Ray Hrdlicka – Host – Attorneys.Media
“Seen on a lot of commercials on TV, where they’re talking about real estate fraud, where somebody fraudulently files title to your house, takes ownership, etc, etc. And it may not be known for a period of time. That commercial…when you watch that commercial, it is a fearful commercial, especially for somebody who has no experience in the law or with attorneys. It’s made to create fear. Does that actually happen though? Where thieves take this very… well, a very careful approach to be able to acquire title to somebody’s property. And it may go unnoticed for years.”
Andre Clark – Real Estate Attorney – Los Angeles/San Bernardino County, CA
“I don’t know how often it happens, but I can definitely tell you how easily it can happen. Most owners, if they’re not lawyers or real estate agents in the business, and even if you are, you’re not checking public record. Usually only check public records when the real estate agent are checking if you list your property for selling, you want to sell it, or when you’re about to buy the property or do something with your property, you may find out that information.”
Ray Hrdlicka – Host – Attorneys.Media
“Right.”
Andre Clark – Real Estate Attorney – Los Angeles/San Bernardino County, CA
“Generally, if you’re living in your property and you’re not trying to sell it, you won’t necessarily check public records. I guess if title changes you may wonder why someone else’s name is on your property tax bill. And so that’s one reason why it goes unchecked. How it could happen? If you were to sell me your house, what would go on title, will probably be a grant deed, where your name is listed as the owner granting me the property. And the title company will verify that you’re the previous owner, but they don’t verify that that’s really your signature that was notarized.
Technically, anybody could prepare a grant deed, put your name on it, notarize it and act like they’re you. This is a fraudulent notary, by the way, which, you know, they’re governed, and it’ll be hard to probably find one. But technically someone can act like you and give a grant deed or a quick claim deed to your property. Have a shady notary, notarize it, and basically go record it, and that’s going to show a deed from you to a new person.
Again, once you find out through a property tax bill, or something like that, I think you’ll find out without checking public record. One way or another…I would assume. I don’t know how often this lasts for decades. That would be somebody not paying attention to basic stuff like property taxes. But I guess it could happen.”
Ray Hrdlicka – Host – Attorneys.Media
“Yeah, especially if they’re paying through escrow and they don’t, it doesn’t even come up.”
Andre Clark – Real Estate Attorney – Los Angeles/San Bernardino County, CA
“Or in a situation where you have these creative deals between family members and business partners, where one person is on title and one person is on the loan, and informal agreements that create an interest in land, and one party is not as sophisticated as the other, and then the other is doing all kinds of quick claim deeds and signing people’s name and stuff like that. And you see it, but you don’t connect the dots. A lot of people come to me and they don’t know that they’ve been defrauded, until I put everything together. They don’t know what’s going on. They just feel like they’ve been wronged. And then I analyze it and say,
‘ok, this is how you’ve been wronged under the law. This is fraud.’”
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