Is it possible, with all the information available on-line today to steal houses?

Question

lets say thier was someone that worked in the county recorders office in the city of where a house is located that someone wanted to steal,and this person that worked at the county recorders office was not on the up and up, and further more there were also person in other areas, like escrow company & maybe even at the bank that were not on the up & up aswell would it be possible for them to change the paper work over a period of time (10 years or so) and steal property?

Answer 1

It's more likely that they would steal it one stick of wood at a time....lol This actually happened to someone that I saw on the news in a nearby town. lol The owner wasn't living in it and hadn't checked on it in quite some time. Neighbors thought it had something to do with the new Walmart being built behind the house..... lol wouldn't that be something to come home after a long vacation and the whole thing is gone.....lol

Answer 2

Nope...It is fraud and the owners have insurance for this type of scam. Also owners have a great insurance company on there side....it is called title insurance.

Answer 3

There was a thing a few years back where some people forged several quick or quit claim deeds (unsure which, several years ago) on some high end houses and sold them all with in a month or two before some of the paperwork was complete. They had monies in hand of over a few million. The police pulled records and found two or three more properties still to be sold and they were caught. So, I would think it would be very hard to steal a house. There are too many stages to go through.

Is the crime really worth the time??? All it takes is one person to notice the discrepancy and you become a cell wife. lol

Answer 4

Nothing is impossible given time and the ingenuity of some dishonest people. However, when you buy a property you get title to it and you are given the title deed. When you sell the property you need to hand that title deed over to the new buyer at the time of settlement, when in exchange you would get paid. The Registrar General keeps a record of all the transactions that occur on the title and the title deed has these notations put on it. The title deed has to be presented to the Registrar for these notations to be be made thereon.

When you buy a property with borrowed funds, the title deed shows you as the owner, and shows that the bank that lent you the money is owed that amount. The bank will hold the title deed as security for the loan.  

Answer 5

Yes, but at some point a deed has to be filed with real names and real people. That is when the fraud would be discovered.  THere is lots of fraud like you mention.  Chicago and New Orleans have had a terrible time with corrupt officials changing deeds.