Benson-Taylor
PERRY TOWNSHIP — Montgomery County Recorder Stacey Benson-Taylor appeared at the Oct. 8 regular meeting of Perry Township Trustees with a heads-up to township property owners about a growing problem affecting property owners.
According to the Montgomery County Recorder website, Benson-Taylor has been a strong advocate for property owners by uncovering deed fraud and proactively implementing necessary safeguards.
Deed fraud is a scheme involving forging documents to record a phony transfer of property ownership.
Properties at high risk of being stolen by deed fraud include vacant properties abandoned due to delinquent taxes, vacant properties due to death of the tenant with survivorship not established, rental properties, homes newly listed for sale and properties vacated by snowbirds.
Benson-Taylor said that 13,000 parcels of land in Montgomery County are enrolled in her office’s deed fraud program.
“I was concerned that the cases of deed fraud were going up and they were in a wide variety of places. Some of the places were actually vacant. They were houses in probate court that we took out of the probate court. They were sold while the family was taking care of the estate,” Benson-Taylor said. “We saw somebody whose property was taken while they were away for the winter.”
She said her office started to see an uptick in cases earlier this year.
“Since Feb. 3 and Feb. 24, there were 91 referrals,” Benson-Taylor said. “We created a place for them. We worked with the prosecuting attorney’s office and we figured out how to talk with people, so we started going out into the community encouraging people. We saw a lot of people who were being impacted.” Benson-Taylor said.
“It’s easy to think about somebody stealing your car — your car is missing. But, it’s hard to wrap your mind around somebody stealing your house and you’re still in it,” she said.
For more information or to enroll your home in the deed fraud program, contact the Montgomery County Recorder’s office at 937-225-4275.
Trustee Boyd Warner provided an update on the township-wide focus group he has been working on with volunteer residents.
“We are now a 501(c)(3) with the name of Friends of Perry Township,” Warner said. “We need more members on a volunteer basis. It’s open to anyone in the community.”
He said the group has two main goals. One is to strengthen the community through friendly assistance to Perry Township residents. The other is to bring township residents together for the good of the community.
“It’s taken great strides. We’re planning a Christmas event on Dec. 7 and a fishing derby and we’re trying to put out a calendar for 2025,” he said.
“Our main focus will be to provide opportunities to bring the community together through events and activities. Also, we will be providing assistance to those who may be in need of help due to physical inabilities. This will require filling out an application for assistance to be reviewed and approved by the board,” said Warner..
“We are also looking for anyone in the township who would like to be part of the group on a permanent basis or may want to help as their time permits,” he said.
The group is 100 percent volunteer and will be funded solely by the donations of those who would like to partner with the group, Warner said. “With the 501(c)(3) designation, any donations would qualify for a tax deduction.”
There also is a Facebook page under “Friends of Perry Township” for anyone looking for more information or updates to current events.
“We’re hoping for growth. We want to show what Perry Township is — past and present. And we want to give back,” Warner said.
The next regular meeting of Perry Township Trustees will be at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at the Perry Township Administration Building at 3025 Johnsville Brookville Road, Brookville.
