You’ve probably seen the commercials or read the news warning of the dangers of home title theft. Perhaps you’ve even seen a guy on the news explaining how Home Title Lock will protect you from this heinous crime. But is Home Title Lock legitimate? Is it even necessary to have that kind of insurance?
Meet Arthur Pfizenmayer, a former FBI agent and a “senior advisor” for Home Title Lock.
Whether you realize it or not, his appearances on these news segments are paid. Basically, this means that Home Title Lock either pays the news station a fee or makes an ad buy in exchange for a dedicated news segment.
It’s not news. It’s an infomercial.
Whether or not you think this kind of “paid news” is ethical, it’s important to understand the shady marketing tactics that this company uses. For example, on their website you’ll see the following warning:
They’re claiming that title and mortgage fraud are the “fastest growing white collar crimes” according to the FBI.
Sounds legitimate, right?
Well let’s take a look at the most recent crime report from the FBI:
This clearly shows that real estate fraud has gone DOWN year over year, not to mention the fact that is listed as the 15th highest type of fraud. It’s definitely a scam that exists, but home title fraud isn’t common.
I don’t know you define “fastest growing”, but I don’t think this is it.
Legitimate? Yes. Worthwhile? No.
Yes, Home Title Lock is a legitimate company. It is not a “scam” per se, but that doesn’t mean you need to go out and buy their services.
According to their website, what they offer is:
- 24/7 Monitoring of Your Title: They’ll keep an eye on your home title to see if any changes occur.
- Instant Alerts: You’ll receive an alert the moment any changes are made to your home title.
- Access to Title Restoration Experts: It’s important to note that they don’t offer access to lawyers. Instead, you’re offered “title restoration experts”, whatever that means.
Why does this matter?
The name “Home Title Lock” implies that they’re somehow locking the deed or title to your home so that nothing can happen. But this isn’t the case.
You need to understand that Home Title Lock does not prevent home title fraud. They simply provide an alert system and somebody you can call to ask questions if it ever does happen.
You’re still going to have to hire you own lawyers ($$$) and spend months/years trying to untangle the mess. Home Title lock won’t pay for that.
What Are Good Home Title Lock Alternatives?
Instead of paying $20 per month, why not get the exact same service for free?
You read that right…FOR FREE.
You can easily go online and search for “[your county name] + title alerts” or “[your county name] + title notifications” and you’ll find that your local government offers this as a free service. You simply provide your name, your home address and your email address and they’ll send you an alert if any title changes happen.
So before you sign up to throw away $20 of your money per month, consider what you’re actually receiving and what you actually need.
In the end, you’ll probably find that it’s not whether or not Home Title Lock is legit…
…it’s whether their service is even necessary at all.
