ROD warns of misleading letters sent to residents
Misleading deed solicitation letters being received in Alexander County
Scott Hines, Alexander County Register of Deeds, informed The Times that some residents (himself included) have received misleading pieces of mail about their land and property from an out-of-state firm.
Property Profile, Inc., of Glendora, California, is sending out official-looking solicitation forms that could mislead people about getting deeds and land records on their properties in Alexander County. Concerned residents and property owners have come into the Register of Deeds office many times, asking what they should do about these deceptive-looking letters they are getting in the mail. These notices are not from the Register of Deeds office, Hines noted.
The form letter contains disclaimers disassociating themselves from any government agency and states that deeds and other land records are available from the County recorder for nominal fees. However, the form looks quasi-official and asks homeowners to pay a Service Fee of $86.00 to receive a “property assessment profile” that includes a courtesy copy of your property deed.
Property Profile is trying to make a profit off documents that are recorded in the Register of Deeds office and available to county residents for $0.25 per page in the office. Otherwise, property owners can search and find copies of their deeds and land records online at the Alexander County Register of Deeds webpage (http://www.alexandercountync.gov/rod/) and print them off free of charge.
“Alexander County residents should be on the lookout for these misleading requests from Property Profile Inc.,” Hines warned.
“If you receive one of these solicitations from this company or any other company asking you to send them money for records in this office, you are under no obligation to do business with them. The Register of Deeds office will collect these forms if residents would like to drop them off in the office. We will forward them on to the North Carolina Attorney General’s office in Raleigh for action or response as a matter of concern for Alexander County residents and North Carolinians,” Hines stated.
If readers have any comments, questions, or concerns, please call the Register of Deeds office at 828-632-3152, or stop by the new office space in the Alexander County Services Center at 151 West Main Ave., Taylorsville, to see Register of Deeds Scott Hines and his staff.
The letter which Mr. Hines received is shown below.
