Douglas County Recorder of Deeds Tina Boyd urges county residents to be wary of mail offers to provide copies of legal documents.
The Recorders’ Association of Missouri (RAM) notified Recorders about a private company’s offer to obtain copies of property deeds that charge homeowners an excessive fee. The Fulton Missouri based company Record Retrieval, has mailed the offer to residents of Missouri’s most populated counties.
RAM has previously contacted the Missouri Attorney General’s office regarding these types of offers from companies.
Property owners in these areas have received a letter offering an official certified copy of their deed for $87.00 or more. These companies simply contact our office to obtain the document and then turn around and mail it to the homeowner while charging them the higher fees.
In addition, this company’s offer costs significantly more than obtaining certified property deeds directly from the County Recorder’s Office. Douglas County’s fees are $1 per page, plus $2 for the certification and most property deeds are no more than one or two pages long which usually will cost less than $5.00.
Boyd said most property owners obtained their original property deed when their property was purchased.
“I am concerned about companies trying to take advantage of our citizens by not being truthful. As mentioned above, they are attempting this in more populated counties such as Boone to the north, but are showing up in our area. More recently Greene and Taney county citizens have come across this letter. If anyone receives one of these letters, I would urge them to ignore it and contact the Recorder’s office.”
For information on how to obtain a copy of your property deed, you may visit the Douglas County Recorder’s Office located in the basement of the Courthouse in Ava. Written requests may be sent to: Douglas County Recorder Tina Boyd, P. O. Box 1528, Ava, Mo. 65608, or call the office at 417-683-1219.
