Question: Will the state or county alert us if our property title is changed? I’ve been reading about deed fraud back East and am concerned about this as we own vacant Hawaii property.
Answer: Hawaii’s Bureau of Conveyances launched a free online service in January that notifies a property owner if their name shows up in a recorded document; to receive the BOC notifications, you must register for the service, which is called Property Watch, https://propertywatch.hi.wcicloud.com/.
Registrants specify an individual’s name or the name of an entity to receive an email whenever that name is noted as a party in a recorded document. The notification system was established to detect fraudulent recordings — such as an ownership transfer of your property that you did not authorize — but will not prevent fraudulent recordings from occurring, according to the BOC website.
Once aware of a fraudulent recording, the true owner must take action to undo the fraud.
Multiple owners of the same property can each sign up for notifications from the Property Search system, which searches for names of individuals or entities in recorded documents, not addresses or tax map keys. “Recorded documents within our data base are not indexed via addresses or TMKs, they are indexed via property descriptions in exhibits with detailed information to ensure there are no false positives versus a typo in the address or TMK,” a spokesperson for the bureau said.
However, “false positives” may still occur, especially when the search criteria is a common name, such as John Smith. “The system requires the specific/exact spelling on the name to be monitored thus only the exact spelling of the name will be notified. The input of a common name may result in multiple notices that may not be specific to the property intended to be monitored,” the spokesperson said in an email. The notification system is fully automated.
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Home title theft, also known as quit claim deed fraud, occurs when criminals forge documents to record a false transfer of property ownership, and most commonly involves vacant land or homes, as well as properties that don’t have a mortgage or other lien, according to the Boston division of the FBI, which highlighted this threat in a news release in April. The scammers impersonate the true owner and, once holding a recorded title, may sell the property, take out a loan on it or rent it out for income, the FBI said. The true owners generally must go to court to reclaim their property, it said.
The FBI suggested that property owners set up online search alerts for their property, including with whatever government agency maintains their region’s property title records. In Hawaii, the Bureau of Conveyances, a division of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, maintains property title records statewide; Hawaii is one of two states with a single statewide recording system, according to the BOC website. In most states, property title records are maintained by counties.
Aina Haina flooding
The public is invited to hear about the Wailupe Stream Flood Risk Management Study, which is in the early stages as the federal and county governments consider ways to reduce flood risks for Aina Haina. The stream has a history of flooding, including during a storm in April 2018 that caused significant damage.
The meeting, put on by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Honolulu’s Department of Design and Construction, is scheduled for Wednesday from 6 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. at Holy Nativity Church, 5286 Kalanianaole Highway. Doors to the nave open at 5:45 p.m.
For more information, go to 808ne.ws/3ItZSro.
Mahalo
Mahalo for all the help I received during an accident at Kamehameha Shopping Center in late May. Many bystanders came to help me! Thanks for all the help I received! — God bless, Kalihi senior
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 2-200, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.