Discussion Forum

Marty Couch
Investor

FRAUD ALLERT

Tuesday, February 20 2007 02:59 PM

Hi All,

Well, I just had a 4 hour closing here at the title company come to an abrupt end.

Without going in to details, the seller wasnt present and it APPEARED they pre-signed the deed. This was not the case.

During the closing, one of the parties mentioned they had tried to close this at another title company without success. This peeked my curiosity so I called the other title company. It turns out they would not close because they have received claims from one of the parties involved. The claims were for Identity Theft.

So, it seems there are people out there trying to pass off fraudulent documents.

Here are some suggestions to help protect you.

1) Keep all your properties in a land trust. This will give one more layer of protection as only the TRUSTEE can execute the deed. Try to make sure your trustee doesnt have a common name. It is very easy for predators to find someone with the name James Johnson to sign a deed.
2) Check your chains of title on all your properties every 30 days. Keep a list of PIN #s handy and go online to the recorder of deeds website in your county and make sure nothing new has shown up of record. This can be done in most counties in the Chicago land Area.
3) I know you have heard Jim Hughes talk about it. Seriously look in to the Identity Theft Shield that Pre-Paid Legal offers. The best offense is a good defense. To get more information on Pre-Paid Legal go to http://www.prepaidlegal.com/hub/martincouch

Please make sure to keep an eye on your properties and any other assets. ID theft is getting really bad out there.

Marty Couch
http://www.PPLChicago.com

REPLY

Randy Hughes
Land Trust Expert-40+ years of experience

Re:FRAUD ALLERT

Friday, March 02 2007 03:21 PM

Hey Marty,

would you please weigh in on the land trust question below?

thanks,

Randy Hughes
866-696-7347

REPLY