Thought this was worth sharing for a couple reasons: It introduced me to a scam, deed theft, that I'd never heard from before and find unsettling. A scammer either forges a fake deed or tricks you...
Every county in the US can auction off your house if the property taxes go unpaid long enough. It happens even if the house is fully paid off, no mortgage, no bank watching the title. When the county sells it, it keeps what you owed and the rest legally belongs to you--but you have file for it before the deadline, or the government keeps it.
I found one of these houses, a 3-bedroom in Compton, California, because I tried to buy it. But I found out it had allegedly been stolen from a couple who'd owned it since 1959. A judge ruled that it belonged to them. Nobody was charged. And the county auctioned their house anyway.
That sent me down a rabbit hole trying to find out how that happens — and why the quarter million dollars left over from the sale is still sitting in a county account with a separate party already filing to collect it. Someone who is not the family.
Thought this was worth sharing for a couple reasons:
It introduced me to a scam, deed theft, that I'd never heard from before and find unsettling. A scammer either forges a fake deed or tricks you into signing away ownership of your home. Scammers often target vulnerable properties, like abandonned ones, or properties owned by vulnerable populations, like the elderly. Reestablishing rightful ownership can require a lengthy legal process.
It felt like actual Journalism in ways I'm having trouble articulating, but know I don't often feel from like videos on the platform. Sure enough, the author appears to be an investigative journalist notable enough have their own wikipedia page.
Thought this was worth sharing for a couple reasons: