{"id":6702,"date":"2025-08-01T09:27:48","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T13:27:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/?p=6702"},"modified":"2025-08-01T09:27:51","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T13:27:51","slug":"leaving-your-home-for-a-while-an-arizona-trucker-has-a-cautionary-tale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/leaving-your-home-for-a-while-an-arizona-trucker-has-a-cautionary-tale\/","title":{"rendered":"Leaving Your Home for a While? An Arizona Trucker Has a Cautionary Tale"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\u201cThis is home. It will always be home,\u201d D\u2019Andrea Turner told ABC\u2019s Channel 15. \u201cI raised my babies here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

D\u2019Andrea\u2019s ex, Keith Turner, is a trucker who went out on the road for long stretches at a time. This left the home unattended, as the pair had separated. This year, the two parents learned their home had been sold without their knowledge. It was deed theft<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Violated, Impersonated, and Robbed of Their Deed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Phoenix Police Department investigated. A search turned up a couple of characters who had broken in, and started living in the home which the trucker and his ex still (presumably) owned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The alleged criminals gathered personal documents from inside the home. They used these documents to create impersonations of the rightful deed holders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By pretending to be the legitimate co-owners, this unwelcome pair of house-sitters managed to transfer the title right out from under them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the legitimate co-owners, D\u2019Andrea, told a news reporter it was like being in The Twilight Zone<\/em>. D\u2019Andrea said she saw mail addressed to people she\u2019d never met in the mailbox.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keith and D\u2019Andrea had lost their deed. People pretending to be them signed it over to a new owner. When D\u2019Andrea actually laid eyes on the new deed, she told an ABC News<\/em> reporter: \u201cThat is not my name, and that\u2019s not my signature.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through the Cracks? News Investigators Check Up on Title Company<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Somehow, the forgery managed to pass, undetected, through a number of document and investment professionals. The criminals sold the trucker\u2019s home for $200K+ to investors. These buyers actually toured the home \u2014 twice, in fact \u2014 with the phony owner\/sellers. And the home was actually listed on the market. Ownership was transferred through a warranty deed<\/a>. A notary signed off on the deed. Maricopa County accepted it into the public records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So\u2026 How did the title company, which issues a title report and vouches for the title\u2019s marketability, let any of this happen?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The title company told the local ABC outlet that this instance of fraud fell through their cracks. And yet the title company\u2019s rep said their anti-fraud personnel are confronting \u201ca dozen of these cases a week<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In cases of missed fraud attempts, those who lose their purchase money, their loan collateral, and\/or their deeds will go after the title companies to be made whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fraud is one reason home buyers might also purchase <\/strong><\/em>title insurance<\/em><\/strong><\/a> to go with the homes they buy. If you are buying title insurance, check with the company on whether an extended policy is needed for fraud that may have occurred pre- or post-purchase.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Covering Deed Theft Keeps Arizona News Teams Busy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In other Arizona locations, ABC Channel 15<\/em> has done similar deed theft investigations. Arizona\u2019s Family Investigates<\/em>, part of the CBS corporation, has also reported on deed theft incidents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One involved a home in Scottsdale. The late owner supposedly signed the deed away \u2014 after his date of death. The home was transferred, by an imposter, from probate to a major real estate company<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The home was staged and listed, and agents were told to empty it of the late owner\u2019s items.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upon learning fraud was in play, the real estate company cancelled the sale and transferred the deed back to the dead homeowner\u2019s heirs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lucky for them, the deed was falsely signed and notarized in California, where notary laws are stricter than in Arizona. The required fingerprint records in California enabled law enforcement to trace the fraud. Charges were brought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Definitions<\/u>: A title represents a legal right to keep and transfer your home. Transfers of that right are evidenced by the deed. <\/strong><\/em>Deeds are recorded with the county<\/em><\/strong><\/a> where the home exists, as public notice of who holds the title to a home.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Home Alone? Remote Deed Holders Should Keep Tabs on Their Real Estate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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If you are moving, working away from home, separated from a co-owner, or remote for any reason, don\u2019t leave account statements or tax forms or personally identifying information in the home. And don\u2019t let mail come to an unlocked mailbox.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hiring a house-sitter can make sense. A house sitter can discourage squatting, deed tampering, or identity theft. Safety precautions may include:  <\/p>\n\n\n\n