You verify a seller at the listing appointment by confirming they know the property and can produce an ID, and you treat the title work as something that happens later. Prosecutors in New York say a forged deed moved a 92-year-old woman's Brooklyn home into someone else's company, and The Close turns that case into four checks that belong at intake instead.
The Close reports on an arrest in New York. A Queens man "was arrested June 23" and "indicted on 23 charges, including grand larceny and forgery." Prosecutors said he used forged documents, including a forged deed, to modify the mortgage on a 92-year-old woman's East Flatbush property and transfer ownership to his company while she was receiving dementia care at home. He is "presumed innocent unless proven guilty."
She had bought the home with her then-husband in 1976 and became its sole owner after their 1998 divorce. "The property was worth about $950,000 when it was allegedly stolen in 2023 and is now worth more than $1 million." Prosecutors said he collected about $70,000 in rent, took about $148,000 from her savings and about $20,000 from pension payments deposited into her accounts, and that tenants were moved in while she and her ex-husband were left living in a small bedroom in the home.
The article's interest is not the crime, it is the intake. Four checks, in its words:
"First, confirm that the signer matches the owner of record or can provide documentation showing authority to act." "If a representative is involved, follow brokerage policy for reviewing documents such as a power of attorney, trust paperwork, guardianship order, estate documents, or corporate authorization."
"Second, check public property records or request an early title review before marketing the home." "Look for recent deed transfers, entity ownership, unexplained liens, mortgage changes, or names that do not match the seller's explanation."
"Third, verify occupancy by asking who lives in the property, whether any occupants are tenants, and whether written leases exist."
"Finally, watch for communication control, including whether one person is routing all communication, limiting direct access to the owner, or pressuring the agent to skip standard documentation."
And the boundary: "Agents are not title examiners, attorneys, capacity experts, or fraud investigators." "Their role is to flag inconsistencies, document what they observe, and involve the broker, title company, or seller's attorney." When things do not line up, "the safer next step is to pause and escalate."
“First, confirm that the signer matches the owner of record or can provide documentation showing authority to act.”
The check that costs you almost nothing is the second one, and almost nobody runs it before marketing. Pulling the recorded deed takes minutes on most county sites, and a transfer into an LLC eighteen months ago on a house an elderly owner has held since the seventies is visible in that single document. Every other check in the list is a question you were already positioned to ask and simply did not.
The fourth is the uncomfortable one, because the behavior it describes looks exactly like a helpful adult child. One person routing all communication, discouraging you from speaking to the owner directly, pushing you past standard documentation. Your job is not to decide anything about it. It is to write down what you saw and hand it to your broker, the title company, or the seller's attorney before the listing goes live. The article also names the property types where this risk clusters: "Higher-risk properties include vacant homes, homes in foreclosure, properties with tax or utility liens, and homes where an owner has died but heirs have not legally transferred title."