Two bills are aimed at thwarting fraudulent real estate listings have been signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Her signature makes it a felony to place fraudulent documents on record with the Register of Deeds.
House Bill No. 5598 makes it illegal to place “upon record any conveyance of real estate with intent to deceive the veracity of the document.”
This is a felony punishable by three years in jail and/or $5,000 fine.
Furthermore a person that knowingly and willfully drafts or submits a document to be filed and recorded with the register of deeds with intent to defraud the owner of the real estate is guilty of a 10-year felony and a fine of $5,000.
“This is definitely a win for all our property owners in Leelanau County and in the whole State of Michigan for that matter,” Said Leelanau Register of Deeds Jennifer Grant.
“We have continued to have property owners reach out to let us know that a Realtor contacted them and someone has tried to fraudulently list their vacant land.
“Again, our Realtors are our first line of defense, so I appreciate our local Realtors really doing their due diligence to make sure people are really who they say they are.”
To date, Leelanau County has not had any fraudulent conveyances put on record in the Register of Deeds office, Grant said.
