Posted on 07/24/2021 4:44:29 AM PDT by sodpoodle
A Philadelphia man allegedly stole 14 houses around the city using fraudulent deeds, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Tyree Burno, 42, has been arrested and charged with assuming ownership of homes located in West Oak Lane, Logan, Frankford, Cedar Brook, and Mt. Airy neighborhoods, either in his own name or using a series of fake names.
Such fraud is fueled by a white-hot real estate market, said Assistant District Attorney Kimberly Esack, with the office’s Economic Crimes unit.
“Oftentimes, the neighborhoods targeted are ones seen as up-and-coming, where gentrification is prevalent,” she said. The victims, often the elderly, may not have the financial means to fight a protracted legal battle to get back what is legally theirs, continued Esack.
Deed theft is a recurring problem in Philadelphia. In March, five people were charged for taking 10 homes, and in 2019 city officials unveiled a tool called Fraud Guard to crack down on the thefts. City officials continue to urge homeowners to sign up for the program, which alerts you when a document is recorded with your name on it.
Law enforcement first learned of the Burno case when a 71-year-old woman complained that her home had been improperly sold in 2019. From there the case grew, with officials eventually charging him with more than 80 counts of theft and 42 counts of forgery for the taking of 14 homes and two lots, as well as leasing two buildings unlawfully and forging four checks.
(Excerpt) Read more at whyy.org ...
They are probably fraudulent notary signatures and stamps also. I'm sure there are lists of notaries. But realize that many documents are notarized by notaries in other states and even foreign countries. It would be untenable to require that officials at the recording desks verify that the notary on every document that comes in is legitimate. It takes long enough to get things recorded as it is. Plus, the government doesn't want to put itself in a situation where it could be held liable if it gets something wrong.
Another thing to look for would be power of attorney abuses, but that still boils down to the notary.
Well it may have to be done though.
The government would still have immunity because the burden still falls on the notary.
Thats nuts. Should you have to check your vehicle registration weekly to make sure it wasn’t sold to someone else?
Protect Your Home Equity and Title for Pennies a Day
I’ve seen Rudy advertising something similar.
Title Insurance protects the new buyer of the house if for any reason the title isn’t clear including theft.
So in the case of the 71 year old woman. Whoever bought her home from the deed thief, would be protected by the title insurance they bought when they purchased the house.
The 71 year old lady isn’t protected by title insurance, because the theft took place after her purchase transaction. Her remedy is through the courts to get the deed back in her name.
People get a quick claim dead, then barrow money on the home using the property as collateral. Then it is between you and the lender.
I think most of the people on this thread either didn't read the article or read it and still don't understand how it works.
These tend to be unoccupied houses. The crook records a fraudulent deed and then quickly sells the house to someone else. The purchaser, the purchaser's lender and the purchaser's title company have no way of knowing the deed conveying the house is fraudulent. Closing occurs and the purchaser moves in. A month later, the rightful owner, who may have been traveling, living at another seasonal house, or deployed, returns to the house to find someone else living there. His response is, "hey, what are you doing living in my house?" The other guy's response is, "It's my house, I bought it a month ago." At this point, how does the rightful owner get the new guy out of his house? He needs to prove to a court that the deed was fraudulent and the court will have to evict the new guy. Of course, the new guy is going to be furious at this point, but he's SOL. Hopefully, he did have title insurance because this is exactly why title insurance exists.
Occupied houses are not particularly vulnerable to this scam because at some point before the closing occurs on the sale of the house to the new guy, a home inspector, an appraiser or the purchaser himself will show up to inspect the house. The owner would find this very suspicious and ask what's going on. At that time, the owner would be informed that the house had been "sold" and the whole thing would begin to fall apart. The purchaser would not move forward to closing. It's not a big deal for someone to clear up the title if the closing on the purchase of the house has not yet occurred.
I honk quite claim deeds are the problem. Require warranty deeds for loans and sale of property. Quit claim deeds should be for possible tangential owners of a property. People who buy property should buy title insurance.
Are trying to say Quit claim Deed.??
“”That made me think about some kind of deed fraud protection but I don’t know how or where.””
There are commercials frequently on TV for this but I don’t recall any names. I’ll watch and try to get a name...
Correct. That's why if you are using a loan to buy a piece of property, the lender insists that you buy lender's title insurance. It will protect the lender in a case like this.
That was my point.
Just one by googling...there has to be lots more...
Thanks! I’ll watch more closely too.
If the rightful owner never signed any papers, how can anyone “legally” get ownership?
“Title insurance.”
From what I understand your title insurance is a guarantee that your house is yours when you buy it, then it’s done. Anything that happens the minute after you close is not covered.
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