The Nashville Davidson County Register of Deeds Karen Johnson is warning Nashville property owners about a new scam letter being distributed.
The letter in question falsely claims that the deed to a property owner’s property has been transferred and recorded and that to obtain a copy, they must send a $89 payment to a fraudulent Florida address. A similar scam letter was circulated around Davidson County last year, as previously reported by The Tennessee Star.
“We’ve had several calls from concerned homeowners who got false information about the deed to their property being transferred,” Johnson said in a statement. “We had one gentleman who had the good sense to come into our office to ask what the mailing meant and did he have to pay the $89 ‘service fee’ that was mentioned.
“These mailings alarm property owners, even causing some to worry that they might have lost their homes because the letter says their deed has been transferred,” Johnson added.
Johnson noted that the Nashville Davidson County Register of Deeds Office, where all property documents in Metro Nashville are recorded, “never sends out any such mailing informing owners that the deed to their property has been transferred.”
“Nor,” Johnson added, “do we ever mail out or email any request for payment of any kind.”
Johnson also encouraged Nashville property owners to sign up for the county’s Property Alert Program online at Nashville.gov/ROD, through the Apple App Store, or Google Play Store.
“We strongly encourage all property owners in Nashville Davidson County to sign up for our Property Alert. This is the best way to know quickly and officially if any action has been taken on your property,” Johnson added.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “Karen Johnson” by Karen Johnson Register of Deeds Nashville Davidson County. Background Photo “Mailboxes” by Max Pixel.
