I always thought that if I ever paid off my house, I'd get a line of credit against it, just so a bank would have a lien that a title company would have to clear. I think my county offers an alert service on the title, so I'll be signing up for that, but I don't know that it blocks property transfers.
This is somebody's tweet about getting their property in Texas stolen. Quite worth the read.
In Texas, a criminal can steal your $6,000,000 building for $30 in cash.
No ID required. No background check. Just a forged signature and a trip to the county clerk.
In 2022, this happened to two of our buildings. If you own real estate, you are a target.
The Texas county recording system runs on a "notice" basis. The clerk’s job is to record documents. Not verify them.
A criminal created a fake deed for two of our assets. They used a cut-and-paste notary stamp pulled from a different public record. They used a courier to send the documents into the clerk’s office. The courier handed over the forged paper and paid $30 in cash.
The clerk accepted the document. No driver's license. No signature check.
The public record showed a Delaware LLC owned my property. $6 million in equity vanished from the legal chain of title in seconds.
Once a criminal controls the deed, they have two moves. They sell the property to an unsuspecting buyer and disappear with the cash. Or they get a hard money loan against it, collect the proceeds, and vanish. Either way, they try to be long gone before you find out.
I found out during a refinance. My title company called with a question: "Why did you quitclaim these buildings to a new entity?"
I hadn't.
I contacted the Dallas Police Department, the FBI, and the Texas Secretary of State. Every agency gave the same answer: they are overwhelmed with this type of fraud and didn't have the time or resources to pursue it.
The criminals hide behind Delaware shells and registered agents. The county takes cash, so there is no bank trail. There is no ID requirement, so there is no face for the cameras.
Most investors assume their title policy covers this. It does not.
Standard title insurance covers defects that existed before you closed. It guarantees you received a clean deed at purchase.
It does nothing for crimes committed after.
This is a gap in your risk management you did not know you had.
It took 90 days of legal work to fix.
The "new owner" was a ghost. I had to file a lawsuit to quiet the title. I spent $20,000 in legal fees and secured a default judgment because the criminals never showed up to court (obviously).
I won. But I am out $20,000 and three months of sleep.
Criminals hunt three targets: raw land, free-and-clear buildings, and estate properties.
A mortgage acts as a tripwire because banks flag transfers. If you own your assets outright, you are defenseless.
Here is what I did after this happened to me:
Property alerts. Most counties offer a free service that emails you when a document is recorded against your parcel number. Sign up for every asset you own. This costs nothing.
Entity audits. Make sure your Secretary of State filings are current. Criminals look for lapsed registrations and "zombie" entities to find their next target.
Push for policy change. State legislatures are starting to act. The law must require a government-issued ID to record a transfer of real property. It is insane that it does not.
1:18 PM · Feb 13, 2026
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