In 2008, after her mother passed away, Daryl Elise Brown and her two siblings inherited land their parents bought in the 1950s, a .33 acre plot on Fortune Street in Acres Homes.
“They worked hard, to leave a legacy for their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren,” Brown said.
They’ve never been built on the land, and it’s never been for sale.
After getting a call from a woman in Georgia about a pending sale of the property, Brown was surprised to learn it had been listed, “For Sale By Owner” on several real estate websites. The woman said she was working as an intermediary between the buyer and the seller and she was looking for the owner, Mr. Daryl Brown.
“I said there is no Mr. Daryl Brown, I am Ms. Daryl Elise Brown. And she says oh my God, I’ve been talking with this person and he’s trying to sell this property,” Brown recalled from the late October conversation.
Brown filed a report with the Houston Police for fraud and identity theft. A realtor friend got the various listings removed.
“Immediately they sent me an email saying ‘ok we’re taking it off’ so I thought ok we’re good,” said Sherry Haynes with Walzel Properties.
But over the next several weeks, three different title companies contacted Brown about someone attempting to close on the land and in one case the sale actually went through Brown and Walzel found a for sale sign from a real estate agent and survey stakes on the property.
A real estate company whose sign was on the property and shown in our initial report, says they were listing it for a man who recently purchased the land. House Guide Realty says their client now believes he was misled by someone who was impersonating Ms. Brown. The real estate company was not involved in the initial sale of the land which Ms. Brown says was fraudulent.
“He legally purchased the land through a title company and received a warranty deed, which made him the rightful owner of that land. It’s a title company issue. It’s their responsibility to verify the seller and establish who is the owner,” said Cheryl Castillo-Pope and William Pope, brokers and owners of House Guide Realty.
The Popes say the title company involved in the initial transaction refunded their client the $70,000 he paid for the land.
Brown says the man then signs the property back over to his family.
A warranty deed filed with the Harris County Clerk’s office had a New Jersey notary stamp with ‘Texas’ struck out and New Jersey replaced on the paperwork.
“Due to fraudulent paperwork, forged signatures of me and my siblings. I don’t see how they cleared that but they did,” Brown said.
Underwriters say real estate fraud has become more common in recent years.
Trent Bailey, president of the Houston division of University Title says the company teaches escrow officers to be vigilant and aware and that leads them to catch one instance of fraud with Ms. Brown’s property.
“Our escrow officer noticed the notary seal and documents didn’t look legit and flagged it,” Bailey told KPRC 2 News.
The Harris County Clerk’s office says it reports potentially fraudulent documents to the County Attorney’s office for review, but the document is in question in Ms. Brown’s case would not have raised any red flags.
“A scratch out on a document does not invalidate it. People can get forms from anywhere (internet, office supply store, the library, attorney, or a friend). The scratch out in the notary, only means that the notary was not from Texas, but from New Jersey. The Harris County Clerk’s Office is only a recording office and has a ministerial duty to accept documents for recording,” said Rocio Torres-Segura, administrator of communications for the Harris County Clerk’s office.
Harris County does not currently offer any services that will alert customers if something is filed with their name or property.
Rocio says homeowners should check the Harris County Clerk system regularly to monitor what is being filed.
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