Recently, I was contacted by a buyer about a letter she had received in the mail. Bold letters on the front of the envelope proclaimed "Final Notice" even though she had never received another shred of mail from this sender. Not recognizing the name of the sender, she gave me a call to question the material that was included in the letter.
The letter was all about the importance of having a copy of the deed for your property, as this document shows definitively the proper ownership of the property. While none of this information is inaccurate or misleading, this is surely a scam, and here's how I know: this company is offering this service for a mere $85 charge.
Thankfully my buyer asked me about this before even considering the offer. Any time a property is sold, a copy of the deed is recorded at the court house, where it becomes public knowledge. Anyone who would like a copy can request one at any time, and simply pay the fees to have a copy of the deed printed off. Generally, in the Southwest Indiana area, this costs $1 per printed page. Since the deed is a one or two page document, the inflated costs this scam is requesting is made possible only for individuals who are unaware of this fact.
Please share this information with your friends and family to make sure they are aware of this scam. Follow my blog to keep up with more useful information, or friend me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter to keep up with everything I ever post.
Update 7-17-2012: My buyer has received another letter offering the same service. The letter was sent by Secured Document Services out of Washington, DC. If you receive a letter from them, feel free to disregard this letter.
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