Title Agent: Some Lenders Cough Up Cash To Clear Title To Foreclosed Homes 'Slandered' By Self-Proclaimed Sovereign Citizen's Recorded 'Wild Deeds'

In Central Florida, the Sarasota Herald Tribune reports:

• There is an air of mystery surrounding the eight "wild deeds" filed by self-proclaimed sovereign citizen Jacob-Franz Dyck in Sarasota and Manatee counties. All of the deeds, which claim ownership to properties in the name of trusts Dyck controls, were filed after banks already had won foreclosure judgments against the former owners.



• An Orlando title agent familiar with Dyck's filings across the state suggested the deeds were Dyck's attempts to cloud the title to the properties and force banks to pay him to remove his claim.



• "Within 90 days of a Certificate of Title(1) being recorded, Mr. Dyck and his 'army' of accomplices create a Warranty Deed transferring title to the property from himself to one of many trusts in which he is the trustee," David Heine, vice president of Orlando-based PCS Title, wrote in a warning letter to clients.



• "Costs him 70 cents to record, then he waits for someone from a title company, who is trying to close a sale on this same property and issue a title insurance, to send him a letter requesting he sign a quit claim deed to clear title. He agrees. However, it will cost the selling bank $1,500 to $2,000, even though he has no legal right to the property," Heine wrote.



• The worst part, Heine said, is that banks often pay the money because its cheaper and quicker than having to take Dyck to court for "slandering title."

For more, see Unanswered questions left by Dyck's 'wild deeds'.

(1) 'Certificate of Title' is the term used in the State of Florida to refer to the deed issued by the Clerk of the Court to convey title to property sold pursuant to a court-ordered foreclosure sale.