Marc Gravitt, the Hamilton County Register of Deeds, said government looking statements are being mailed to Hamilton County property owners from an organization called the “Clerk’s Property Office”.
Mr. Gravitt said, “When you first open these statements, they appear to be from a legitimate, governmental agency. It has an official looking seal centered at the top, legal description of your property, the county property ID number, the recorded document number in my office, etc. It states that a deed transfer for your property has been recorded in “Official Records”.
The statement goes on to say that for a service fee of $89, “You will receive a copy of the deed and a property profile where you can find the property address, legal description, parcel identification number, property history, assessment, and tax information along with other pertinent information.”
“A copy of most deeds are free, and we can email them to you, unless you need it to be a certified copy or if the deed contains 10 or 20 pages, then it is $2 or $3, certainly not $89,” said Mr. Gravitt.
“I want Hamilton County citizens to know, this letter, while appearing to be official and contains correct information concerning their property, it did not come from my office, nor any other Hamilton County office. If you look closely, these statements have a return address in Nashville, and for you to send your check, money order or credit card information to a St. Petersburg, Fl. address. Both of these addresses are post office boxes,” Mr. Gravitt said.