A fully paid off property is the dream of many homeowners. The fact that one’s debt to a lending institution has been cleared and they can never take away the property can be bliss. What is not appreciated is the fact that a new type of danger has been exposed and it can have frightening consequences.

A fully paid off property is a signal to criminals that one’s mortgage free property is an easy target for identity theft!  Thieves can write phony mortgages with fraudulent signatures and result in your property having a mortgage you will be responsible for. In order to curtail this before it starts, there is a simple and effective way to deter this from ever occurring to you.

Obtain a small mortgage or secured line of credit, (say $5,000) and have this registered at all times on your property. The payments are usually less than your monthly coffee budget but the real benefit is that it deters thieves from ever wanting to steal your property because the bank is now involved. The lender would have the time and resources to pursue this type of fraud and the thieves know it!

A mortgage is really a type of insurance against identity theft and it won’t cost you any extra.