Georgia has upped its defenses against deed fraud and title theft. Gov. Brian Kemp signed a new law, which went into effect at the start of the year, that creates a spate of new requirements for those filing property-related documents and notaries involved in electronic document filing.
Georgia House Bill 1292 was enacted to ensure that the “persons presenting electronic documents for recording provide identifying information,” according to the state Legislature.
“Title theft occurs when a criminal impersonates a property owner and sells or takes out a second mortgage on the owner’s property. In the worst-case scenario, the home goes into foreclosure and/or is deeded to a new purchaser. It is a complicated and expensive process to rectify, if it can be rectified at all,” the state attorney general’s office said in a statement.
Under the new law, if a deed or mortgage is filed with the clerk of a superior court for recording by a self-filer — i.e., a person who is not an insurance agent, attorney, bank or credit union agent, mortgage lender or servicer, land surveyor or public official — it must be submitted via electronic filing.
As part of the electronic filing, the self-filer must provide any information requested, including their driver’s license, passport, military identification card or another type of personal ID card.
Additionally, notaries are now required to confirm the identity of the document signer or affirmant through verification of a government-issued photo ID. Notaries are also required to maintain a written or electronic journal that includes an entry for each notarial act performed at the request of a self-filer, and to complete an educational training class related to the new requirements.
The law also allows the owner of any real property to bring an action against an individual who has knowingly filed, or recorded, in any public record a false or forged deed or other instrument purporting to convey the owner’s interest to such real property to such individual or a third party. Through this action, the law entitles the owner to recover actual damages caused by the filing, as well as the costs incurred to bring the action.
Another new requirement of the law is that, moving forward, anyone offering to purchase property must disclose the differences in price versus value, with the monetary offer requiring a disclaimer stating, “this offer may or may not be the fair market value of the property.“ If the offer is less than the previous year’s assessed value of a property, the offer must state that “this offer is less than the county assessed value for this property.“
The new law is beginning as police continue to warn residents about scammers filing fraudulent deeds. Earlier this month, Gwinnett County police notified Atlanta residents that scammers are forging signatures and using fake IDs to file fraudulent deeds that make it look like a property has been transferred to them. Police are encouraging homebuyers to conduct a title search of a property before they purchase it.
