Title fraud has become a greater threat in the 21st century due in large part to the rise of the internet. Fraudsters can track down more information than ever before and try to pull a fast one on you without ever stepping out from the shadows. Smart commercial property owners and landlords monitor their property titles to ensure they prevent and catch fraud attempts before they take hold, but is this something you should be doing on your own, or is it worthwhile to contract a company to provide this service for you? We take a closer look at title monitoring services in today’s blog.
DIY Title Monitoring
Keeping an eye on your property’s title isn’t something that you need to do every single day, but don’t just assume that a fraud attempt will never be made on your title. A couple simple checks are usually all you need to do a few times a year to ensure fraud attempts are caught before a scammer makes your life hell. If you’re going to monitor your title yourself, here’s what we recommend:
-
Contact The County Register’s Office - You can contact your county register’s office once or twice a year to ensure there have been no unexpected changes or updates to your property’s title. Many counties also offer some of this information online, so check their website and review the title and deed information regularly to ensure it is correct.
-
Free Alerts - Some counties offer free alerts whenever a document is recorded on your property. You can see if your county offers this service and take advantage of it so that you’ll always know if new documents have been submitted to their office in regards to your property.
-
Read Your Mail - We all get junk mail, but never assume that anything unexpected in regards to your property or your title is just something you can throw away. Review all correspondences carefully, and you can always check with local agencies to see if mailings are legitimate or not. It’s also wise to keep an eye on the number of mailings you receive related to your property. If you get a sharp increase in property-related mailings or you have been expecting correspondence that never arrived, it’s wise to check in on your property’s title with the county register’s office, as someone could be causing these mail issues because of a fraud attempt.
-
Keep Secure Physical And Digital Copies - It’s smart to keep copies of important physical and digital documents in a safe location. Secure your title or deed in a fireproof safe or in a security deposit box off site. Keeping encrypted digital records is also a good move.
-
Monitor Your Credit - While you don’t want to pull your credit every six months just to see where your score is at, there are free credit monitoring apps that can alert you to unexpected changes in your credit score. Big credit score drops can be tied to a fraudster attempting to secure a loan in your name, so keep a passive eye on your credit score.
We think that most commercial investors can catch fraud at an early stage by following a few of these steps, but if this just isn’t something you want to do and you want to outsource the process to someone else, there are title lock services available. These companies monitor your property’s title for an annual fee and can alert you when a document is filed in regards to your property.
Most people with 1-2 commercial properties that they visit frequently likely wouldn’t need this type of monitoring service, but for investors with a lot of properties, those with many vacant units or those with properties all over the state or country that they don’t visit regularly, paying for a monitoring service may be a fine investment, as you’re in a slightly more vulnerable position.
For more information about title fraud and protecting yourself from becoming a victim, reach out to the team at Commercial Partners today at (612) 337-2470.