Legal News

City Council Mulls New Measure to Remove Clouds Over Title Deeds

By Brian Harris

By Amaris Elliott-Engel
Of the Legal Staff
 
City Councilman Bill Greenlee and Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez have introduced a proposed  ordinance aimed at curbing the theft of property deeds and strengthening the requirements for the recording of deeds.

The proposed ordinance would require the Records Department to verify that the grantor on the deed actually owns the property and bar the department from recording the deed, unless there is a "reasonable explanation for the discrepancy between the named grantor and record owner of the property," according to a news release. Under the current rules, the Records Department records deeds without verifying property ownership, which allows for the transfer of stolen property.

The proposed ordinance also would require a deed be accompanied by a statement from the buyer indicating if he or she had purchased title insurance. Buyers who do not buy title insurance would have to sign a form indicating they chose not to purchase title insurance and pay an additional fee.
Greenlee sponsored an ordinance in 2008 to curb the theft of property deeds, but the law did not stamp out the problem.

Full post as published by The Legal Intelligencer Blog on June 17, 2010 (boomark / email).