Deed theft: Georgia alert system can help protect homeowners from house stealing

Thieves faking deeds to steal homes

Crooks are ready to take your home, and a well-developed scam is allowing them to do just that. They can steal the deed to your house, and you won't even know it until it's too late. FOX 5 looked into what's been done to stop the thieves in their tracks.

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ga. - Crooks are out there ready to steal homes with a fake deeds and homeowners may not even know it until it’s too late.

"If one person loses their home, it’s devastating," said Douglas County Clerk of Superior and State Courts, Annetta Danley Stembridge.

It’s called deed theft, or more simply stated, house stealing.

"The thieves, they’re making up fake deeds, and they come to our offices, and file them, and they become, by the deed, the new owners," said Stembridge.

Stembridge says unfortunately, at that point, there’s nothing her office can do about it.

"We cannot touch that document if it meets the legal criteria for it to be filed," said Stembridge.

Rental properties, vacation homes, and the elderly are often easy targets for these thieves.

Sometimes it takes months for the real homeowner to get their house back, sometimes years, and sometimes they never get it back.

"They will remodel the home, and sell it before they even know that someone has stolen their property," said Stembridge.

However, the sooner a homeowner finds out their house has been stolen, the better chance they have of reclaiming it. That’s why Stembridge wants people to know about the dreadful crime.

"Our office is out in the community spreading as much information as we can to protect our community," said Stembridge.

To help homeowners protect their property, Douglas County set up an alert system on their website. Anyone who signs up for it will be notified if there are changes to their deed.

"If there’s any activity on their property, then they’ll be notified on their cellphone or computer or however they want us to set it up," said Stembridge.

Stembridge helped push for a statewide system that was implemented a few months ago. She’s encouraging all homeowners in Douglas County and across Georgia to sign up for it.

"I’m real passionate about this community and I hate to see this continue to happen," said Stembridge.

The Douglas County alert system can be accessed on the county website, celebratedouglascounty.com.

Look under Clerk of Superior Court, in the left column select property check-free service.

The statewide filing activity notification system is https://fans.gsccca.org/.