It's a scam and a frustrating one, because people are believing this is a huge problem. Fortunately, some news agencies are starting to take note and are investigating it. See this one from ABC News. They did a pretty good investigative piece that leaves HomeTitleLock looking pretty scammy.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/prolific-ads-featuring-wing-icons-push-questionable-claims/story?id=85365286 When asked (and I have been), what I'm telling walk-ins is that what prevents title theft are:
1. Do they have an Owner's title policy? That's the real protection for adverse claims on their property
2. Are they still receiving their tax bill? The tax office indexes the public records just the same as we do. They send the bill to the vested owner in our state.
3. Are they still receiving their utility bills? A true title theft would likely have the electric, gas and water bill moved to a new name.
I'm also being more proactive. We're a small county, so I can do this. We get images from the clerk and index them in our office. That gives me the luxury of being curious about the validity of the document. If something looks off, such as handwritten text on a web form (versus being prepared by a law firm or bank), or a form of deed not common in the area-for example, a Quit Claim Deed, which is not a legitimate conveyance deed in Texas-I'm taking a second to pop out of indexing and search the property for an example of their signature, such as on a mortgage or easement to see if it matches. If it looks off, I'll notify my manager and see if he wants to reach out to them as a courtesy. This just happened yesterday, as a matter of fact. The signature looked odd, the "legal description" was just the tax office abbreviated notation, and the conveyance was to someone in a city hours away. Fortunately, the deed was real, rushed through because the owner was going in for surgery and deeded the property to their kids after their death using a Texas special deed called a Transfer On Death deed. They're revocable, so it can be a short term thing.
i was wrong, but was happy to be wrong. I think there really are cases out there, and proving forgery is a pain. I'm ending conversations with the curious that if they don't have a title policy, they can order one any time and it's a single price for as long as they live. :)
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Cathy Clamp CTIP, NTP
Escrow Officer
Heart of Texas Title Co., LLC
Brady TX
+1 (325) 597-0796
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-15-2022 08:14
From: Lynn Pendleton
Subject: Opinion on Title Lock and similar services being offered on TV
Please advise as to your opinion as to the value of these type of services being advertised recently to consumers. It appears to be unnecessary protection if you purchased in a conventional manner and got title insurance. I am curious as to other people's thoughts and how they respond to inquiries from the public.
Lynn Caudle Boynton, Esquire
Clifford, Debelius & Boynton, Chartered
316 East Diamond Avenue
Gaithersburg, MD 20877
www.clifforddebelius.com