Beyond the Closing Table: Wire Fraud, Squatters & the Real Threats to Homeownership

Wire fraud. Identity theft. Squatters. Bad neighbors. Property scams. These are not just sensational headlines. They are real issues affecting homeowners across the country.

In this episode of Beyond the Closing Table, Tab and Katelyn discuss the growing threats facing today's buyers, sellers, and homeowners. From wire fraud and phishing scams to identity theft, property disputes, squatter situations, and the kinds of real life stories making headlines and featured in today's most talked about documentaries, they explain why protecting your property starts long before closing day.

You will learn how these scams happen, the warning signs to watch for, and why your title company is about so much more than paperwork. It is one of the last lines of defense in protecting your property rights and one of your biggest investments.

Whether you are buying your first home, selling your fifth, or simply want to better understand the risks homeowners face today, this episode will change the way you think about homeownership.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:20

All right, we are on air. Testing, testing, testing. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 0:27

Welcome to Untitled, the podcast that takes you beyond the closing table, where we're talking about life as it really is, the work wins, the personal chaos, and the messy middle where the two worlds collide.

SPEAKER_01 0:40

From deal drama to daily life, we're showing up for it all with stories, strategies, and the kind of honesty this industry doesn't always have time for.

SPEAKER_00 0:49

If you wear too many hats and still forget where you left your keys, you're in good company. This is Untitled.

SPEAKER_01 0:59

Okay, we're ready. Let's do it. Welcome back. I'm Caitlin Sang.

SPEAKER_00 1:05

And I'm Todd King.

SPEAKER_01 1:06

And today we're going to talk about something that isn't nearly as exciting as getting the new keys to your home. But it might be one of the most important conversations you'll ever hear if you're buying or selling real estate.

SPEAKER_00 1:17

Okay, I'm listening.

SPEAKER_01 1:19

We're talking wire fraud, phishing scams, spoofed emails, and how criminals are trying to steal your money before you ever make it to the closing table.

SPEAKER_00 1:27

This is real.

SPEAKER_01 1:28

For sure.

SPEAKER_00 1:29

And I'm glad we're talking about it because it for sure does not start like you think.

SPEAKER_01 1:35

No.

SPEAKER_00 1:35

I think that people picture like some guy in a dark basement wearing a hoodie, typing away.

unknown 1:46

Could be right.

SPEAKER_00 1:47

I would say probably in his mom's basement. But he's typing away and he has like six computer screens because that's what Hollywood's made us think. Right. Right. But in reality, most scams start like with something incredibly ordinary, which is like an email.

SPEAKER_01 2:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:08

An email.

SPEAKER_01 2:10

Or nowadays, even a text or a phone call.

SPEAKER_00 2:12

Exactly. Like you never know.

SPEAKER_01 2:14

Okay, so in a closing situation, everything is e-signed, docusigned most of the time. So you're already expecting emails from your realtor, your lender, your insurance company, inspectors, and your title company.

SPEAKER_00 2:26

Mm-hmm. All the emails, all the time.

SPEAKER_01 2:28

All the emails all the time. So when another email arrives asking you to wire down payment, it doesn't seem unusual. You're expecting it. Your realtor's already told you that you're probably gonna have to wire in earnest money. And that's exactly what the scammers are counting on.

SPEAKER_00 2:43

Absolutely. The numbers are really shocking. I mean, let's put it in perspective. According to FBI's like the Internet Crime Complaint Center, it's a mouthful.

SPEAKER_01 2:55

I think the fact that they have their own complaint center.

SPEAKER_00 2:58

Yes, and I mean we have heard special agents speak to us at a lot of our education classes. Um so I I I think we talked about on an earlier episode about the numbers were coming out. Well, ALTA, which is American Land Title Association, just reported today that email scams in 2025 equaled up to about 3 billion in losses, right? So that was ALTA today. And then according to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, again, ooh, I said a little better that time. Americans filed more than 1 million internet crime complaints in 2025, with reported losses exceeding 20 billion. That's crazy. So 20 billion in reported crimes, emails alone, 3 billion. So that's most commonly reported as cybercrime, which is the phishing and the spoofing, and more than, let's see, they said more than 191,000 complaints and did involve the fishing and the spoofing attempts, according to FBI.

SPEAKER_01 4:07

Think about that. Crazy. Like that's crazy. That's more than 500 fishing complaints every single day.

SPEAKER_00 4:14

Hey.

SPEAKER_01 4:15

And those are the only ones that get reported.

SPEAKER_00 4:17

Yeah, only the ones that get reported.

SPEAKER_01 4:19

Think of all the ones that don't get reported. I mean, people, I mean, you don't really have time to report every single fisher. Right a spoofer that comes out and doing it out.

SPEAKER_00 4:30

I mean, we have a disaster plan right in like on the on the ready. Yeah. On the ready. But it just goes back to many, many conversations we've had, and we've had them on this podcast. That we are investigating basically every single email we receive. And we want our customers to do the same. Right.

SPEAKER_02 4:58

Um PSA.

SPEAKER_01 5:00

Yeah, be aware. Well, now in contracts, a lot of agents are having them sign wire fraud forms and stuff. Yeah. Yeah, it's another disclosure. Um, okay, so what is phish? Simplify it for me. Uh, so phishing is when someone sends an email pretending to be someone you trust. So pretending to be your agent, pretending to be your lender, your title company.

SPEAKER_00 5:26

Okay, so the scammers are posing as the title professionals or the lenders or the realtors, like you just said, and they're trying to gain your trust and redirect funds.

SPEAKER_01 5:36

Yeah. Okay, so that's phishing. So spoofing is when they make that email look legitimate. So maybe it looks like it's from your realtor, maybe it looks like it's from your lender, maybe your title company, but there'll be some tiny small difference in one letter or number of the email address.

SPEAKER_00 5:59

I mean, right. So just an example. So, you know, I work with a lot of our government contracting. Yes. And you've helped me out a lot with that, and you know how intense it is to even apply for certain certifications or to have your information. I mean, it has to be reviewed, reviewed again, reviewed again, and then like the time limits. So, anyway, this just happened recently. So I have to verify it on an annual basis. Some of them more frequent than that, but I get these emails, and I mean, it looks so legit. It looks like it's straight from the government, and which thank the Lord. I have like two, I don't know, let's call them liaisons, like within this realm that I get to like run things by, and I'll be like, Barb.

SPEAKER_01 6:59

I called her Barb. Always called her Barb.

SPEAKER_00 7:02

Oh my god, Barb. Like, why do I keep getting this email to update this information? And and she's used to this too, right? In her industry, and she'll say, Well, the first thing I noticed is it's not from a.gov. It's from a dot com. So it will literally be like, whatever organization, let's use Sam.gov as an example. Um, I don't think that's really what I'm talking about right now. But if it like is from Sam.gov, probably legit. Right. But also I can log in, I can verify before I ever respond to that email with like, I mean, all of our most important operating documents.

SPEAKER_02 7:43

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 7:43

But if it's a dot com, she told me once, she doesn't have to tell me again, I'm like delete. Not today, you spoofer.

SPEAKER_01 7:55

Spoofer, spammer, scammer, fraudster, all the names. Bad guy. It literally is like could be a full-time job just looking through emails and be like, what's legit? What's not legit? And if you sometimes if you don't have a phone number and the email doesn't look legit, I'll delete it. Absolutely. And I mean, real life.

SPEAKER_00 8:18

Like, imagine you're wiring $300,000. You just had this email right before we hopped on this podcast. You're wiring $300,000, you think you're sending it to your title company only to discover you actually wired it to a criminal. Scream. Insert scream. Like, oh my god. Dead. Unfortunately, that happens. And from what we're seeing on the reports, it happens a lot. It happens 20 billion times, right? Yeah. And once the money leaves your account, recovering it can be extremely difficult. Yes, we have a disaster plan. Yes, that doesn't always work. I mean, I wouldn't think it always worked because we've got 20 billion sitting over here that's like, eh. So that's why we care so much about educating people before closing, during closing, and not just getting them to the closing table. Like it is an open conversation for our team always. Always and forever.

SPEAKER_01 9:19

It reminds me of that random phone call we got from that lady that day that had closed, and I don't even remember the specifics. It wasn't with us.

SPEAKER_00 9:29

That was on her payoff.

SPEAKER_01 9:30

Yeah, her payoffs.

SPEAKER_00 9:31

Her title company got scammed and sent the payoff funds to the wrong lender. Didn't send them to a lender.

SPEAKER_02 9:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:40

Sent them to offseas account.

SPEAKER_01 9:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:43

Had not been recouped. Didn't even notice it. There's a there's a there's levels to that. There's a lot to it. Didn't notice that. I didn't know that that particular company was following best practices. But it happened to a professional that knows to look for it. So yeah, it's uh so let's it's a scary season.

SPEAKER_01 10:06

It is, it is. And we don't want anyone to be like scared to buy ourselves, but like you have to be diligent.

SPEAKER_00 10:13

You have to be diligent. We're trying to prepare you, give you the signs of what to look for because I'm sure there's red flags.

SPEAKER_01 10:18

Oh, yeah. Let's talk about four main red flags.

SPEAKER_00 10:22

Let's go.

SPEAKER_01 10:22

Okay, so here are four things that should make you stop immediately if wiring instructions suddenly change, ever change, say they're changing, change, change, change. Like, no. No, absolutely not. No. Wire instructions do change, but rarely. Very rare. And you should never just assume that that's normal.

SPEAKER_00 10:48

Never assume.

SPEAKER_01 10:49

I would like, uh-uh. I'd go in person. I'd be like, is this your wiring instruction?

SPEAKER_00 10:54

Hey, that happens, right? Yeah. We have people show up in person. I mean, on it quite often.

SPEAKER_01 10:59

Um, another red flag is if someone's rushing you, telling you to hurry, you need to send your funds today. Your closing is not, you know, your closing is a week or two away. And they're like, you need to go ahead and send your funds, and blah, blah, blah. I've literally had that happen. Absolutely. And they're like, Whoa, I've done real estate transactions before, and this isn't normal. I'm not closing for two or three more weeks. And I'm like, absolutely not. No, we'll ask you a couple days before if we have the final figures, but weeks at in advance, or someone rushing you last minute. No.

SPEAKER_00 11:33

And normal, um, normally you're gonna have a closing statement from us, you know, prior to sending your funds. We want to make sure that that's reviewed.

unknown 11:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:45

Anytime somebody's trying to rush you, and you haven't seen any finals. Yeah, the email wording feels like it didn't come from your closing team.

SPEAKER_01 11:57

Oh, yeah, that's another red flag. Yeah. The spelling and wording in an email feels off or feels different. It used to be way more obvious, but AI has really helped people sound more legit.

SPEAKER_00 12:10

Yeah, like that's what I've got the myself. I mean, I get this for for invoices. Yeah. Because, you know, in my role here, I'm I'm paying invoices a lot. And and, you know, I've got a whole um procedure for that. But sometimes when you're just in the habit of just like, oh wait, did I, you know, use this service or whatever it is, like, and they're sending me this invoice and just go on, boom, click, and pay it.

SPEAKER_01 12:39

Like, we're a small business and you know, huge corporations, then I would there's no telling the money that these fraudsters get their um okay, another red flag would be if the phone number has changed. Now that really kind of um makes me think of payoffs. Like if you get a f a payoff faxed over, and I've seen this before, and you get an updated updated, you know, yeah. Um payoff sent over and the phone numbers change, the wiring instructions change, like there's all kinds of stuff, and you're like, mmm, but you have to pay attention. You gotta pay attention. You can't just rush around, like you have to pay attention to every single thing you do.

SPEAKER_00 13:30

Mm-hmm. Yeah, careful communication and verification can make a difference, will make a difference, and can make a huge difference. So, what's our red flags? Um, updated wiring instructions. Updated wiring instructions.

SPEAKER_01 13:48

Someone's rushing you. Someone's rushing you. Email feels off, wording feels different, weird, it's not the same tone that you're used to talking to someone.

SPEAKER_00 13:57

But yeah, you know, you can usually kind of tell how people communicate. Yeah, and I mean if you ever receive something that doesn't feel right, don't click, don't wire, call. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 14:09

They do not magically change. You said pay attention. Pay attention. Um Tab, what's three things you would never do if you were in a real estate transaction?

SPEAKER_00 14:20

Well, here are three things I would never do. Okay, let me think. Number one, I would never wire money based solely on email.

SPEAKER_01 14:30

Nope, pick up the phone, people.

SPEAKER_00 14:31

Uh I mean here we we throw a layer in that you cannot wire us funds without calling to verify the last few numbers of our account. So I would number one, never do that. Number two, I would never trust last-minute wire changes. No. Not on real estate, not on paying my pool company, nothing. Um, number three, let's see. I mean, I would never be embarrassed. I would never be embarrassed to call my title company and say, hey, let me just review this with you, right? Yeah. My pool company, just trying to bring it back to real life. You know, I put a lock on my card and auto draft, and I my girls always laugh at me because I'm not embarrassed. I'm just like, uh, you read that? Okay, let me unlock my card writing. I do that too now. Thanks to you. Yes. I mean, it's just once you've been burned, like it just, man, it's it's top of mind. Yeah. And this is what we're trying to get out there to all you guys, all you listeners, consumers, this needs to be top of mind on a real estate transaction because these fraudsters are coming for our industry. For sure. So just pause, take your time, review. And hey, we love, we love phone calls. Exactly. Trust me, we would rather you call us, verify. Call us again and verify. Call us three times and verify instead of losing your money.

SPEAKER_01 16:09

Oh, so scary. We'd rather spend five minutes verifying wiring instructions than spend months trying to help someone recover stolen funds that they may or may not ever get back. 100%. That's life ruining. It's yes. I don't think anyone really thinks about that. Like, that is your most people's lifetime savings.

SPEAKER_00 16:28

Yes. Oh my goodness. Makes me sick. And I mean, this is why title companies matter. Some people think we're here to just shuffle paperwork. We are not. I mean, we are one of your last lines of defense before your money moves.

SPEAKER_01 16:46

Yeah, that's so true.

SPEAKER_00 16:48

I mean, even for not only the consumer, but also for the lender. Right. You know, I mean, lenders do this very thing with us. Yes, every single day. Every single day. They do not even send us the loan funds until they verify. We do not wire out payoffs or wire commissions or wire proceeds until we verify, re-verify, and verify again. Yep. So this is the new norm.

SPEAKER_01 17:14

Yeah. I don't think people really think about how much protection has to go into protecting the money in the transaction. Because it's all behind the scenes, you know.

SPEAKER_00 17:24

Yeah, and I mean everybody gets super excited, right? About closing. Um, and that's what we want. Yeah. But we want you to know that we are here to protect you. To protect you. So when in doubt, don't wire out. Oh, was that tabism? You got some more? When in doubt, don't wire out. That's the cheerleader in me. Oh my god, we shouldn't. Trust your title company. Okay. Not your inbox. I feel like it keep going.

SPEAKER_01 17:58

What's another?

SPEAKER_00 18:01

What's another? What's another? Hello.

SPEAKER_01 18:04

I feel like that you get these off of your corny dad jokes.

SPEAKER_00 18:07

Oh my god, I'm so corny.

SPEAKER_01 18:08

What's the jokes you do? Well, you and Mel?

SPEAKER_00 18:10

We do dad jokes.

SPEAKER_01 18:11

Oh, they do dad are they dad jokes for real?

SPEAKER_00 18:13

Yeah. And me and Mel send each other corny little, I guess they're called dad jokes. Yeah, corny dad jokes. I guess we're corny mom jokes. I don't know, but yeah, I don't know. I'm easily amused. Right. Oh my gosh, I'm gonna say when in doubt, don't wire out. That's like a whole cheer chant.

SPEAKER_01 18:33

Your closing, what is it? Your closing table.

SPEAKER_00 18:36

Should be exciting, not an FBI investigation. That's that's good. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:45

You just led me to that one. I can usually come up with something cleverer. You're very clever. My brain's not working today, so I'm just gonna show off your tabisms and not make up of my own.

SPEAKER_00 18:57

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 18:59

Um, okay, let's give everyday examples. Okay. Um, okay, if your bank texts you asking for your password, would you give it to him? No. Absolutely not. You would immediately think something was wrong. But somehow, when we're buying the largest purchase of our lives, we get in such a hurry, we stop asking questions. And it's backwards. Yes. Guys, it's backwards. If you don't send your wire immediately right now, we're backing out of the contract. That cannot happen. No, that cannot happen.

SPEAKER_00 19:30

I mean, here's the thing: buying a home is emotional. You're excited, you're nervous, you're trying to get everything done. And this is exactly the reason why criminals hope. Oh, they're hoping. They're sitting back waiting. They are counting on you to stop paying attention. So don't.

SPEAKER_01 19:50

They are eating their Doritos in their basement. Just click, click, click in away. I love Flora. Don't be hating on it. But that's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_00 19:57

They are enjoying their life stealing from you. Yeah, it's crazy. So slow down, verify. Verify.

SPEAKER_01 20:06

And verify. And verify again. Verify again. And if you want to call it, as many times as it makes you feel comfortable. Exactly. If you want to call us, and then you want your wife to call us or your husband to call us. Yes. And then if you want a three-way call on different days, then go for it.

SPEAKER_00 20:21

It's your money. Yep. Whatever makes you feel comfortable before you wire. And we, as your trusted title and escrow agent, have many, many safeguards in place. Yeah. So we are going to lead you to the water and we expect you to drink it. That's a saying, I feel like.

SPEAKER_01 20:40

I thought it was you can see.

SPEAKER_00 20:41

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make me drink. So I'm saying we are leading you to the water. We want you to drink it. We want you to drink it. Please drink it. Why don't you?

SPEAKER_01 20:50

Do not go through the drought of having it.

SPEAKER_00 20:53

Do not. Like the safeguards are here for you.

SPEAKER_01 20:57

Okay, well, tell me some good news.

SPEAKER_00 20:58

Good news is wire fraud is preventable.

SPEAKER_01 21:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:01

That's why we that's the drinking the water.

SPEAKER_01 21:03

Yeah. That's why we spend so much time educating. We went rogue on that, but it's true. Buyers and sellers.

SPEAKER_00 21:10

I mean, we spend so much time educating on this. That's our focus. It's not gonna stop either. Because I mean It's only gonna get worse. There's more and more levels happening. Right? It's yeah. More money, more problems. Just goes to that whole situation. So if something feels off, you gotta stop.

SPEAKER_01 21:35

Drop and roll.

SPEAKER_00 21:36

Stop, drop, roll.

SPEAKER_01 21:37

Stop, call, ask questions.

SPEAKER_00 21:41

Call, ask us questions. It's never a bad time to verify.

SPEAKER_01 21:45

No.

SPEAKER_00 21:46

And if you are standing at the teller, at the bank, in person, and you can't get us on the line, don't just wire out. That's exciting.

SPEAKER_01 21:55

When can you not ever get us on the line?

SPEAKER_00 21:56

True.

SPEAKER_01 21:57

But if let's say that happens. Phones down. Pretend the phones are down.

SPEAKER_00 22:00

I mean, hey, with all of the construction in our area, like man, internet, but I mean, yeah, that's that very rarely happens. But just don't send it. We'll be fine.

SPEAKER_01 22:12

Yeah. We can wait another week.

SPEAKER_00 22:13

We will figure it out for you.

SPEAKER_01 22:15

Um, but we would much rather answer 10 phone calls than to than to have to recover one stolen wire.

SPEAKER_00 22:22

100%. So always remember the title company isn't just there to close your transaction.

SPEAKER_01 22:29

No way. We're not just shuffling papers and doing the closing.

SPEAKER_00 22:32

We are protecting your property rights. Before and before and after. You cannot put a price on peace of mind. Oh, can you say that again? You cannot put a price on peace of mind. But you can with title insurance.

SPEAKER_01 22:49

Right? Okay. Do you think we've warned everyone enough? Should we move on to hot takes?

SPEAKER_00 22:56

I wish we had, whenever we start our sound effect, our sound effects, we could have that like buzzer going off. What buzzard? You know, like danger. I don't think we have that. That's what I want to do. I mean, we basically in our intros that go out, we have a whole little cartoon video that has a little bad guy fraudster, like creepy. So, anyway, I think that we um have had a great conversation on this. Yes. And I think that it's gonna continue to open the conversation, be an open conversation, and we're gonna keep on talking about it.

SPEAKER_01 23:38

So before we wrap up, let's do some hot takes. Okay, um, okay. Um, the biggest threat to your closing isn't always the market, it could be your inbox.

SPEAKER_00 23:57

Your inbox, yes. And also, like we as title agents and our industry have lots of safeguards, but even on your personal email, there are safeguards. You can go into settings and you can do like I don't know, there's there's a setting. You may have to chat GPT yet, but there is a setting. There is a way that you can add safeguards onto your emails. So maybe check into that, consumers out there, listeners.

SPEAKER_01 24:28

Uh, also, we don't think you're being difficult, we think you're being smart.

SPEAKER_00 24:32

Yes, we do.

SPEAKER_01 24:33

Gold stars. If you're too embarrassed to call your title company to double check, remember this. We'd much rather answer one extra question than watch you lose your life safety.

SPEAKER_00 24:44

Yeah, and this is what we do. We we like talking to you. And we might we might get on a whole nother conversation when you call. Most likely will happen.

SPEAKER_01 24:54

Um, and also the safest email in your transaction is the one you verify by phone.

SPEAKER_00 24:59

Uh absolutely. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 25:03

Now, since we're on this topic that never goes away and will never go away. Realize we're gonna introduce, introduce, we are going to introduce a new segment called Reality TV or real estate reality.

SPEAKER_00 25:22

Oh my gosh, it's because oh my god, I've noticed. Um, like all the shows that are trending on TV lately, I mean, they have something to do with real estate. Yeah. We've been sending that back and forth in our group text, but it's not like we're just watching home makeover shows anymore. We're literally watching people fight over their homes. Yes. Oh, there's so many shows.

SPEAKER_01 25:49

Uh, it's crazy. It's wild. Um, I've seen shows about squatters.

SPEAKER_00 25:54

Oh, the get the F out, that one. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 25:58

That's it.

SPEAKER_00 26:00

I think I've watched every episode.

SPEAKER_01 26:02

That guy's my hero.

SPEAKER_00 26:04

I love him. I want to be on the show. If you're out there listening, call us because remember that story. I don't know. This is a long time ago. This is probably when Mel first started working with me. First time, um, or a long time ago when Mel first started working with me. Yeah, because I remember the company. This, these people lived in Nashville, downtown, and they had bought this property and there were squatters in it. And it was a huge court ordeal, like to get these squatters out, and it's just been on my mind. And I'm so surprised that we don't hear more about it. But that show, squatters, get the mm out of my house, is a great show.

SPEAKER_01 26:45

Yeah. Um, kudos to him because that seems so dangerous. Oh, very like, you're already a little crazy after squatting in a house that's not yours. So I just feel for that guy. Like, I would not be brave enough to do that. So go him.

SPEAKER_00 27:01

And these people stand on business like they are like it's legit their home. It's it's crazy. It is absurd. Just think if you stood on what was really the truth and the reality on a daily basis and not be bullied by these. Ugh, so many words I could call them, but we'll go with squatters.

SPEAKER_01 27:25

I'm just thinking, I'm like, what could you do?

SPEAKER_00 27:27

I might with like release like rats or something in there and like have you well watched this show.

SPEAKER_01 27:35

Okay. I haven't watched it.

SPEAKER_00 27:36

Because um they do a lot of things. And on one of the episodes, these people demol this woman had a whole contract for sale on this home. And these people came in squatted, and then they literally demolished the house. I mean, tore it down to the studs whenever they walked inside. Whenever the court finally, finally, and then I mean, it it goes even further. Like on one of the episodes, um, I mean, the the lady and her realtor went, I mean, full on, like with legislation and like got a law in place that you can um like maybe it uh expedites the process so you have to still follow the paperwork to evict the squatters that have fake contracts, fake lease agreements, fake deposit receipts. Insane. But they made a law in whatever state that was. Um, gosh, all the documentaries are like uh in my brain. Merging together. In my mind. But they made um a law. The law was passed to where um if this was a situation, it gets expedited instead of waiting to get on the court docket, which could be 30 days, 60 days, 90 days. So this is how long those people had to demolish this woman's house. Because they were they were so angry that they had to get out.

SPEAKER_01 29:03

Of a house that's not theirs.

SPEAKER_00 29:04

Of a house that's not theirs that they paid no money for.

SPEAKER_01 29:06

Heaven forbid. Oh God. Um, okay, so I've been watching the worst neighbor ever or worst neighbor ever on Netflix. That's been my binge binge watch of the week. And I've It's like addictive. And I'm sad there's not more episodes. I think there was only four episodes. Um, and every single one, I mean, from the very get, like the very first episode that was on, I was like, oh my gosh. I was like, this is totally like I feel like what you do every day? Yeah, it's totally what I do every day, but it's also like defending people's property rights. Do you have a title policy?

SPEAKER_00 29:40

Do you have a title policy?

SPEAKER_01 29:41

I mean, right. Yeah, like the very first one, for example, I don't want to spoil it for anyone.

SPEAKER_00 29:48

Okay, so we can also have that uh sound effect that says spoiler alert, spoiler alert. Spoiler alert.

SPEAKER_01 29:54

If you're gonna watch See my hands flashing right now. If you're gonna watch Worst Neighbor Ever on Netflix and you don't want to be spoiled or you don't want the the ending ruin, skip ahead. How many minutes to skip ahead? I don't know. Um, okay, so worst neighbor ever, very first one. Um, this woman moves in a brand new mobile home and puts in a driveway. And then the it's like all these family members live in this little area together. Well, then right away, the um neighbor's dad, who also lives beside the woman that moved in with the new mobile mobile home, he was like, Your driveway's on my property. That's called an encrenchment. Yes, it is. Um, and she was like, No, it's not. Yes, it is. So what do they do? They get a surveyor out there. Turns out the driveway was on his property. Do you know what he did instead of, you know, I don't know, a normal thing, like maybe getting an attorney.

SPEAKER_00 30:58

Oh, he's a ticked-off neighbor. Yeah, yeah. Tell me. I bet it was pretty extreme.

SPEAKER_01 31:02

He took his tractor and picked up her two vehicles and rolled them on to their sides or their tops or whatever and put them off of his wardrobe. So he made his own his own fence. So he did vandalize. But should she have probably moved her driveway?

SPEAKER_00 31:25

She should have, yes. First of all, if she there was ever a question, she should have got a survey. Right. Next, who was her issuing title company on her policy, um, which there's exceptions on every policy.

SPEAKER_01 31:42

I think she just laid that gravel driveway and didn't have to go to the city.

SPEAKER_00 31:44

I think about that too, because I feel like I've seen parts of that. But um So basically this is real. This is real people, real families.

SPEAKER_01 31:54

Yeah, and the basically this one incident, this you know, argument about property lines, yes, started this whole war within this family, and it ends with a person dead and another person shot in the face.

SPEAKER_00 32:11

And I'm like, oh, that is devastating. I mean, it's real nightmares. Like people get this is why I say title is like a soap opera. Like, property is people's legacy, it's their most valued asset most of the time, and nothing brings out the crazy. Then thinking somebody thinking somebody is over on your property. Right. In my experience, in your experience.

SPEAKER_01 32:40

Oh, listen, I've been robbed. Somebody's broken to my house, and it, ooh, it'll make you mad.

SPEAKER_00 32:46

Um so anyway, back to worst neighbor ever. I feel like there's another show that's worst roommate ever, and there's more episodes.

SPEAKER_01 32:53

I haven't seen worst roommate ever. I want to, but I can only imagine.

SPEAKER_00 32:57

I think that has squatter tendencies in that documentary. I feel like people move in and they never want to move out.

SPEAKER_01 33:03

Ugh. So these are not fictional, these are real people, real families, real properties, real nightmares.

SPEAKER_00 33:09

It's and I don't really know what it says about society, but somewhere along the lines, watching like HGTV, the HGTV of it all for decorating ideas started what we all started watching people fighting over deeds.

SPEAKER_02 33:28

And uh it's real.

SPEAKER_01 33:31

Yeah, these shows are entertaining. We're like, we don't care how to decorate our living room. Get these people out of our house.

SPEAKER_00 33:40

I mean, it's all kicks and giggles until you realize like this actually happens. Like, this is why you need us. This is why we are your people. We are protecting your property rights. It's it's what we're called to do.

SPEAKER_01 33:54

I know, it's so funny. Ladies and gentlemen, because what's the one thing they all start with? Property.

SPEAKER_00 34:01

Real property. Real property. Someone else believes they have a right to it.

SPEAKER_01 34:09

Yeah, and you don't have legal ownership. Somebody else has legal ownership.

SPEAKER_00 34:13

And then you're in a battle. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:14

A whole legal battle. And you're like, huh.

SPEAKER_00 34:17

Hey.

SPEAKER_01 34:17

What do you mean?

SPEAKER_00 34:18

This deed was uh fraudulently signed and notarized. I mean, this is exactly why title companies exist. I could take you back all the way back. Um title searches aren't nearly as exciting as Hulu, though.

SPEAKER_01 34:32

Or Netflix.

SPEAKER_00 34:33

Like, we need to pitch our own show because we've got some pretty great stories. Oh my gosh, yeah. And I mean, and and literally they happen all the time. Yeah. I mean, I'm I'm working on two today. Yeah. Two today over property and funds that nobody's agreeing to. So guess what? We're on the court.

SPEAKER_01 34:55

Uh but that's our entire job protecting property rights. If you didn't know. If you had no idea what Tav and I do for a living.

unknown 35:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:05

It's not podcasting. No, it's protecting property rights. Um, it's not just squatters on these shows. Like, if you've noticed, there are many, many, many, many, many estate stories are coming out of it.

SPEAKER_01 35:20

I love, yes.

SPEAKER_00 35:21

And again, another, this was like episode four, I think, of the bad neighbors or I mean when somebody passes away, family members suddenly appear. Someone maybe moves into grandma's house, someone says, Oh, she told me I can have that. Somebody else says, There's I lived here for 20 years. What are you talking about? Yeah, there's no will. What? And not everybody always wants to hire a lawyer or an attorney.

SPEAKER_01 35:52

No, people want they want to avoid that because of cost, mainly. And they don't want to have to go through the process and then this and that. But you know what? Most of the time, like that's the only way.

SPEAKER_00 36:06

Yeah. Yeah. And when they realize they've got um interest in a property, that's free and clear, and they're about to get a big old fat chat. Oh, yeah. People change room. The true colors. Uh-huh. No, that's for sure. The true colors come shining through. Is it a song? I see your true colors shining through. If it is, I haven't heard it. I think that's an oldie.

SPEAKER_01 36:36

So that's when people suddenly realize whenever they're going through all of this process with the documents, with the wills, with the estates, all the things. A handshake isn't ownership. Grandma telling you when you're 13 you're gonna get she's gonna leave everything to you. But she promised. Yeah, promise isn't ownership, honey. Even living in the house, if you live with grandma for years and years, guess what? It doesn't all automatically make you the legal owner.

SPEAKER_00 37:02

Nope, nope, I've said it for years. Real estate is emotional. So, Barbara, it's not just the bricks, the drywall. It is family history, it's your inheritance. Memories, of course. The wealth comes money, land is is valuable, right? But land is also your legacy, so you've got to protect it.

SPEAKER_01 37:25

That legacy is protected by making sure your ownership is properly documented. Properly documented, properly insured, properly insured, and properly funded. And properly funded.

SPEAKER_00 37:38

I think these shows are becoming popular because people are finally realizing that property rights matter. Yeah. Oh, I can hear the angels singing. Yeah. Um, they're seeing that ownership isn't always as simple as my name is on the mailbox. First of all, mailbox does not matter. Addresses don't matter. Yeah. Address is. Spoiler alert. Deeds. Uh, there are always deeds when you own it. A deed to the property. Um, and property rights could be liens, heirs, boundary disputes, probate, fraud. What's some more? Identity theft, wire fraud, fake deeds, fake deeds. Ooh, that's a big thing.

SPEAKER_01 38:19

Forged six insurance forged notaries.

SPEAKER_00 38:22

I mean, it's a lot. You need your people. Because you can buy notaries off of Amazon. You can buy notary stamps off of Amazon. And that is crazy.

SPEAKER_01 38:33

One reason that legislation's trying to make it a little harder to record documents.

SPEAKER_00 38:37

Which passed. The laws have passed.

SPEAKER_01 38:40

Um and then that all starts. You know, normally when we hear these stories, it all starts with someone saying, I never thought this would happen to me.

SPEAKER_00 38:51

Yes. I never thought this would happen to me. All that's that's that's a given on every situation.

SPEAKER_01 38:58

Yeah, and I think that's why those stories are kind of blowing up right now.

SPEAKER_00 39:02

Yeah, the TV shows are exploding because for years, title companies have been saying property rights matter.

SPEAKER_01 39:10

And now we're benchwatching America.

SPEAKER_00 39:13

America, 250 years old. It took 250 years. Gotta take it back to the coys, the Astors and the Vanderbilts. We're talking about today. Today, property rights matter, and we are here to help walk you through start to finish, contract to closing. All the steps in between. All the steps in between.

SPEAKER_01 39:39

Yep. Um, so we don't just sell title insurance, we don't just we do way more than that. Really?

SPEAKER_00 39:50

I would love to hear takeaways if we if we literally called back the people that have been listening to our podcast that we know of, like our friends and family. Because remember when we did the the call? Oh yeah and we started the podcast. And we should do that again. See what we need to we need to revisit that.

SPEAKER_01 40:08

What is huddle insurance? Because I mean we should call the same people and make and ask the same questions and see how they still don't know.

SPEAKER_00 40:18

And then yeah, see what they say and compare it.

SPEAKER_01 40:22

Yeah. But we protect property rats and all day every day.

SPEAKER_00 40:28

All day, every day. We said it already this this on this episode. You cannot put a price on peace of mind. Like, we are here for the consumer, for the lender, for the agent. And for us. Yeah. I mean, we're gonna go into this at 100% so we protect ourselves as well.

SPEAKER_01 40:49

Amen. Right? I need protection.

SPEAKER_00 40:51

And whenever we just talked about people were like, I can't believe this would ever happen to me. That's another reason why you need a trusted title agent. Yes, I know we have a lot of combined years of experience, but we have seen these things. This is why we have safeguards in place because we've heard it all before. Right. And there are still some situations that come across our desk that we're like, oh, that also happened this week. That's different. That's let's take it back. Let's add this safeguard in. It literally just happened today. Yeah. I said effective immediately. Today, something else is being added to our to-do list. Our to-do list.

SPEAKER_01 41:33

So y'all were just saying yesterday, how do you act like you know everything whenever, like this in this industry, you can never know everything. Agree. Like it's constantly changing. And I mean, you can't be a know-it-all entitled.

SPEAKER_00 41:51

No. Yeah, we did have that situation yesterday as well.

SPEAKER_01 41:55

You know who you are. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 41:58

Um, but yeah, I think that this has been a great, a great topic for today.

SPEAKER_01 42:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 42:04

So especially when numbers drop today. Yeah. How did that even happen? We are so in sync with with the US of A.

SPEAKER_01 42:14

Almost like Alta, American Lens of the Factory. Uh, yeah. So takeaways. Call your cotton company. Takeaway. When in doubt, don't lie out.

SPEAKER_00 42:28

Amen. Thanks for listening, everybody.

SPEAKER_01 42:32

We'll see you next time. Bye guys.

SPEAKER_00 42:41

If this podcast hit home, hit a nerve, or gave you something to think about, we hope you'll join us next time. We'd love to hear what resonated with you, what stood out, challenged you, or made you think. Let's keep the conversation going. Until next time, keep questioning the old rules and keep closing new deals.