Officials Warn Of Deed Theft In Berkeley Senior Communities

BERKELEY, NJ — Berkeley officials are warning senior communities of a rise in deed thefts.

"Apparently, some people are having a problem with their deeds being scoped out from under them when they go to sell their house," Councilman Michael Signorile, whose ward covers many of Berkeley's senior communities, said at a recent Township Council meeting.

"People have been quitclaiming their house over to them," Council President John Bacchione said. "They register the deed with the county. And guess what? Now it's their house."

Bacchione said that about a week prior, a woman had came to him, saying that this had happened to her in Holiday City.

The FBI calls this "house stealing." Someone picks a house, assumes the owner's identity by getting their personal information and creating fake IDs, get forms to transfer property and forge signatures to file deeds and then they own that house, according to the FBI.

"Hard to stop, hard to know it's even happening," Bacchione said.

But thankfully, there are prevantative measures homeowners can take, Signorile said.

If you follow this link to the Ocean County Clerk's Office website, you can scroll and click on "property alerts." This allows you sign up for email alerts so if anybody tampers with your deed, you will receive an email immediately.

"It's something that you have to be cognizant about in the event that it should happen," Bacchione said.