Want to sell your house? You'll need fingerprints
Filed under: Real Estate, Identity Theft
Cook County, Illinois homeowners looking to sell their homes will need to provide fingerprints starting on June 1st.
Just for selling a house, you'll have to provide a thumbprint from your right hand, and some consumers are complaining that the new law is intrusive. The cost is minimal in the grand scheme of a real estate transaction: $25.
The argument in favor of the policy is the massive amount of mortgage fraud, and efforts to hold people more accountable are worth pursuing. What's puzzling to me is why the law also doesn't require the signatures of buyers who, because they're the ones taking out the loans, are more likely to be involved in fraud.
HousingDoom.com also comments on the uselessness of the law: "Clearly, mortgage fraud has been a big problem, but the fraud I have seen would not have been prevented by providing a fingerprint. Rather, the fraud has involved misstating the value of the property, or misstating the assets and income of the buyer. Why invade the privacy of home sellers with a law that is unlikely to reduce fraud?"
There's definitely a need for more safeguards to prevent mortgage fraud, but this one seems like barking up the wrong tree.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-17-2009 @ 3:28AM
Windy City said...
The type of fraud that this law is attempting to fight are "seller" cases where a fraudster, posing as the owner, essentially sells a house from under the true owner, siging a quit claim deed to complete the transaction. This is different from the "buyer" frauds to which the reporter and person quoted are referring.
Under this law, the notary public on the deed retains the thumbprint. Then (and only) In the event that a "seller" fraud is alleged, will the authorities request the thunbprint from the notary. The thumbprint can then be "run" to determine who actually signed the deed.
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3-17-2009 @ 11:10AM
DAN said...
STOP already!!! If a Notary performs due diligence before taking a jurat, there is no need to verify with a fingerprint. Ask for proper identification similar to a point system in obtaining a driver's license in some states. Passport/birth certificate, current utility or credit card bill, etc. each one having a certain point value for a total of "X" points. But fingerprinting? That will result in the sale of tend of thousands of digital finger printing machines, that's the real fraud!
Closing closts are already too high and too many entities already have their hands in sellers' and buyers' pockets, from a few dollars to a few thousand dollars with realty transfer taxes and bank and closing fees.
3-17-2009 @ 2:57PM
Windy City said...
Dan,
Take a deep breath.
Sadly, in Cook County, there has been a rash of cases with phony "sellers" with false ID's selling real property that they do not own. Your "point" system will be of limited utility in these situations. (And do you really think the DMV has the benchmark to which we should strive?)
And despite what you might have seen or read or heard elsewhere, there is no requirement for "digital fingerprinting machines". A piece of paper and an ink pad will suffice (although the inexpensive 'inkless' thumbprint stickers used by check cashers and the academic exam folks is nice). In fact, as the law has a 4 year sunset clause, it is doubtful that anyone will invest in such equipment for a law that goes away in a few years.
Just chill, Dan.
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