Property fraud alerts and deed monitoring
A property fraud alert tells you when a deed, mortgage or lien is recorded against your home, so you can act before a forged transfer turns into a sale or a loan. Property Watch checks the official records every night for each property you add: new documents recorded against the parcel in 9 counties, the owner of record, building violations and the official tax sale and surplus lists, across 30 counties. Your first property is free; each additional property is $7 a month, and you can cancel any time (pricing).
Elsewhere = Home title monitoring subscriptions, typical published prices a month. How we compare
Property Watch tells you what was recorded or changed. It cannot stop a filing, does not lock or freeze a title, is not title insurance and is not legal advice.
Already watching? Open your watch list. Last nightly run finished October 26, 2026.
What Property Watch checks every night
| Check | What raises an alert | Where | How often |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recorded documents | A new deed, mortgage, release, lien, lis pendens or other document recorded against the parcel. | 9 counties (see below) | nightly |
| Owner of record | A change of the owner of record on the county assessment roll. | All 30 counties | nightly |
| Building records | New Chicago building violations and permits. Addresses outside Chicago have no city building records to watch. | NYC, Chicago, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Buffalo, Mesa, Glendale, Gilbert, Provo | nightly |
| Tax sale and surplus lists | The parcel appearing on an official tax sale, sheriff sale or surplus funds list. | All 30 counties | nightly |
| Federal courts | Federal civil and bankruptcy cases naming the owner of record. A name match, not proof the case concerns the property. | All 30 counties | weekly |
Every alert says what the record shows, its recording date and what to do next. If a record cannot be retrieved, the watch says so instead of reporting "nothing new", and tries again the next night. Names of people appear as initials; businesses, lenders and public bodies as recorded.
Recorded-document watching is available in the counties listed below: the five New York City boroughs, Philadelphia, Cook, Hamilton and Utah County. Elsewhere Property Watch checks the owner of record, official lists and federal courts.
Your county's own free alert
Many recording offices also run their own alert service; ask your county recorder or clerk. Most watch the names you register, not the parcel, and send a notice after a document is recorded. Property Watch is the parcel-level check, and adds the owner of record, building records and official lists.
| County | The county's alert | Watches | Property Watch adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manhattan (New York County), NY | Notice of Recorded Document | borough, block and lot (the parcel) | Documents by parcel, owner, New York City building records, lists |
| Brooklyn (Kings County), NY | Notice of Recorded Document | borough, block and lot (the parcel) | Documents by parcel, owner, New York City building records, lists |
| Queens (Queens County), NY | Notice of Recorded Document | borough, block and lot (the parcel) | Documents by parcel, owner, New York City building records, lists |
| The Bronx (Bronx County), NY | Notice of Recorded Document | borough, block and lot (the parcel) | Documents by parcel, owner, New York City building records, lists |
| Staten Island (Richmond County), NY | Notice of Recorded Document | borough, block and lot (the parcel) | Documents by parcel, owner, New York City building records, lists |
| Erie County, NY | Erie County Property Alert Service (free) | parcel (section-block-lot) and/or party name | Owner, Buffalo building records, lists |
| Philadelphia (Philadelphia County), PA | Deed Fraud Guard (free) | owner names (notaries can also watch their own signature and stamp) | Documents by parcel, owner, Philadelphia building records, lists |
| Cook County, IL | Property Fraud Alert (free) | PIN and property address (the parcel) | Documents by parcel, owner, Chicago building records, lists |
| Cincinnati (Hamilton County), OH | Real Estate Fraud Alert (Recording Notification Service) (free) | up to 5 names, exact match | Documents by parcel, owner, Cincinnati building records, lists |
| Utah County, UT | Utah County Property Watch (free) | parcel serial number (find it by name) | Documents by parcel, owner, Provo building records, lists |
| Toledo (Lucas County), OH | AlertMe (free) | up to 5 names | Owner, lists |
| Delaware County, OH | AlertMe Notification Service | names | Owner, lists |
| Dayton (Montgomery County), OH | Ask the county recorder or clerk | Owner, lists | |
| Jacksonville (Duval County), FL | Property Fraud Alert (free) | names (up to 10 per sign-up) | Owner, lists |
| Tampa (Hillsborough County), FL | Property Fraud Alert (free) | person or business names | Owner, lists |
| Brevard County, FL | Recording Notification Service (free) | up to 10 names or property descriptions per email address | Owner, lists |
| Pasco County, FL | Property Fraud Alert (free) | personal and business names | Owner, lists |
| Okaloosa County, FL | Fraud Notify | details from the Clerk's office | Owner, lists |
| Phoenix (Maricopa County), AZ | Ask the county recorder or clerk | Owner, Mesa, Glendale and Gilbert building records, lists | |
| Little Rock (Pulaski County), AR | Property Fraud Alert (free) | personal, business and trust names | Owner, lists |
| Durham (Durham County), NC | Recording Notification Service | names | Owner, lists |
| Winston-Salem (Forsyth County), NC | Property Fraud Alert Notification | names | Owner, lists |
| Myrtle Beach (Horry County), SC | Recording Notification Service (Fraud Alert) (free) | the name exactly as on the deed | Owner, lists |
| Waco (McLennan County), TX | Ask the county recorder or clerk | Owner, lists | |
| Amarillo (Randall County), TX | Ask the county recorder or clerk | Owner, lists | |
| Odessa (Ector County), TX | Ask the county recorder or clerk | Owner, lists | |
| Abilene (Taylor County), TX | Property Fraud Alert (free) | names | Owner, lists |
| Wichita Falls (Wichita County), TX | Ask the county recorder or clerk | Owner, lists | |
| Kaufman County, TX | Fraud Notify (free) | personal or property information | Owner, lists |
| Houston (Harris County), TX | Property Alert System (free) | names only | Owner, lists |
If an alert shows a document you did not expect
Get a copy of the document from the county recording office and read who signed it, who notarized it and who it transfers or pledges the property to. Then contact that office: many run a fraud unit or can tell you how to flag the record. Report a forged deed to local law enforcement, tell your mortgage lender if a loan is involved, and talk to a real estate attorney about undoing it. An alert is a notice of recordation, not a freeze on title, and that is true of Property Watch too.
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Counties you can watch
Jacksonville (Duval County), Tampa (Hillsborough County), Brevard County, Pasco County, Okaloosa County
Manhattan (New York County), Brooklyn (Kings County), Queens (Queens County), The Bronx (Bronx County), Staten Island (Richmond County), Erie County
Cincinnati (Hamilton County), Toledo (Lucas County), Delaware County, Dayton (Montgomery County)
Questions
What is a property fraud alert?
A notice that a document such as a deed or mortgage was recorded against a property or under a name. Property Watch checks the official records every night for each property you add and tells you when a new document is recorded against the parcel, the owner of record changes, a building violation is filed or the parcel appears on an official tax sale or surplus list.
Is home title theft a real problem?
Yes. Deed fraud is common enough that many recording offices run their own deed fraud alert or notification programs. A forged deed is still recorded like any other document, which is why an alert after recording is useful: it gives the owner time to act.
Can a monitoring service stop someone from stealing my home title?
No service can stop a document from being recorded. Recording offices accept documents that meet their filing rules. Monitoring tells you quickly when something is recorded, so you can get a copy, contact the recording office, report it to law enforcement and talk to an attorney. Be wary of any product that promises to lock your title.
Do I still need my county’s free fraud alert?
Many recording offices also run their own alert service, usually a name watch; ask your county recorder or clerk. Property Watch works at the property level: it adds the owner of record, building violations, tax sale and surplus lists and federal court cases, and gives you one page for several properties in different counties.
How much does Property Watch cost?
Watching your first property is free. Each additional property is $7 a month, and you can cancel any time. See the pricing page for the details.
What happens when something is found?
The event appears on your watch list page and in the property's feed, with the document type, recording date and what to do next. Webhooks deliver it at once; email alerts start when email sending is switched on.
Which properties can I watch?
Any address in the 30 counties HeritageDeed searches, in New York, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Texas, Arizona, Arkansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio and Utah. In nine of them (the five New York City boroughs, Philadelphia, Cook, Hamilton and Utah County) new recorded documents are matched to the parcel every night.
Related records tools
- Property history lookup: what has been recorded against a property, by year, in NYC, Philadelphia, Cook, Hamilton and Utah County.
- Tax sale lists and surplus funds lists: the official lists Property Watch matches each night.
- All free tools.
Based on official county and city records. Property Watch tells you what was recorded or changed. It cannot stop a filing, does not lock or freeze a title, is not title insurance and is not legal advice.