Is Your Home’s Equity at Risk?

I do everything I can to protect my finances: I monitor my credit, set alerts with the bureaus, and stay on top of accounts. So when I got a call from a lender saying my home equity line of credit had been approved (one I never applied for) I knew something was very wrong.

Someone had submitted my personal information and tried to refinance our home. With the amount of equity we have, they likely would have succeeded if that lender hadn’t reached out.

Freezing your credit is an important first step, but it won’t prevent someone from filing a fraudulent document against your property title, especially if they’re impersonating you in a loan or sale.

Title fraud is still uncommon, but it’s on the rise, especially with homes that have high equity, long-term ownership, or absentee owners (like rentals or inherited properties). Thankfully, San Diego County offers a free title alert service. You simply enter your name, contact information, and APN, and you’ll be notified if anything is recorded against your property.

Register here to protect your title – it takes less than 2 minutes.

As a homeowner, this is one of the easiest ways to gain peace of mind. And if you’d like help pulling your APN or checking your title history, I’m always happy to assist!