Protect
Yourself Against Real Estate Fraud
Get Immediate Notification of Changes
to Your Title
We
see an alarming number of real-estate fraud cases every year. If anything, this
trend is increasing. As of the date I write this, we have no less than four
cases in our office where a home owner’s name was forged on a deed.
The basic
idea behind the scam: someone forges your name on a deed and transfer
documents. They forge a notary’s stamp and signature. They file the fraudulent
deed and take out a mortgage, or simply re-sell your property to an
unsuspecting third person.
All
this can happen in a matter of days, without you ever knowing about it until it
is too late.
There
is a way to protect yourself, and it is completely free.
You
can sign up with the City Department of Finance to receive immediate e-mail
notification any time a deed, mortgage or other legal document concerning your
title is filed with the City. Here is how you do it:
·
Go to www.nyc.gov/finance or www.nyc.gov/acris.
·
Click on the “Recorded
Document Notification” link.
·
Fill in your property
address (or block and lot ID if you have it).
·
Provide an email where
notices can be sent.
·
Do this separately for
each property you own if there is more than one.
That’s
all there is to it. If you prefer, you can also register by submitting a
written “Notice by Mail of Recorded Document” application, which you can get at
the websites shown above, or by calling 311.
Once
you complete your registration, you will be notified any time any document
affecting your legal title gets recorded. This includes not only adverse deeds
and mortgages, but court orders, judgments and powers of attorney – among other
things.
If
you receive notice of a document being recorded against your property’s
records, you must act immediately to protect yourself. Go to the website www.nyc.gov/acris and click on “Search
Property Records”. Enter your property’s borough, block and lot ID and check
the list of documents shown. If there is anything there that you do not
recognize, seek legal advice immediately.
If
you don’t have access to a computer, you can check your property records at any
office of the City Register. Here are the locations in all five boroughs:
·
Brooklyn (Kings
County): 210 Joralemon Street, Room 2, Brooklyn NY 11201
·
Queens: 144-06 94th
Avenue, Jamaica NY 11435
·
Manhattan (New York
County): 66 John Street, 13th Floor, NY NY 10038
·
Bronx: 3030 Third
Avenue, Room 280, Bronx NY 10455
·
Staten Island
(Richmond County): 130 Stuyvesant Place, S.I. NY 10301
For more information,
call, visit our office and website.
Levy
& Nau P.C.
854
Fulton Street, Brooklyn NY 11238
Toll-Free
844-LEVY-LAW
718-622-8150
