DETROIT – Deed fraud is dramatically rising across Detroit, quietly stripping families of homes they spent lifetimes building, and in turn, threatening the generational wealth that anchors entire neighborhoods.
Detroit City Councilmember At-Large Mary Waters and District 2 Councilmember Angela Calloway hosted a town hall Saturday aimed at confronting what Waters calls a growing crisis.
The meeting, designed to teach residents how to recognize deed scams, protect their property and push for reforms to close gaps that have allowed fraud to spread, was packed with Detroiters seeking information.
“As Detroit continues to grow, so does the responsibility to protect the people who built this city,” said Waters. “Deed fraud doesn’t just steal property, it steals peace of mind, family legacy, and hard-earned security. This work is deeply personal to me. Every Detroiter deserves to feel safe in their home and confident that what they’ve worked for cannot be taken without their knowledge.”
Waters said scams are increasing citywide, with every district seeing higher numbers each year.
Seniors are especially vulnerable, she said, and many victims only learn their homes have been targeted after fraudulent paperwork has already been filed.
“It is mind-blowing because if you take the paperwork to the register of deeds, their job is to file the paperwork. That’s all. They don’t know that it’s theft. They don’t know that it’s a scam,” Waters said. “People work hard for their property. People work hard to just own a home and then they want to leave it for their next generation. It helps to create generational wealth and then they get robbed of all of that.”
Waters said homeowners need to first and foremost understand that they need to check on their properties on a regular basis.
“They’ve got to also understand the difference in type of deeds that they have,” she added. “Allow us to work with you so that we can… connect you to the organization that will help protect you.”
Waters said she and others plan to expand this initiative across the city and is urging Wayne County and the state to step up as well.
“We’ve got that to catch these people,” Waters said. “We have got to put them out of business so they can stop stealing the homes of people.”
Residents seeking assistance can call 313-628-2363.