surveys, appraisers, inspectors, or agencies in the middle. But the same traits that make quitclaims convenient also make them easy to manipulate. Having recorded the quitclaim in the county records, a deceptive person can apply for loans on the property\u2019s value, sell the house, or rent it out. The person who took advantage of Evelio and Milagros had the third option in mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That new owner became their landlord. Suddenly, Evelio and\nMilagro found themselves squeezed into a bedroom as other people started\nrenting rooms in what used to be their house. A surreal story? Wait. It gets\neven worse. A quitclaim deed conveys property ownership \u2014 not the mortgage. The\nduped homeowners still owe the mortgage payments that created this scene in the\nfirst place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although they did not mean to sign their home away, Evelio\nand Milagros did just that. To the Economic Crimes Bureau in Miami-Dade County,\nit\u2019s an all-too-common situation. Elderly homeowners especially fall into such\ntraps, agreeing to \u201csign here, initial there\u201d because they think the other\nperson is helping them. They might even be signing a number of legitimate\npapers \u2014 and fail to notice that one in the stack that\u2019s a problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, in Connecticut\u2026<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A lawyer called the police to report what seemed to be a falsely notarized quitclaim deed. The owner of the house was in a care home and had nothing to do with the notarization. The notary involved is now being investigated and could be charged in connection with the fraud. The alleged fraudster, who lived in the Fairfield County house<\/a>, is free on bond until arraignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While scammers are drawn to quitclaim deeds for easy transfers of property, the archaic system of notarizations<\/a> is yet another issue. This makes the abuse or falsification of notarial documents a major problem in real estate conveyances. By the time the instrument gets to the recorder of deeds, the fraud is usually a fait accompli. Under the law of most states, it is not the county recorder\u2019s role to investigate documents for fraud or false signatures.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Around the Same Time,\nin Wisconsin\u2026 <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

An Oshkosh resident who held the power of attorney for a 92-year-old care home resident<\/a> was charged with wrongly taking the house from the nonagenarian, using \u2014 you guessed it \u2014 a quitclaim deed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A power of attorney<\/a> might be drafted for estate planning, along with a will. It appoints someone as an agent, so that when a person loses the ability to make legal decisions, a representative\u2019s decision-making power can be used.\u00a0As you see, the selection of the agent can backfire. The manipulator in this case knew the rightful homeowner for decades, and did landscaping work for her before she entered the care home seven years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See more information on financial elder abuse from Deeds.com<\/em> at Frauds, Scams, and Power of Attorney Problems<\/a>.<\/strong><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
How Can People Protect Themselves and Their Loved Ones Against Quitclaim Manipulation?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Get professional legal support before signing anything\nrelated to your homeownership. Urge your elder relatives to do the same.\nGranted, this advice may be useless to the homeowner who goes into cognitive\ndecline with age. But forewarned is forearmed. Here\u2019s what we all should do as\nwe plan to protect ourselves and others later in life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n