How to protect yourself from deed fraud as Allegheny County DA investigates several cases

After about three dozen Allegheny County home deeds were fraudulently put into an LLC's name, experts are sharing tips for protecting yourself. 

A house is probably the biggest purchase most of us will ever make. You want to do what you can to protect it, and some simple fact-checking can go a long way. Much of the work is proactive, but if you were to fall victim, there is still help.

Two weeks ago, KDKA learned about 35 Allegheny County homes that have been put into someone else's name without the homeowners' knowledge. The Allegheny County district attorney is still investigating at this point. 

Unfortunately, most people don't know about fraud with home deeds until it's too late, according to TitleSafe founder Matt Lutz.

"And that's when things can become huge legal and financial nightmares," Lutz said over Zoom.

His company started about a year ago and covers Allegheny County, with the hopes of expanding into neighboring counties. Their work is a subscription for homeowners to alert them any time something comes up with their deed, whether it be legit or fraudulent. If there is fraud, they work to fix the issue.

"If there is a fraud or if there's an error that gets recorded, we are going to be able to catch that within the hour and then we can work to resolve that issue," Lutz said.

Now for people who don't get services like this, there are steps you can take. Check your home on the county recorder's website. An easy way is to enter your parcel code without hyphens into the recorder's page, and your deeds should show up. 

You can also sign up for alerts on your property, so if there is anything, you get alerted to catch anything out of the norm. 

"If we catch it soon, the outcome can be much better," Lutz said.

If you do fall victim to fraud, you can still recover. But it's more costly, with thousands of dollars in court orders and possibly getting a lawyer.