盗窃房屋产权

There seem to be more and more frequent commercials advertising services to protect homeowners from “home title fraud.” These commercials are not talking about fraudulent applications for mortgages, 尽管这可能经常发生. 而不是, they are referring to someone who forges a deed to themselves and then tries to borrow money against the property or resell the property to a third party. Despite the frantic tone of the commercials, one has to wonder just how common home title theft is.

它有多普遍??

联邦调查局报告称，2020年，美国有13638人涉嫌犯罪.S. lost a total of more than $213 million through wire fraud involving 2021十大正规彩票app, 高于2017年的5600万美元. 然而, 这是一个非常广泛的范畴, 联邦调查局还没有说明其中有多少是房屋所有权欺诈. 根据我的经验，这在德州并不常见.

万一发生了怎么办??

有一些事情要知道关于房屋所有权欺诈. 第一个, 在德克萨斯州, keep in mind that this kind of fraud is enabled if an unsuspecting buyer purchases property from someone without going through a title company. The title company closing process includes protections designed to prevent home title fraud.

第二，要知道伪造的契约是完全无效的，没有任何意义. 然而, 如果伪造的契约已经在契约记录中归档, 它可以创建一个云对标题的家. 在这种情况下，房主可以做几件事. 对于初学者来说, the owner should contact a 2021十大正规彩票app lawyer about preparing an affidavit of forgery and filing it in the deed records to counteract the forged deed. 如果一个合法的未来贷款人或未来的购买者认为这是不可接受的, it is possible the homeowner may need to file suit against the forger to have the forged deed declared invalid. 判决将被记录在契约记录中. It doesn’t matter if the forger can’t be found—in most cases they are long gone—because the forger can be served by publication, and the homeowner’s attorney can file a motion for summary judgment to obtain a declaratory judgment against the forger. 因为没有被告在抗辩, 这种诉讼的律师费通常是相当适中的. 注意:我研究的所有“保护服务”都不包括律师费.

房主如何防止房屋所有权被盗?

只要能在伪造契约发生之前阻止它, the advertisements for these title protection services make claims that are unsubstantiated and, 在很多情况下, 假. 例如, some advertisements claim that the monitoring service puts a “shield” around your home title. 这不是一个正确的说法. All that the protection service does is check the deed records periodically to see if any instruments have been filed with your name on it and then let you know if that happens. 然而, what they don’t tell you is that many counties 在德克萨斯州 will let you sign up for a fraud alert. 换句话说, 如果契约记录里有你的名字, 县里的办事员会给你发邮件提醒你. 在大多数情况下，这项服务是免费的. 有些县象征性地收取费用.

这是他们推销的一部分, these protection services claim that the true owner will be liable for the mortgage payments on a fraudulently obtained loan. 不正确的. 你毋须为以你的名义骗取按揭贷款而负上法律责任.

Additional preventive measures that homeowners can take that cost nothing are:

• Lock your credit account at each of the three major credit reporting agencies.
• Periodically check the deed records in the county where your home is located using an online deed records search service. The search is free, though there is a small charge if you order copies of anything you find.
• Be sure you receive the notice of appraised value for your property from the county appraisal office each May and your tax invoice for property taxes from the county tax assessor each November. 如果你没有，打电话给他们，找出原因.
• If you fail to receive any of your utility bills, contact the utility provider promptly.
• If you get some kind of payment book or correspondence from a mortgage company that you don’t recognize, 联系那家公司，看看是怎么回事.
• Get a copy of your credit report periodically and make sure everything on it is accurate.
• 用于度假或出租物业, 确保你还能收到水电费、税单和房租. 如果物业是空置的, check on it in person periodically to make sure unauthorized persons aren’t living there.
• 当你购买房产时, always go through a licensed title company to make sure the title to the property you are purchasing hasn’t been subjected to a previous fraudulent transfer.

虽然很难说产权欺诈发生的频率有多高, it is not an occasion for the hysteria that is generated by the advertisements of protection services. 通过采取上述步骤, 业主可以消除大部分, 如果不是全部, 担心自己.