How to Verify Property Ownership: The Ultimate Guide for Agents


Filed under: Real Estate Market


Scammers are constantly looking for new strategies to use to steal money, and the real estate industry is one that is often targeted. The good news is that if you are working with a trusted real estate agent, then you can have guidance and support in avoiding these scams and protecting your assets.

Property ownership is one step that should be followed to ensure the validity of the sale. You need to make sure that you are working with the actual property owner, and not someone who is posing for a scam.

How To Verify Property Ownership

LexisNexis is a great resource that can be used, and we recommend this tool. It is a very robust database used by government institutions and some of the other three-letter organizations, with the purpose of verifying ownership.

Even though there are DIY sites that seem to offer similar services, the quality isn’t the same. For example, websites such as beenverified.com and other pay-as-you-go or subscription-based services aren’t going to be as accurate or thorough as the results you can get through LexisNexis.

What Makes LexisNexis Unique?

This database isn’t open to the public. It’s a deep dive into who the property owners are. It gives us a pretty good understanding of who we are dealing with. The goal is to verify if this is indeed the person that rightfully owns the property.

Real Estate Agents and Property Owners Need to Check

These topics are important to bring to our attention because they are things that agents really need to know. We can avoid a massive headache by following the right steps in the beginning with policies and procedures to ensure the legitimacy of the people we are working with.

As an agent, think about the number of transactions you’ve done in your career. How many times in the course of your transactions have you never met with the seller?

Do you need help with property verification or preparing for an upcoming real estate transaction in Temecula? My team at Elite Properties Direct is here to assist. Call, text, or email me at any time for more information about our services: (951) 473-0390 or [email protected]