Protect Your Home From Being “Stolen”

By ANDREW J. LUCA While theft of your personal belongings by the common criminal is upsetting, frustrating and inconvenient, most items that fall under this category, such as TVs, paintings and your car, are insured and can be replaced. However, the meteoric rise of home thefts by sharp practicing swindlers who steal the rights to your house by filing with the county has prompted the state of New Jersey to do more for the protection of its residents. How can my house be stolen? By going through your garbage to obtain personal identifiers, such as your full name and the names of individuals who reside in your home by simply looking at old magazines, the Amazon boxes being discarded, etc., criminals can use that information to begin this disturbing process, which can take years to resolve. Once data about you is collected either physically or through internet searches, including social media platforms, (a surprising amount of posts display your house number and its occupant), these charlatans can prepare a quit-claim deed which appears to “turn the property” (your property) over to them under the guise of a sale, an exchange or a death using a forged signature. These documents are then filed with the county where your home is located and subsequently recorded in the Book of Deeds or equivalent repository depending on where you live. With bogus documents now recorded at the county level where out-of-state investors, title companies, etc. will perform their due diligence regarding the property’s “chain of title,” deals are often quickly cut and its months before the rightful homeowners learn that they have become victims of this scheme. This unsettling situation can be worse if the house is owned by a decedent’s child who inherited it but does not live at the property. Vacation homeowners also fall prey to this scam as they are often away from their retreat for months at a time. These situations unfortunately can delay discovery of the thievery and can markedly increase the true owner’s time to cure the paper trail and regain possession. New Jersey is in the top 10: Unfortunately, New Jersey occupies the distressing distinction of being ranked 10th by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in its Internet Crime Report (2021) as having the largest number of victims who have endured the costly crime of identity theft leading to financial loss. Deed theft is included in these worrisome tallies. The FBI has extended its analysis reporting by informing property owners that along with criminals falsifying deeds, which can lead to fraudulent paper-sales of homes, these nefarious actors can also use those counterfeit filings to take out mortgages or home equity loans using phony deeds, which leave in their wake mountains of debt in a homeowner’s name. There is help: The standard recommendations to protect your privacy such as maintaining a watchful eye on your mail to make sure all of your incoming bills are received timely as well as trying to mail your bills at a Post Office or Postal Box to prevent theft of your outgoing financial payments remains important. Tearing or shredding your mail continues to be a staple in identity theft protection. But there is now a county-driven mechanism to aid a property owner in the protection of their investment property and/or the family home. Today, individuals can register online, often free of charge, with a Property Alert Protection System set up by their county. The purpose is to notify you any time a deed or title altering submission has been filed using your name. This helpful process leads to your timely notification that the county has received and recorded documents associated with your name that may affect the rights you have in your home. This easy and convenient system affords you the ability to act quickly before your property can be unlawfully sold, exchanged or occupied. Below is a list of links to a few of the counties whose Property Alert Protection Systems await your registration depending upon where your property is located: Atlantic: https://atlantic.newvisionsystems.com/PropertyAlert/ Burlington: https://www.propertyfraudalert.com/NJBurlington Cape May: https://clerk.capemaycountynj.gov/PropertyAlert/ Monmouth: https://www.propertyfraudalert.com/NJMonmouth Union: https://www.propertyfraudalert.com/NJUnion Protecting ourselves: Our homes are usually our biggest investment in life, often requiring the full 30 years of monthly mortgage payments to earn the right to live within their walls, bequeath them to our children or sell them to the next generation. During your years of homeownership, you have paid countless tax dollars to enjoy county services that assist in maintaining the value of your property through trash collection, sewer connections and other public works. By using these Property Protection Alert Systems, property owners are guarding against thieves who would do you and your family harm, and as a county taxpayer, it is a service you have already paid for so why not take advantage of it? About the Author: Andrew J. Luca, Esquire is a co-founding member of the CKL Law Group, LLP and has been practicing Real Estate and Consumer Fraud law in New Jersey for nearly 20 years.