Georgia looks to protect residents from title theft with new law

By Housing News


Georgia

has
upped
its
defenses
against

deed
fraud

and

title
theft
.
Gov.
Brian
Kemp
signed
a
new
law,
which
went
into
effect
at
the
start
of
the
year,
that
creates
a
spate
of
new
requirements
for
those
filing
property-related
documents
and
notaries
involved
in
electronic
document
filing.


Georgia
House
Bill
1292

was
enacted
to
ensure
that
the
“persons
presenting
electronic
documents
for
recording
provide
identifying
information,”
according
to
the
state
Legislature.

“Title
theft
occurs
when
a
criminal
impersonates
a
property
owner
and
sells
or
takes
out
a
second
mortgage
on
the
owner’s
property.
In
the
worst-case
scenario,
the
home
goes
into

foreclosure

and/or
is
deeded
to
a
new
purchaser.
It
is
a
complicated
and
expensive
process
to
rectify,
if
it
can
be
rectified
at
all,”
the
state
attorney
general’s
office
said
in
a
statement.

Under
the
new
law,
if
a
deed
or

mortgage

is
filed
with
the
clerk
of
a
superior
court
for
recording
by
a
self-filer

i.e.,
a
person
who
is
not
an
insurance
agent,
attorney,
bank
or
credit
union
agent,
mortgage
lender
or
servicer,
land
surveyor
or
public
official

it
must
be
submitted
via
electronic
filing.

As
part
of
the
electronic
filing,
the
self-filer
must
provide
any
information
requested,
including
their
driver’s
license,
passport,
military
identification
card
or
another
type
of
personal
ID
card.

Additionally,
notaries
are
now
required
to
confirm
the
identity
of
the
document
signer
or
affirmant
through
verification
of
a
government-issued
photo
ID.
Notaries
are
also
required
to
maintain
a
written
or
electronic
journal
that
includes
an
entry
for
each
notarial
act
performed
at
the
request
of
a
self-filer,
and
to
complete
an
educational
training
class
related
to
the
new
requirements.

The
law
also
allows
the
owner
of
any
real
property
to
bring
an
action
against
an
individual
who
has
knowingly
filed,
or
recorded,
in
any
public
record
a
false
or
forged
deed
or
other
instrument
purporting
to
convey
the
owner’s
interest
to
such
real
property
to
such
individual
or
a
third
party.
Through
this
action,
the
law
entitles
the
owner
to
recover
actual
damages
caused
by
the
filing,
as
well
as
the
costs
incurred
to
bring
the
action.

Another
new
requirement
of
the
law
is
that,
moving
forward,
anyone
offering
to
purchase
property
must
disclose
the
differences
in
price
versus
value,
with
the
monetary
offer
requiring
a
disclaimer
stating,
“this
offer
may
or
may
not
be
the
fair
market
value
of
the
property.“
If
the
offer
is
less
than
the
previous
year’s assessed
value
of
a
property,
the
offer
must
state
that
“this
offer
is
less
than
the
county
assessed
value
for
this
property.“

The
new
law
is
beginning
as
police
continue
to
warn
residents
about
scammers
filing
fraudulent
deeds.
Earlier
this
month,
Gwinnett
County
police

notified
Atlanta
residents

that
scammers
are
forging
signatures
and
using
fake
IDs
to
file
fraudulent
deeds
that
make
it
look
like
a
property
has
been
transferred
to
them.
Police
are
encouraging
homebuyers
to
conduct
a
title
search
of
a
property
before
they
purchase
it.

 

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