A program developed by the offices of the Solano County District Attorney and Assessor Recorder will alert homeowners to potentially fraudulent real estate activity related to their property, District Attorney Krisha A. Abrams has announced.

The Real Estate Fraud Notification program will electronically scan documents that transfer title or encumber the property with debt such as grant deeds, quit claim deeds and deeds of trust, Abrams said.

“The person paying the property taxes on the property will receive a letter and the first two pages of the recorded document,” she said.

“The letter informs the property owner that the attached document has been recorded in the Solano County Recorder’s Office.”

Homeowners would be told that if they don’t know about the transaction, they should contact the district attorney’s office, because the transaction may be fraudulent.

Abrams said the program was developed to help protect homeowners from scofflaws by making them aware of potential fraud.

In the past, homeowners often wouldn’t know that deeds had been recorded on their property for months or years, until the owners tried to sell or refinance the home.

Abrams said the notification will go out one week after the document is recorded.

Once the program system is in place, she said, it will be more difficult “for fraudsters to work their scams undetected in Solano County.”

She said her collaboration with Solano County Assessor/Recorder Marc Tonnesen “is a preventative measure.”

She said this is the latest step she has taken to reduce real estate fraud in Solano County. Her office also has formed the Real Estate Fraud Advisory Team, Solano REFAT, that includes real estate professionals, lenders, cities and county representatives, the Assessor/Recorder’s Office and the Bureau of Real Estate.

It is the the first fraud detection team of its kind in Northern California, Abrams said.

“Solano REFAT’s mission is to prevent, detect and report fraud through industry and community outreach,” she said.

The team meets monthly to talk about fraud trends, suspicious activities, potential criminal investigations and prosecution, she said.

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