A grieving family has discovered their late father’s home was sold in an identity fraud scheme that real estate agents say should never have happened.
When 84-year-old Jerry Gotlieb passed away in 2018, his children came together to organize his affairs and plan his funeral.
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His daughter, Debi Gotlieb, agreed with her brother to take some time before they cleaned out their father’s home in Scottsdale, Arizona, while lawyers worked on his last will and testament.
But in December 2019, Gotlieb noticed a strange error in county tax records that were being reviewed by his family’s lawyers.
Little did she know, she would face the shock of her life.
“So I put his address [online]and it showed that it was owned by Zillow, and it showed that it was on the market,” Gotlieb told the New Orleans-based Fox News affiliate. WVUE in 2022.
Read more about real estate scams
“And it was clean, I went to [the real estate listing] and it was empty,” she added.
Gotlieb couldn’t believe she had been tricked at first, she said.
“Everything my father owned was in that house. I was crying, I got in the car and got there as fast as I could.”
But when he got home he saw that the locks had been changed.
She immediately found the name of the agent who sold the house and contacted him, along with the police and a lawyer.
Gotlieb and his family were victims of deed fraud – or the illegal acquisition of a property.
WRITER FRAUD WORSE THAN EVER
Gotlieb’s lawyer told local reporters that he had seen many cases of deed fraud in the past, but nothing this extreme.
“I’ve handled similar cases before, but nothing this extreme,” said attorney David Degnan.
Gotlieb realized that this was the second time the house had been put up for sale without his knowledge — and that this type of scam is more common than most people realize.
What is deed fraud?
DEED fraud is a general term used to categorize any form of fraud used to illicitly break into someone’s home through seemingly legal methods
Some forms of this fraud are committed in typical con-artist fashion, through smooth-talking con artists who target unlucky targets, sometimes promising loan forgiveness or mortgage refinancing.
Other times, as with many claim deed fraud schemes, scammers falsify paperwork to show that they own a person’s home without the true owner ever knowing.
David Fleck, a South Carolina real estate attorney, said technological advances have allowed more sophisticated fraudsters to make quitclaim deed scams common.
“Twenty-five years ago, it was not easy to falsify documents. Now literally every computer has the technology to create a reliable forgery, and you can buy a fake notary seal online,” he said. Realtor. with.
“So technology has advanced very quickly in terms of the systems we have to prevent this,” warns Fleck.
In any form of deed fraud, the victim rarely knows about the scam until very late, when they try to apply for a loan or need documentation for the home and discover they are no longer the owner.
Then, the only path back to home ownership is a potentially exhausting and time-consuming legal battle.
Fortunately, Degnan was able to help Gotlieb get his home back.
“Unfortunately, in 2019, Zillow was made aware of identity theft related to a home we purchased, so we withdrew the sale and returned the deed to the family,” Zillow told WVUE in a statement.
But Gotlieb said it wasn’t that simple.
“We had to threaten. It wasn’t easy. He had to send a demand to Zillow.”
And despite getting the property back, she still feels like her family lost.
“We got our house back, but there were none of the family’s belongings left. All the photos of our family were gone, they were thrown away. So it was difficult,” she said.
HOW TO AVOID WRITING FRAUD
Experts told local reporters that 90% of deed fraud is committed by a friend or family member, with the remaining 10% committed by more experienced criminals.
However, there are several ways homeowners can protect themselves against deed fraud, according to Rosie Romero, home expert and host of the home improvement show Rosie on the House.
Tips for real estate agents to avoid deed fraud
Deed fraud affects thousands of homeowners every year. Here are some tips you can follow to protect your property:
- Set up property notifications on Google or a local government website to receive alerts if your property goes up for sale
- Only work with experienced and respected real estate professionals to prevent your information from falling into unsafe hands
- Be clear about how you expect to receive notifications from your real estate team; Only respond to messages from known senders
- Invest in title insurance for an added layer of protection
She suggests you sign up for any local real estate fraud reporting program, such as FraudGaurdInfo in Arizona and set up Google alerts for your property address or parcel number to see if it appears for sale online, according to The Arizona Daily Star.
Romero told potential homeowners to make sure they are also working with reputable agents, lenders and notaries.
“A competent Realtor will check your county’s tax records. They will also verify identity to ensure the person they are working with is who they say they are,” she said.
“The real estate agent will have a title company that they recommend and trust. The title company will search the property for any liens held against it, easement records, and liens (which would include violations against zoning laws or HOA regulations),” she added.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
