Lake County Recorder Becky Lynch Announces Unanimous Passage of Legislation to Protect Ohio Homeowners
Lake County Recorder Becky Lynch announced today that legislation to help protect Ohio’s homeowners, seniors and other unsuspecting populations against deceptive marketing practices, has unanimously passed both the House and Senate Chambers. Amended House Bill 52 comes in response to deed solicitation scams which have plagued many Ohioans, including first time homeowners and our senior citizens, whereby companies will send official looking notifications that a homeowner may need a copy of their deed, and then in order to obtain their deed copy, they will charge typically in the range of $80.00 to $90.00. Homeowners can typically obtain a copy of their deed from the county recorder’s office for a minimal fee.
Amended House Bill 52, makes several reforms to regulate this solicitation of real property deeds.
Among the provisions under Amended House Bill 52 it is required that specific disclosures be make to consumers when they are solicited a fee for real property deeds. These include; showing the cost to obtain the deed from the county recorder, listing the contact information for the county recorder, informing the name and address of the person soliciting the fee.
The bill also prohibits charging more than four times the cost to obtain a copy of a deed from the county recorder. A violation of these requirements falls under the Ohio Consumer Practices Act and may result in a fine. The bill was sent to the Governor for his signature and was signed into law 2/8/2018, effective 90 days from the signed date.
For more information, contact the Lake County Recorder’s office at 440-350-2510
