Property Alert FAQ

What is property alert?

A property alert is a way for you to monitor documents that are filed using your name or legal description. When you create a property alert for your personal or entity name, you will receive an email any time a document is filed within the county that contains the name(s) that you have set the alert for. This is to help keep you aware of fraud attempts that could affect your property ownership.

How much does it cost?

Any registered user can create a property alert free of charge. If you are not a registered user, the alert system won’t have an email address to send the alert messages to. Registering is also free of charge, and requires only an email and password. A guide on how to register can be found here.

How should I enter my name to create an alert?

If you are entering your personal name to create an alert, please enter your last name first. For example, “Dave Johnson” becomes Johnson Dave. For non-personal names, enter them as you normally would.

Can I also create an alert on the Legal Description?

You can create an alert based on the legal description of a document by viewing that document in search through the image viewer and then clicking the shield icon towards the top right of the viewer. From here, you’ll be allowed to set your alert criteria with a series of check boxes, one of which is for the legal description of that document.  (This feature is not available in all counties.)

First, search for and locate the document that contains the legal description you’re looking for. In this example, it’s the first result on the page.

Next, open your document in the image viewer and click on the shield icon in the top right corner.

A new window will open that allows you to customize your alert. To set an alert on the legal description, check the box that says “Legal Description.”

You’re all set! You can view your new alert (as well as all your other alerts) in the property alerts dashboard.

If I am looking at my deed (or other document) can I create an alert that will notify me of any filings on this property?

You can create an alert that will notify you of any filings on a certain property right from the image viewer when you search for your deed. First, search for and bring up your deed using the search function. The deed for this example happened to show up first on the list of results.

Next, click the shield icon towards the upper right corner of the image viewer.

This will bring you to a screen where you can specify the details of your alert based on the document’s filing details (such as Property Address and Return Address), and then the system will set up the alert for you once you have finished customizing. Note that Property Address and Return Address must be indexed with the document for them to be available options in the alert customization menu. This example document does not have them, but other documents do.

Clicking “Create Property Alert” is the last step in this process. You can always view all of your active alerts in the property alerts dashboard.

If I am notified about a filing against my property or my name, what should I do?

If filing looks suspicious, contact county clerk’s office or local law enforcement or your attorney about the recording in question.

What if I want to turn off an alert?

To turn off an alert, first go to your account page by clicking on your name in the top right corner of the main search page.

From your account page, click on “Property Alerts” to view a dashboard of all your alerts.

Can I see all the alerts I have created?

You can see all of the alerts that you have created on the property alerts dashboard, which you can access via your account page. While you are signed in, click on your name in the top right corner of the main search page, and then click on the “Property Alerts” button on the left sidebar.

POTENTIAL NEW QUESTIONS

Is there a limit to how many alerts I can set?

There is no limit to how many alerts you can set.

Can I disable an alert temporarily without removing it and then re-adding it later? 

No. However, you can easily delete alerts and then recreate them later if you wish to not receive notifications for a period of time.

After a document that triggers my alert is filed, how long will it take for me to get the email?

The property alert system scans through the system every night, with exactly 24 hours between each scan.  Your email should be received within a few hours.

Will I be able to view the document that triggered the alert?

When your alert is triggered and the resulting email is sent, that email will contain a link to the document that triggered the alert so that you can view it immediately.

Can I view all the property alerts for my county?

You can only view the property alerts that you have set up. There is no way to see alerts that other people have configured.

Can I get my alert emails sent to multiple email addresses/an address other than the one affiliated with my account?

No. Each alert can only be tied to one email address.  However, you can create additional accounts using your other emails and then create alerts from those accounts that will notify those email addresses.