People are losing their homes because of the crime of deed theft in the Capital Region. A local real estate broker is trying to do something about it.
It may seem like a lifeline: someone offers to help get you out of a financial bind or to stave off foreclosure, but they’re really trying to steal.
“The ways that I see that seem to be the most common are through friendly fraudulent companies,” said Anthony Gucciardo, Gucciardo Real Estate Group Broker/Owner. “And what that means is that somebody will be falling behind in taxes or have credit card liens or some type of judgment and these people will approach the homeowner stating that they’re going to help them erase the debt they have. And they give them paperwork to sign, not realizing that they’re signing the deed over to their house.”
Recently, Gucciardo launched a series of seminars focused on preventing deed theft and other real estate-related scams.
He also warns against the old seal-coating or contractor scams, saying do not be convinced to give any money up front.
“If somebody is in business, they should have to the resources to perform the service first and then get paid when you are satisfied with the job,” he said.
Gucciardo says more and more local homeowners are falling victim to things like fraudulent transfers and forged deeds these days.
Last month, Joseph Goodnough was sentenced in Schenectady for tricking David White into signing over his Cobleskill house.
White says Goodnough then tried to get him out of the house by turning off his power and water. A court found Goodnough even called in a fake emergency to get White taken to the hospital and off the property.
Gucciardo says one, be aware, and two, have all documents checked out.
“They need to not sign any paperwork until they have looked it over with their accountant or their attorney because a lot of these documents look official, and they’re not.”
He plans to hold three or four seminars a year.