Veteran attorney tells brokers what red flags to watch for
Deed theft gets covered mostly from the victim's side, the homeowner who lost a property, and the prosecutor trying to claw it back. What gets less attention is the role brokers can play before any of that happens.
Brokers are often the first professionals to take a close look at a transaction. That puts them in a position to spot things that do not add up before a fraudulent deal moves any further.
Complaints filed with the New York Attorney General's office jumped 240% between 2023 and 2025, from 149 to 517 annually. Title company claims departments are handling more of these cases than they have in years.
AI-generated documents, digital impersonation, and remote closing vulnerabilities have made deed theft harder to detect. But many of the warning signs still surface early, at exactly the stage where a broker is most involved.
Elise Kessler, counsel at Braverman Greenspun in New York City, specializes in real estate transactions for co-ops and condominiums.
"Part of the reason is just the sophistication now of being able to forge identities, being able to forge documents," Kessler told Mortgage Professional America. "We've also had the trend since COVID of remote closings. What happens is you have closings where people don't appear, and it becomes more difficult to verify identities."
Red flags brokers should watch for
Kessler said the rush is usually the first thing that stands out. When there is unusual pressure to close quickly, and the seller is out of the country with a deed notarized by an embassy or an out-of-state notary, that combination is worth slowing down for. A title company she works with has a live claim involving exactly that scenario, and in that case, the notary stamp had been stolen.
If there is no attorney in the transaction, and someone is moving fast, that could be a concern. If public records show a prior deed transferred recently for no consideration, Kessler said that is worth investigating.
"You would want to reach out to that prior seller and say, 'Did you know about this deed?'" she said. "To find out if, in fact, this is a legitimate transaction."
Vacant, unencumbered land without a mortgage turns up disproportionately in title claims. Kessler said these are often properties that have been in a family for decades, with nobody paying close attention.
"It could be that it's been in the family, it's not being used, no one's really paying attention," she said. "Then someone just shows up wanting to record a deed."
Power of attorney situations need scrutiny as well. Kessler said the scenario that should immediately raise a red flag is a straightforward one.
"If they say, 'My mother just went into a nursing home, and she's given me power of attorney to refinance her property,’" she said. "That's definitely a warning sign."
Estate transactions and someone seeking financing on multiple similar properties at the same time could raise suspicions as well, along with any situation where a broker cannot confirm that the person in front of them actually has the authority to act.
What brokers can do to help
Kessler said brokers cannot be expected to detect a forged signature. But she said there is meaningful due diligence available before a title search is ever ordered, and most of it costs nothing.
"Could a broker be able to evaluate whether a signature was impersonated? Probably not," Kessler said. "But they can at least do the due diligence by going to the public record."
Most areas have online record sources with their local county or city that can be checked. Brokers can pull prior deeds, check the timing of past transfers, and look for breaks in the chain of title. Kessler also recommends that brokers check the tax records to find out who is paying the taxes and whether there are any liens.
"If the brokers want to do due diligence up front, review the records and then ask questions if something looks suspicious," Kessler said. "Ask the applicant if they see there was a transfer that was done six months earlier, what was this transfer about? Why did it happen?"
Kessler said she knows how strong the pressure to close can be. But when something does not add up, the right call is to stop and look harder.
"Sometimes it's just a sense that there's something wrong," she said. "If the broker has that feeling, they should really look into it. Because I know everyone is always in such a rush, brokers certainly want to get a deal going. But sometimes we need to pause for the moment."
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