Home title theft? (1 Viewer)

[coyote5]

Anyone concerned about this and pay for some sort of title protection service?

Honestly I didn't know this was a thing but I heard a radio ad about it the other day so now I'm wondering if I need to be hiding deeds or sleeping with the title thieves' wives?

 

[John123]

If it was a thing I think we'd hear about it in other places other than the ads from people wanting you to pay them to protect you from it.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

The Home Title Theft Baloney

Some gullible folks buy insurance against their home getting stolen by scammers. Maybe the real threat is from those same insurers.

www.forbes.com

 

[Grahamburn]

What do they do with it once they’ve stolen it?

 

[ChiefD]

What do they do with it once they’ve stolen it?

Hopefully they come over and mow the lawn.

 

[belljr]

What do they do with it once they’ve stolen it?

• A fraudulent refinance in which the person withdraws your equity and leaves you with another mortgage. While they don’t gain possession of your home, they use your identity to steal money based on your home’s value.
• Similarly, they can access your equity through a home equity line of credit (HELOC) and create a mountain of debt for which you’re responsible.
• Thieves can forge deeds to sell uninhabited real estate, such as rental buildings or vacation homes.
• Someone might present homeowners in financial hardship with a fake refinancing opportunity. At closing, the homeowner unknowingly signs paperwork for a home sale assigning the scammer as the new owner.

 

[Grahamburn]

What do they do with it once they’ve stolen it?

• A fraudulent refinance in which the person withdraws your equity and leaves you with another mortgage. While they don’t gain possession of your home, they use your identity to steal money based on your home’s value.
• Similarly, they can access your equity through a home equity line of credit (HELOC) and create a mountain of debt for which you’re responsible.
• Thieves can forge deeds to sell uninhabited real estate, such as rental buildings or vacation homes.
• Someone might present homeowners in financial hardship with a fake refinancing opportunity. At closing, the homeowner unknowingly signs paperwork for a home sale assigning the scammer as the new owner.

Aren’t there consumer protections in place for these kinds of things? If a lender lets that happen it should be on them. Not me.

Credit cards and banks operate that way.

 

[LawFitz]

Title insurance when you buy or refi ($500-1000 embedded in closing fees each time) is supposed to protect you from this to great degree. Whether or not that protection is adequately reliable is perhaps debatable, but when title records are mistakenly or fraudulently mishandled, the title insurer is supposed to step in to clean up the mess and take the loss as needed. Now if someone is able to steal and mimic your identity well enough, then it may be your burden to prove it wasn't you who signed the docs, but otherwise, this issue is exactly why we all pay hefty fees to the title industry with each and every real estate transaction we take part in that involves a mortgage.

 

[belljr]

What do they do with it once they’ve stolen it?

• A fraudulent refinance in which the person withdraws your equity and leaves you with another mortgage. While they don’t gain possession of your home, they use your identity to steal money based on your home’s value.
• Similarly, they can access your equity through a home equity line of credit (HELOC) and create a mountain of debt for which you’re responsible.
• Thieves can forge deeds to sell uninhabited real estate, such as rental buildings or vacation homes.
• Someone might present homeowners in financial hardship with a fake refinancing opportunity. At closing, the homeowner unknowingly signs paperwork for a home sale assigning the scammer as the new owner.

Aren’t there consumer protections in place for these kinds of things? If a lender lets that happen it should be on them. Not me.

Credit cards and banks operate that way.

I have no idea, I'm not worried about it , was just answering your question.

 

[Runkle]

What do they do with it once they’ve stolen it?

• A fraudulent refinance in which the person withdraws your equity and leaves you with another mortgage. While they don’t gain possession of your home, they use your identity to steal money based on your home’s value.
• Similarly, they can access your equity through a home equity line of credit (HELOC) and create a mountain of debt for which you’re responsible.
• Thieves can forge deeds to sell uninhabited real estate, such as rental buildings or vacation homes.
• Someone might present homeowners in financial hardship with a fake refinancing opportunity. At closing, the homeowner unknowingly signs paperwork for a home sale assigning the scammer as the new owner.

Seems like the bank's problem, not mine

 

[Stoneworker]

What do they do with it once they’ve stolen it?

• A fraudulent refinance in which the person withdraws your equity and leaves you with another mortgage. While they don’t gain possession of your home, they use your identity to steal money based on your home’s value.
• Similarly, they can access your equity through a home equity line of credit (HELOC) and create a mountain of debt for which you’re responsible.
• Thieves can forge deeds to sell uninhabited real estate, such as rental buildings or vacation homes.
• Someone might present homeowners in financial hardship with a fake refinancing opportunity. At closing, the homeowner unknowingly signs paperwork for a home sale assigning the scammer as the new owner.

Seems like the bank's problem, not mine

37% of homes in the U.S. are owned free and clear

 

[Leroy Hoard]

What do they do with it once they’ve stolen it?

Hopefully they come over and mow the lawn.

And then take over waving a fist at those kids on the lawn. My arm is getting tired.

 

[Runkle]

What do they do with it once they’ve stolen it?

• A fraudulent refinance in which the person withdraws your equity and leaves you with another mortgage. While they don’t gain possession of your home, they use your identity to steal money based on your home’s value.
• Similarly, they can access your equity through a home equity line of credit (HELOC) and create a mountain of debt for which you’re responsible.
• Thieves can forge deeds to sell uninhabited real estate, such as rental buildings or vacation homes.
• Someone might present homeowners in financial hardship with a fake refinancing opportunity. At closing, the homeowner unknowingly signs paperwork for a home sale assigning the scammer as the new owner.

Seems like the bank's problem, not mine

37% of homes in the U.S. are owned free and clear

So if I own my home free and clear, how is someone stealing my equity out of my bank account? I don't get it. Seems like they're stealing from the bank that approves their fraudulent loan.