Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter Issues Consumer Alert On Commercial Deed Service

May 24, 2007 -- SOUTH BEND, IN – Consumers wishing to obtain a copy of the deed to their home need to pay no more than a dollar or two and should be cautious of offers that cost nearly $60 for the same product announced Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter, St. Joseph County Recorder Terri Rethlake and Elkhart County Recorder Christopher Anderson.

Earlier this spring, counties across Indiana became aware of a business that distributed a mass mailing within offering to sell new homeowners copies of the deed to their homes at a cost of $59.50. That same document, if obtained directly from a county recorder, often costs the consumer as little as $1-$2. Once a property owner pays the fee, the company, National Deed Service, sends a blanket request for those deeds to the appropriate county recorder’s office for taxpayer-paid staff to look up and mail back to the company.

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“Deciding to utilize a service to purchase public records must balance the cost, convenience and the facts,” Attorney General Steve Carter said. “Even without paying an outside service, you can get your property deed for as low as a few dollars. Your county recorder is here to provide this service at a minimal cost and is easy to find. If you get a solicitation, don’t think that your property deed is in jeopardy.”

The Elkhart County Recorder’s Office has received two separate orders, totaling 86 copies of deeds on behalf of property owners from National Deed Service.

"These are public records. It concerns me that people would pay this fee for what should cost the consumer so little," Elkhart County Recorder Christopher Anderson noted. "We are here to serve the public and a citizen who needs the deed to his or her property need not pay more than the cost of a copy."

St. Joseph County Recorder Terri Rethlake has not received an order from National Deed Service, but anticipates it could come sometime soon.

“This is concern among all county recorders,” Rethlake added. “We are doing all we can to alert the public that this offer is not in their best interest and that these records are readily available in their local Recorder’s Office for a margin of what the commercial service is charging.”

The attorney general and the recorders are also concerned about some homeowners who may be more vulnerable to the solicitation and who may think this is the only way to obtain a deed.

“Some people, particularly non-English speaking families may feel they are required to have a copy of their deed and believe a for-profit service is the only way to get these documents,” Carter noted. “We must reach out to these individuals and give them the facts to know where to obtain these documents and what they are really being asked to purchase.”

Property owners can contact their local recorder’s office to find out how many pages their deed is, and how to obtain a copy of the deed if they wish to receive a copy.

Property owners are not required to have a copy of the deed to their home. When a property is sold, the deed is traditionally retrieved by the title search company involved in that transaction.

Source: Indiana Attorney General