Recorder: Property owners should be wary of company selling deed copies

If you receive a notice in the mail saying the State Record Regulation Department recommends you purchase a property profile and a copy of your deed for $86, beware. There is no such state agency and the same information can be had through county offices at a fraction of the cost.

"It's very disingenuous," said Cape Girardeau County Recorder Scott R. Clark, who became aware of the solicitation when a resident brought it to his attention.

Record Retrieval Department, listing an address in Fulton, Mo., does specify in the fine print that they are not associated with any governmental agency and that records are available through the county, but says recorder fees could be "up to $87."

This document provided by the Cape Girardeau County Recorder's Office is an example of those being sent to local people, urging them to purchase documents.

"That's just not the case," Clark said. The recorder's fee for a two-page certified copy of a property deed is only $4, he said.

The information included in the property profile advertised in the letter, such as documentation of a property's address, owner's name, comparable values and legal description, is a matter of public record available through the county, often at no charge.

For example, anyone interested in knowing the value of houses in their neighborhood can obtain that information for free through mapping and appraisal, said Marla Cypret, office manager for the Cape Girardeau County mapping and appraisal office.

Furthermore, Clark said, complete property information, including a copy of the deed, has usually already been secured and paid for by the buyer through the real estate purchasing process.

'Very persistent'

The letter bears a "final notice" warning and threatens an additional $35 penalty if the property owner does not respond by a certain date. Similar notices with a Washington, D.C., address have also been received in the area.

"They are very persistent," Clark said.

Sharon Quigley Carpenter, recorder of deeds and vital records registrar in St. Louis, circulated an alert to consumers in March about the same service, noting that the Better Business Bureaus in Minnesota, North Dakota and Tennessee have issued warnings.

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller discovered the company was operating out of California and using a local drop box address to appear to be located within his state. In 2011, he secured an agreement for it to stop marketing its services to Iowa residents.

Clark said he has not seen the documents the service says they will provide within 21 business days to those who pay the fee, so he cannot say that it is a complete scam. However, even if authentic documents are provided, he said, the cost is highly inflated and turnaround time is much longer than the minutes it often takes to research and obtain them at county administrative offices.

Representatives at Records Retrieval Department/State Record Regulation Department could not be reached Monday afternoon and a message left by voice mail was not returned.

Property owners can obtain information about deed fees by calling the recorder's office at 243-8123.

salderman@semissourian.com

388-3648

Pertinent address:

1 Barton Sq., Jackson, MO