The deed to a $4 million home in North Carolina was transferred to a complete stranger without the owner's knowledge — here's what happened

By admin On Sep 19, 2024 0

A homeowner recently discovered that he no longer owns his 8,300-square-foot home, at least on paper.

Craig Adams, a local dentist in Raleigh, North Carolina, said the deed to his $4 million property no longer included his name.

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“I discovered that (a Dawn Mangum) had filed a false warranty claim deed against this house and basically tried to steal it,” Adams said. said ABC11 Eyewitness News, adding: “we are very vulnerable.”

The paperwork filed with the Wake County Register of Deeds Office names Adams as the debtor and lists Mangum, a woman he has never met, on the deed. It was allegedly approved and officially recorded without any verification.

Adams and his wife discovered the problem after Mangum contacted their homeowners association (HOA) to gain access to the private gated community.

Adams proved to the recorder of deeds that he owned the house, using mortgage and tax records, and stated that Mangum had no interest in it; however, the deed remains in her name.

According to emails Adams received from the Wake County Register of Deeds and the County Attorney, they cannot delete a document once it has been recorded, under North Carolina law.

“They say there's absolutely nothing they can do to reverse this,” Adams told the outlet. “Once the lawsuit is filed, the only solution they have is that I have to hire a private attorney, and the first quote they gave me was about $8,000 to file a civil suit against this woman.”

How did this happen?

Under North Carolina law, county recorders of deeds are not required to verify the legitimacy of the documentation they receive.

In this case, Mangum, who claims it was all a misunderstanding, has since been… loaded with the acquisition of property under false pretenses. But how did this happen in the first place?

According to Mangum, in an interview with ABC11, she believed Adams' property was in foreclosure when she began making arrangements to have the deed to the home transferred to her trust. She said that once she learned the property was not in foreclosure, she stopped all paperwork. She also stated that she wants to amend the paperwork to return the property to Adams.

However, she had filed paperwork with the Wake County Registry of Deeds listing herself as the owner through a fraudulent trust. No legal checks are required to verify the legitimacy of the deed transfer, allowing it to be recorded without Adams' knowledge.

The Wake County Register of Deeds released a statement on the case, which read in part:

“The Register of Deeds is not required to verify the legal validity of a deed when it is submitted for recording, nor is it required to verify the credentials or legal capacity of the notary or drafter of the document (G.S. 47-14). With over 500 documents processed through the Wake County Register of Deeds office daily, it would be impossible to verify the legitimacy of every document.”

Even if Mangum is convicted, Adams will still have to turn to civil court to correct the record.

In the meantime, she hopes her frustrating experience will prompt changes to the laws that allowed Mangum to change the deed in the first place.

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How to protect yourself from deed fraud

Homeowners can take steps to protect themselves from deed fraud. Check to see if your county offers a deed or title fraud alert service to monitor changes to deeds in your name.

While that would not have protected Adams in this case, since his name was not on the new deed, it may help prevent other types of deed fraud.

Title insurance, which many homeowners purchase when purchasing a home, also offers protection against title defects, including fraud. It can be helpful in cases of such common title problems as: back taxes, filing errors, liens, forged titles, easements, and conflicting wills.

Finally, if you suspect fraud in your property deed, contact the authorities immediately and seek legal advice.

Acting quickly is important, because once the deed is filed, in many cases a court order is required to reverse it.