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History
- Referred to rules
Companion bill
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Requires notaries public and commissioners of deeds to complete and retain certain documents relating to the transfer of residential real property
Assembly Floor Calendar · Sponsor Latrice Walker
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the executive law, in relation to the requirements for notaries public and commissioners of deeds relating to certain instruments affecting real property
Purpose or general idea of bill
The purpose of this bill is to prevent fraudulent deed transfers by increasing the accountability of notaries who place their seal on documents of conveyance that transfer ownership of residential real property.
This bill establishes that notaries and commissioners of deeds whom are not employed by a title insurance agency, law firm or financial institution, and who are involved in executing a document of conveyance, must file a notarial record of the notarial act. The bill provides a template of the notarial record, which includes, among other information, a description of the nature of the property, the names of the parties involved in the transfer, and the form of identification that was presented. The notary is required to file the notarial record with the County Clerk or the Recorder of Deeds.
Read the full memo (827 words)
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1 of the bill adds a new section to the executive law that requires notaries to complete a notarial record when they are notarizing a document of conveyance. Subdivision 1 of the bill describes who the bill applies to- all notaries licensed in New York and recorder of deeds. Subdivision 2 of the section defines what types of documents are included in the definition of a document of conveyance. Subdivisions 3 and 4 of the section describe exactly what information the notary is required to obtain from the individuals who are using the notary's seal on a document to transfer ownership of residential real property. Subdivision 5 establishes the requirement that notaries file the notarial record with the County Clerk or the Recorder of Deeds where the property is located within fourteen days of the record's completion. Notaries who are employed through a title insurance agency, law firm, financial institution, or who are working as an attorney at law are required to keep the document as a business record as opposed to filing with the clerk. Subdivisions 6 and 7 discuss how such record is to remain confidential and only available in the limited circumstances of a government investigation, court order, or a request from the grant or named in the record. Subdivision 8 establishes that if a notary fails to comply with the bills provisions, the notary will be subject to a civil penalty of up to $250 dollars. Subdivision 9 affirms that a notary's failure to comply, however, will not invalidate the property transfer.
Section 2 of the bill permits notaries to charge up to $25 dollars when notarizing a document of conveyance.
Section 3 establishes that this act will take effect immediately.
Justification
Huge spikes in real estate values and lax standards for property transfers have left many homeowners vulnerable to deceptive practices by individuals and entities seeking to defraud homeowners out of their title to the home to make a profit. The two most common mechanisms of deed theft are through forged deeds and fraudulently transferred deeds. In the instances of a forged deed, the forger signs the document conveying real property as both the seller and buyer without any right to it. This type of theft typically affects properties in which ownership has recently passed through inheritance and these deed scammers quickly file the forged deed, which legitimizes their title, and enables them to take possession of the premises. In the case of fraudulently transferred deeds, homeowners sign over their deeds, either knowingly or unknowingly, under the false pretenses proffered by scammers. These individuals target homes in or nearing foreclosure by approaching the vulnerable homeowners with promises of refinancing, preventing foreclosure or some other financial relief, and some even manipulate the homeowners to do a short-sale, by which they promise to pay homeowners a sum of money to satisfy the outstanding mortgage in exchange for short term title to the property which they in turn promise to give back after the loan is repaid. Unwitting homeowners are often left without a home and still owing their mortgages.
This bill seeks to prevent both scenarios by requiring the notary who is present at the signing of the document of conveyance to fill out and file a notarial record. This record will indicate among other things the parties to the conveyance, the documents of identification that are presented to the notary, and the relationship the grantee and grantor have to one another. The rationale is that the creation of such a document will encourage the notary to be vigilant in identifying who the grantor and grantee are and the legitimacy of the transaction. Furthermore, the filing of the record will assist in the subsequent investigation and prosecution of fraudulent deed transfers by identifying any pattern of fraudulent actors.
Prior legislative history
New bill.
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
The act takes effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.