A recent headline in the Toronto Sun caught my eye:
Homeowners urged to get title insurance after Etobicoke real
estate fraud.1 The related article tells the tale
of unknown individuals who allegedly impersonated the owners of a
home and sold it while the owners were away. The story includes a
recommendation from Tim Hudak, of the Ontario Real Estate
Association, to get title insurance for your home.
In addition to being the place where you live and raise your
family, the home is often your largest single asset. What do you do
if you find out one day that the registered owner of it is someone
whom you have never heard of or that there is now a whopping
$500,000 mortgage on it to which you did not agree? How do you
navigate trying to undo the fraud? Reporting the matter to the
police can be important, but it will not reverse the fraud.
