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June 18, 2009 11:29 PM

(Real Estate Title Company Experts) - Best way(s) to keep your house title off the grid for as long as possible?

Bought a house a while back. Looks like the title company, unbeknownst to us, sent the info to a national database for recording. So now we've gotten lots of junk mail from all over the country for various mortgage scams and quasi-scams.

1. So ... in the future, what are some best practices to avoid this?

2. Do title companies have some sort of contractual agreement or financial incentive to add to the database?

(yeah, yeah, there are probably other ways for the info to find its way into the database, but what are the title companies up to?)

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posted by coffeefilter to work & money (9 comments total)

Buying a house is a matter of public record. Scammers and junk mailers don't necessarily get info from title companies, since it's much easier to get it by searching for new purchases and title transfers at the various Register of Deeds offices (public offices, ever county has one) all over the country. There's also lots of info in property tax records.

So, basically, there's no way to keep other people from getting public information. The only way to keep your name from being associated with the ownership of a house is to title it in someone else's name (not sure about the legalities there).

The best thing to do is simply ignore the junk mail, etc., and congratulate yourself for being savvy enough not to fall for unsolicited offers.
posted by amyms at 11:46 PM on June 18

Dittoing amyms - this is a matter of public record. It's much cheaper, easier and more complete for these scammers to simply consult public records. In many places, these records are available online, at no cost. It'd be kind of stupid for anyone to buy this information. Title companies are required to register changes of title with the appropriate agencies.
posted by Dee Xtrovert at 12:30 AM on June 19

The title record is a matter of public record, but that does not mean that every title company sells their database to earn an extra buck.

I would guess you bought a fore-closed REO home from a bank, and the bank used a clearing-house style title company.

Usually the seller pays for the title company, but the buyer can pay for it. It is an extra closing cost, but there are times when it is better. (If the property is totally distressed, had several mortgages and liens - doing a quick title search might miss one mis-filed lien - so, a buyer might pay extra up-front to get a diligent title search, rather than risk a legal battle with the title insurance company).

If you the buyer select a highly reputable local title company, you can ask them straight up, what do you do with the info. They should release the info to the county public records office and no one else.
posted by Flood at 4:32 AM on June 19

There are people who make their living checking the filings at courthouses each day and selling the information to a number of sources. Newspapers in some cities regularly list the new stuff filed each day - marriages, births, business licenses, real estate transactions. It's all legitimately available to the public.
posted by yclipse at 4:35 AM on June 19

Like everyone's saying here, it probably was not the title company at all. It's all public record and anyone/everyone can access it. Certain legal newspapers publish the information, lots of county clerks have websites, so you don't even have to leave the comfort of your own home to see who's bought a house today.
posted by Lucinda at 4:48 AM on June 19

Actually, it was the company. I checked the paperwork. "Mortgage Electronic Registration System."
posted by coffeefilter at 5:20 AM on June 19

MERS has more to do with your loan than your title.

If I recall correctly, MERS exists to help maintain a consistent mortgagee no matter how many times your actual loan is traded, sold or serviced. MERS may have been required by your lender.

Also, another data point: In my recent experience, just because your info was sent to MERS does not necessarily mean that MERS was the source of the junk mail.

There was a misspelling in the public record of our purchase and the vast majority of our new junk mail shows the misspelled name rather than the correct name. The correct name was included in the MERS filing, the title insurance, new homeowner's insurance, new utilities and in all the lender docs. Pinning the source of the address distribution to a particular organization could be extremely difficult considering how many organizations are involved in a real estate transaction and in setting up new home services.
posted by joe vrrr at 6:59 AM on June 19

There are ways to stop (or at least reduce) junk mail if that's your ultimate goal here, although it takes some effort. There are a number of webpages out there that tell you how. The information at http://www.junkmailstopper.com/ seems to be about right, although I don't think the instructions on this site are the ones I used when I did it. I would avoid any websites that try to sell you something, as it's easy enough to do it yourself for free.
posted by kprincehouse at 7:23 AM on June 19

kprincehouse's link just sends you to the Direct Marketing Association. This industry association requires its members to voluntarily respect the "do not mail" lists they maintain, unless there is a prior business relationship with the customer. Probably at least the larger companies sending you mail wouldn't if you were on the list, but there are no guarantees. At least you would get less junk mail overall.
posted by dhartung at 11:43 AM on June 19