Buyer Beware – Homeowner Beware – Deed Retrieval Service Mislead Many Homeowners

Last week I received an email from my client who recently purchased her Lakeland FL home inquiring about her Deed.  She wrote the following:

Petra,

I have a question for you.  I’m wondering about how long it takes to receive the deed for the house, and where it will come from.  Last week I received something in the mail that seemed suspicious to me.  It says it’s from the ”State Record Retrieval Board” and is from California.  It says to receive a copy of my own deed I need to send them $87.  This just doesn’t seem normal to me, so I thought I’d ask you.

Thanks,
Sandy

I’m glad she asked. There are homeowners who may think that is letter was sent by a government agency and quite honestly I thought the same thing when I glanced at this letter first.

I responded to Sandy, that this seems very suspicious and it was not necessary to send them any money because she had already paid ($10.00) to Polk County FL for the recording of the deed when she closed on the house.

While this letter does state at the bottom – “This is not a bill.  This is a solicitation” – it is truly misleading to many new homeowners and it is borderline scam.

Homeowners! If you happen to receive such a letter, do not pay $87.00.  You can obtain a copy of the recorded deed by going to the Clerk of Courts office and pay as little as $10.00.

My client was kind enough to send me the letter and I have included this letter so you can see what it looks like.

Deed Solicitation

I hope you found this post useful! If you need help finding or selling your Lakeland, Florida home, please contact me at 863-619-6918. If you’re new to Lakeland, I’d especially like to extend a warm welcome. I value my clients and provide them with honest, reliable service. Allow me to introduce you to the Lakeland real estate landscape and all it has to offer.

Related posts:

  1. Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure – Lakeland Real Estate
  2. 2011 Tax Tips for Lakeland FL Homeowners – Tax Deadline April 18
  3. Beware of Lakeland Florida Real Estate Foreclosure Scam Artists
  4. Showing Lakeland FL Homes With Elderly Homeowners Present
  5. Home Buyer’s Representation – Why should I hire a Buyer’s Agent

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4 Responses to Buyer Beware – Homeowner Beware – Deed Retrieval Service Mislead Many Homeowners

  1. Medical Jobs says:

    Great site. A lot of useful information here. I’m sending it to some friends!

    [WORDPRESS HASHCASH] The poster sent us ’0 which is not a hashcash value.

  2. CNA Training says:

    Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed browsing your blog posts. In any case I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again soon!

    [WORDPRESS HASHCASH] The poster sent us ’0 which is not a hashcash value.

  3. Mark says:

    We just received a letter here in Wisconsin shortly after we purchased a home. What a racket! Plus, the letter says if you don’t respond by the requested date (20 Oct; and we got the letter 19 Oct!) that “an additional fee of $35.00 will be required before processing.” !! I’m glad I took the time to do an on-line search and that it produced your information! Thank you!

  4. Petra Norris says:

    Hi Mark, I’m glad that you searched before you paid them money for nothing that has already been done when you closed on your home. I appreciate your comment.

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