Someone tried to steal a house? OKC family home nearly taken through fraudulent records
Owners of a southwest Oklahoma City home were able to prevent its theft earlier this year by notifying authorities its deed had been illegally changed. Saina Monhatwa's family home in Oklahoma City was nearly stolen through fraudulent records. The owner, who was raised in the 600-square-foot home, was unaware that another woman had filed a quitclaim deed claiming it was her grandfather's house. The fraudulent deed stated that her grandfather, Harvey James Monhatva, had agreed to sell the home to her boyfriend for $5,000. This prompted Saina's family to alert the Oklahoma County assessor's office and the woman who filed the fraudulent deed, who has not been officially charged. The incident occurred during a news conference at the county clerk's office. Oklahoma County officials are working to identify and prevent unauthorized people from obtaining property ownerships illegally. Property owners can be alerted by a free notification program offered by the county.
公開済み : 4週間前 沿って Jack Money の
It is just a modest house built 70 years ago in a neighborhood on the southwest side of Oklahoma City.
But to its owner, the 600-square-foot home is filled with priceless memories.
And were it not for a chance visit to the house where she was raised on SW 49 near Independence Avenue, Saina Monhatwa says she might have lost those memories forever.
Unbeknownst to her and her family's attorney, another Oklahoma City woman had filed a quitclaim deed on the property Feb. 23, declaring that Saina's grandfather, Harvey James Monhatwa, had agreed to sell the little house to her boyfriend for $5,000.
Until November 2023 when she died, Saina's mother had lived inside the home — painted gray, trimmed in white and dressed up with red shutters and stars.
Saina's grandfather, meanwhile, had passed away just a month before that, county records show.
"I pulled up to the house in January, and this lady was there, trying to claim it was her house," Saina said during a news conference Thursday held inside the county clerk's office.
"She was breaking in, claiming it was her home, when we hadn't even had a chance to go through my mother's stuff," Saina said.
After overcoming what had to have been a shock, Saina reviewed paperwork her grandfather previously had filed with Oklahoma County's clerk in September 2023.
Then, Harvey J. Monhatwa had moved the home's ownership from himself as an individual to a revocable trust he had created for his family.
The alleged fraudster didn't realize the home's ownership had been transferred to a trust.
"I just wanted to make people aware it could happen to them and to do something about it," Saina said.
The Oklahoman is not naming the woman who attempted to illegally obtain the home because she has not been officially charged.
But her appearance at the property prompted Saina's family to notify the Oklahoma County assessor, saying they believed a fraudulent deed had been filed.
After viewing Monhatwa's September filing and checking with his attorney, the county corrected the property's ownership information.
In turn, that prompted the woman who filed the fraudulent deed to contact the assessor's office as well, asking why her name had been removed from the property's ownership record.
More:Here's what you need to know before dealing with a home stuffed with stuff
She was told it had been changed because her first deed transfer was not correct, and that she would need to file an amended one. The assessor's office notified the Oklahoma County clerk's office that she probably would appear there to do so.
When the woman showed up with an amended deed transfer, Oklahoma County sheriff's office deputies were summoned.
While questioning the woman, deputies reviewed copies of the woman's February deed transfer and the amended one she had brought with her and the deed transfer Monhatwa had filed the previous September that placed the home into his trust.
The woman told the deputies during questioning that Monhatwa had agreed to sell the home to her boyfriend, who she said had done some work for the man. The alleged sale price? Just $5,000.
The assessor's office estimated the home's 2024 market value at $66,500.
Oklahoma County Clerk Maressa Treat said Thursday that property thefts obtained through title changes are a national problem that also is being seen in Oklahoma County.
Through training efforts involving her office, the assessor and sheriff, they are working to identify and stop unauthorized people from obtaining property ownerships illegally, Treat said.
But Treat and other Oklahoma County officials on Thursday also used Saina's experience to remind property owners they can minimize the threat posed by title stealers by using a free notification program offered by the county that alerts them when something like that happens.
A registered user is alerted whenever a document related to a specific property he or she designates with the account is filed at the Oklahoma County clerk's office.
A user whose property is filed upon is notified with either an email, text message or phone call whenever that happens.
If the filing was not initiated by the user, he or she is encouraged to email [email protected] to obtain more information.
Property owners can visit https://alert.okcc.online/ to sign up for the service.
"We hear from all over the country" about situations where people who think they own a property suddenly discover it has been stolen through an illegal deed change, Treat said.
"It seems like I just made that up, right? But its true," Treat said Thursday. "We were able to collaborate and take somebody down that was trying to steal somebody's home."