Beware of paying fees for information you can download for free from Florida County websites

Question:  A few weeks after having a deed to my residence recorded in the public records, I received a “Recorded Deed Notice” from “Record Transfer Services” in California offering me a copy of my deed and a profile of my property for $83.  Do I need to pay this?  Is this a scam?

Answer:  The short answer is: No, you do not have to pay for these documents and it may be a scam.  In fact, in Sarasota and Manatee counties in Florida, you can obtain the very same information for free by downloading it from the county government websites.   The “notice” you received likely came from a private company.  Such correspondence may be from a private company trying to get you to pay for free public records.  These companies are required to have a disclosure admitting they are not a government agency.  The County Clerks of both Sarasota and Manatee provide electronic copies of deeds recorded in the last 20 years for free download. 

You can search the Sarasota County Clerk’s records here: https://clerkpublicrecords.scgov.net/RealEstate/SearchEntry.aspx and the Manatee County’s Clerk’s records here: http://www.manateeclerk.com/Chips/OfficialRecords/search.aspx

The County Property Appraiser and the County Tax Collector in each of those counties also provides a summary page of information about your property, including the assessed value, tax owed, and legal description—all for free on the agencies’ respective websites. For Sarasota County, the site is: http://www.sc-pa.com/testsearch and Manatee County, it is: http://www.manateepao.com/ManateeFL/search/commonsearch.aspx?mode=parid