Get Protection from Real Estate Title Theft
If you are a property owner, chances are that you have heard about title theft several times. What is title fraud? It is the transfer of your title without your consent or knowledge. Now doesn’t that sound scary? You surely know that it is a crime and a kind of identity theft. Usually, properties with substantial equity and empty vacation homes come under title fraud.
So, if you are already an owner of a home who paid one-third of the mortgage, and became a victim of title fraud, you will surely find yourself in a soup. To get your house back, you need the assistance of a real estate lawyer Kelowna. With incidents of real estate title fraud growing exponentially and leaving homeowners clueless, you have few options left than consulting a lawyer to come out of the mess.
What happens in title fraud cases?
Home title fraud cases happen when people steal a homeowner’s personal information and use it to transfer the title of the home into their name. They may try to rent or sell the property thereafter or obtain HELOC without the actual owner knowing the consequences. Not only homeowners but home buyers may also become victims of title theft. Wondering how? A false seller may lure buyers into the deal and use a fraudulent title. If the buyer hand over the deposit money to such fraudsters, they are more likely to lose the money eventually. Only a reliable lawyer for a home purchase can help those victims to survive.
Do title theft cases occur frequently?
Title theft cases usually do not take place all the time but it is not that rare nowadays. Thanks to online scammers as they target the following category of properties.
- Properties for which full mortgage has been paid and are without existing liens
- Properties that elderly people own and are naturally more vulnerable than others
- Properties that are empty with little or no scope for monitoring
Pulling up real estate title fraud cases can be genuinely challenging unless you have a real estate lawyer BC with substantial expertise and experience in handling such cases. Peter Borszcz from BC Real Estate Law is one of the most trusted legal practitioners you can hire for real estate title scams in BC. He has a commendable track record and is a man you can trust for all things related to real estate law.
Things to know about real estate title fraud
Title fraud cases are gradually rising and you will come across multiple cases nowadays where fraudsters posing as false owners have tried to sell the property. With technological advancements, scammers too are becoming more sophisticated. Naturally, when a homeowner faces a great deal of financial stress and loss, they need to consult with residential home purchase lawyers to stay protected from such incidents.
How to safeguard from title theft?
If you are a homeowner, you might become a victim of title fraud cases quickly. Here is how you can eliminate such incidents of title fraud and get protection.
1. Research the company before providing your financial information
Beware of revealing your personal information if you are not aware of how the company will use the information. Unless a company lets you know its privacy policy or how it will handle your data, try to avoid revealing significant information.
2. Stay alert about fraudulent activities
Are you vigilant about suspicious phone calls about a mortgage or a sale that you never initiated? When a scammer applies for a mortgage on your property, you will get a call from the lender to run a credit check. But if you fail to recognize the company or the institution for running the credit check, the situation requires further investigation.
3. Searching the title periodically
One way of protecting yourself from title search scams is to search the title of your property periodically. You need to find errors in names, addresses, and other information. Furthermore, you must try to find out whether the property is still in your name. However, if you come across changes that have been deliberately made to your property’s title, you need to consult with an attorney to prove that you are the owner. Title fraud is a serious issue and you will need a lawyer for home purchase to take over and handle the issue.
4. Get a title insurance
Have you been a victim of real estate title fraud in the past? If your answer is no, you need to get title insurance as a tool for getting protection against such scams. Most of these policies provide coverage against the financial losses the homeowners face due to the fraud and also include the losses due to mortgage or sale of the property without the owner’s consent.
Real estate title theft is a pretty scary issue. While you need to stay alert against such fraudulent activities, consulting with a lawyer is the best way to get back the title in your name once such incidents occur.
