Real Estate: House Stealing - Can Your House Be Stolen?

If you are fortunate enough to have paid off your mortgage and own your home, don't get too comfy. Your house could be getting stolen out from under you at this very moment! This is happening to owned homes where the owners reside or rent to others, or empty owned houses like vacation homes.

Around March of 2008, it came to the attention of the FBI and Consumer Affairs that scam artists have started stealing homes where the mortgages have been paid off. But the latest AARP Bulletin (July/Aug 2009) reports that this trend is now bigger and easier than first understood.

At first, it was thought that house stealing was originating with identity theft, where the thieves would obtain credit card numbers and signatures, Social Security numbers, and drivers' license numbers. They would then do title searches on peoples' homes and forge new deed paperwork.

But now, the AARP Bulletin reports, complete identity theft is no longer required. A scammer can just walk into a title office, sit down at a computer and start researching titles held by homeowners (i.e., the mortgage is completely paid off and the title has been sent to the homeowner). All they need to do is forge your signature on a set of new deed transfer papers that can be bought for a few bucks at most office supply stores.

The scammer then files the paperwork - and poof - he can sell your home out from under you. You will then be notified you must vacate the property. Or, the thief will buy another home using your house as collateral, so when you try to sell your house, you'll find out you don't own it.

Deed recorders and the people at mortgage offices who sit in at home closings are not required to authenticate signatures in many states. The scammer may have created a fake ID as you, with your name but their own handwriting, which will then be assumed as your signature.

How can you avoid this? Both the FBI and AARP issue this advice:
-Beware of any mail including a payment book or information from a mortgage company that you don't use, but don't just throw it away. Contact the company that sent it.

-Go to your County's Deed/Title Office and check all information pertaining to your house. Look for paperwork you don't remember signing, any signature that you know is not your handwriting, although it may be your own name, or anything else that looks suspicious.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation invites U.S. citizens to report suspicious activity on their house titles or property deeds to the FBI Office closest to your residence. Find a complete list of FBI Offices here: http://www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/fo.htm.

Please pass this valuable information to homeowners you know:
-Especially to senior adults who are the most likely to own their homes outright at this point;
-People who rent their houses out; or
-People who own vacation homes that sit empty for parts of the year.

Sources:
"Home, Stolen Home," Sid Kirchheimer, AARP Bulletin, July/Aug 2009, p.22, http://bulletin.aarp.org/yourmoney/scamalert/articles/forged_deeds_can_give_crooks_the_keys_to_your_castle.html.
Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) Report on House Stealing: http://www.fbi.gov/page2/march08/housestealing_032508.html.
Consumer Affairs Report on House Stealing: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/03/house_stealing.html.
No direct quotes used from any of these sources.