New Pennsylvania Law To Make It Tougher For Deed Theft Scammers To Heist Homes

In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and its suburbs, The Intelligencer reports:

• To the relief of real estate title companies and county workers, Pennsylvania Act 110, which regulates how a homeowner's deed is registered and recorded, took effect this month.

• Montgomery County Recorder of Deeds Nancy J. Becker says the new law not only streamlines the process among municipalities and counties, but also protects the new homeowner. “We're really delighted because, if for any reason, if there is a delay in recording a deed, the possibility of fraud being committed against that property increases,” said Becker, in her fifth year in office. “If people aren't paying attention and deeds aren't being recorded in a timely fashion, than things can happen.”

• In the gap between when a homeowner purchases a home and when the deed is recorded, a thief can obtain a copy of that deed and have it transferred fraudulently.

The story cites the recent example earlier this month of The New York Daily News, when they "stole" the $2 billion Empire State Building in 90 minutes in an effort to show how easy it is for crooks to make bogus documents, transfer deeds and take out mortgages.

For more, see New law helps limit deed fraud.

For an old NBC10 (Philadelphia) television story in which investigative reporter Lu Ann Cahn "steals" the homes of Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, as well as the homes of the Philadelphia mayor and the Pennsylvania Speaker of the House of Representatives to highlight the deed theft problem in Philadelphia, see Stolen Homes.

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