by David Murphy | Oct 16, 2023 | Recent News
“TITLE FRAUD”, MORE ACCURATELY KNOWN AS “DEED FRAUD” – RISK LEVELS AND SAFEGUARDS Notwithstanding the seemingly non-stop ads warning of “title fraud” the actual instances of fraud related to real estate nationally are very low. Locally, in my 35 years as Register of Deeds I am aware of only one case of a fraudulent deed being recorded and in that case the fraud was discovered before the fraudster received the proceeds of the sale. I am not aware of any forged mortgages being recorded. In the rare event fraud does occur on the national level it usually happens with specific types of property and under specific circumstances. I will go into detail regarding those circumstances below but first I would like to explain the concept of “title” verses “deed”. Without getting too deep in the legal weeds, “Title” is a legal concept, not a document. “Title” is the means whereby the owner of land has just possession of property via the union of all the elements that constitute ownership. A “deed” is the physical document that transfers “title” to a new owner. Deeds are what get recorded at the Registry of Deeds to evidence a transfer of title. When a fraud occurs, someone forges the signature of the current owner of a property (and likely also forges the notary public acknowledgment as well) on a deed and records the forged document at the Registry of Deeds. Because the deed is forged it is not a valid transfer of “title” and no one else, notwithstanding the recording of the deed, has “title” to property. The original owner has not...
by David Murphy | Oct 2, 2023 | Recent News
We will be closed all day on Friday November 10, 2023 in observance of Veterans’ Day per the County Commissioners.
by David Murphy | Oct 2, 2023 | Recent News
Winter 2023-2024 Holiday Schedule Columbus Day: Monday October 9, 2023 – Closed All Day Veterans Day (observed): Friday November 10, 2023 – Closed All Day Thanksgiving Eve: Wednesday November 22, 2023- Closing at Noon Thanksgiving Day: Thursday November 23, 2023 – Closed All Day Day After Thanksgiving: Friday November 24, 2023 – Open All Day Christmas Day: Monday December 25, 2023 – Closed All Day New Years Day: Monday January 1, 2024 – Closed All Day Martin Luther King Jr. Day: Monday January 15, 2024 – Closed All Day Presidents Day Monday: February 19, 2024 – Closed All...
by David Murphy | Aug 11, 2023 | Recent News
Register of Deeds, John F. Meade, is happy to announce our Consumer Notification Service. Property owners in Barnstable County can sign up to receive an electronic notification in the event a document is recorded in their names at our registry. For more information and to sign up please click here. Notification Service Disclaimer If you believe that a fraudulent document has been recorded against your property you should call your attorney and discuss possible legal steps you can take to address the issue. Further steps may include calling the police or the Office of the Attorney General directly but that is a decision you or you and your attorney need to make. Please be advised that Registry of Deeds has no statutory police or investigative powers. We do not have any power to remove a document from our records on our own initiative or to “flag” a “suspect” document based on the allegation of a member of the public or an attorney or a police department or District Attorney’s Office. Only a Court of competent jurisdiction after a duly noticed hearing can invalidate a document of record. Our notification service is limited to providing notice of recordings and no more than that. We will cooperate with any authorized investigation to the extent the law allows but please understand that we are not an investigative agency, nor can we provide you with any legal advice on how to proceed with addressing an alleged fraudulent recording....
by David Murphy | Apr 6, 2023 | Recent News
We have updated our terms of service and some language in our eFile Submitter Agreement. Please click here for the most current version of the agreement. If you already have an agreement on file, there is no need to fill out and file a new...
by David Murphy | Mar 24, 2023 | Recent News
Registry Spring & Summer 2023 Holiday Schedule Patriot’s Day Monday, April 17, 2023- Closed All Day Memorial Day Monday, May 29, 2023- Closed All Day Juneteenth Monday June 19, 2023 – Closed All Day Independence Day Tuesday, July 4, 2023 – Closed All Day Labor Day Monday, September 4, 2023 – Closed All...
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