Protect your home and equity from criminals—for free
If you’ve ever listened to early morning AM radio or late-night TV, you know the commercials.
Title monitoring companies warn of a vast crime spree: Criminals stealing homes and land out from under your nose, simply by forging a signature and filing a false deed. For just a few hundred dollars a year, they offer to alert you whenever such a document is filed.
The thing is you can protect yourself—using the same tools they offer—for free.
The Arapahoe County Clerk and Recorder’s Office wants to help residents protect their homes and equity with its Property Alert tool. Recording Deputy Director Juan Guzman said the county has offered the service for years, but recent improvements make the experience easier and more intuitive.
The process is similar to creating a Google alert for your name and address. Guzman said he hopes more homeowners, especially older residents targeted by alarming title fraud ads, will take advantage of the service once they know it’s available.
“Any homeowner can create an alert in a few minutes, at absolutely no charge,” Guzman said. “It’s a shame many of our most vulnerable residents get taken advantage of just because they have a trusting nature or may not be very tech savvy.”
He added that customers who need assistance setting up a property alert can call the Recording Division at 303-795-4520 and a clerk will help them navigate the process.
“It’s a quick, simple process to protect a homeowner’s biggest investment,” Guzman said. “We’re happy to provide this layer of protection, we just need homeowners to take the first step.”
For more information on Arapahoe County’s Property Alert service, please visit www.arapahoeco.gov/recording, and click the “Fraud Detection” link.
