Schuylkill County Commissioners Alert Property Owners About Misleading Deed Offer

Schuylkill County Commissioners alerted property owners this week about an offer they may have received in the mail recently.

The offer is to get you a copy of your deed and profile of your property for $127. Commissioners say a copy of your property’s deed can be obtained at Schuylkill County Courthouse for a lot less.

The mailer comes from an addressee identifying itself as PROPERTY RECORDS on Linglestown Rd. in Harrisburg.

What Commissioners see as the problems with this mailer is that it looks official and it comes at a time when they seem to admit that it could cause confusion among property owners due to the ongoing tax reassessment.

Even though there’s a box that indicates this notice does not come from an official government agency …

THIS SERVICE TO OBTAIN A COPY OF YOUR DEED OR OTHER RECORD OF TITLE IS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH ANY GOVERNMENTAL AGENCY. YOU CAN OBTAIN A COPY OF YOUR DEED OR OTHER RECORD OF YOUR TITLE FROM THE COUNTY RECORDER IN THE COUNTY WHERE YOUR PROPERTY IS LOCATED.

… the mailer certainly looks official. In fact, it looks like a bill and Commissioners worry this could dupe people into thinking they have to pay for this service even though it’s not required for any reason.

And even if property owners want a copy of their deed, they don’t have to pay $127 to get that.

That same page of the mailer that indicates it doesn’t come from the government also contains statistical information about your property. There’s also wording on that page that seems to tell you that you need what this company is selling.

It’s worded as follows:

Property Records provides a copy of the only document that identifies (YOUR NAME) as the property owner of (Your address), by a recently recorded transferred title on the property.

Property Records provides a property profile where you can find the property address, owner’s name, comparable values, and legal description or parcel identification number, proeprty history, neighborhood demographics, public and private schools report.

Records obtained through public information show a deed was recorded in your name (YOUR NAME) on (DATE) which indicates your ownership and interest in the specified property below.

A box with big bold letters and numbers tells recipients by a certain date.

On the second page of the mailer, the one with the invoice to send in to get a copy of what the company is selling, there’s another ominous and vaguely worded warning box that has more bark than bite:

WARNING: $2,000 FINE, 5 YEARS IMPRISONMENT OR BOTH FOR ANY PERSON INTERFERING OR OBSTRUCTING WITH DELIVERY OF THIS LETTER US MAIL TTT.18 SEC 1702 U.S. CO

To begin the process of getting a copy of your property deed, visit the Recorder of Deeds office at Schuylkill County Courthouse.

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