Fraud Alert!
The Ionia County Register of Deeds office is receiving numerous inquiries regarding letters County residents are receiving which offer to provide a copy of the resident’s deed for fees as high as $89. Residents need to understand they can obtain a copy of their deed from the Register of Deeds office for a fee of $1.00 per page. Copies can be obtained by coming in to the office, by mail, or online.
Property Fraud Alert
Property fraud occurs when someone records a fraudulent document in the county land records office, making it look like they own your land or property. Property Fraud Alert is a notification service that alerts subscribers against the possibilities of fraudulent activity being committed against their property. Sign up for free by visiting PropertyFraudAlert.com, or call the Property Fraud Alert hotline at (800) 728-3858. You can register in English or Spanish, and choose to be notified by text, phone call, or email.
Sign Up for Free Property Fraud Alert Notifications
FraudSleuth
We offer FraudSleuth to our public users to verify any recorded activity with their name. FraudSleuth can be found by clicking on Online Deeds Search found on our homepage. From there, you need to click on FraudSleuth to be directed to a simplified name search. The results screen will provide documents recorded against your name in The Ionia County Register of Deeds.
Plat Books
We sell Ionia County Plat Books for the Ionia 4-H Council. If you need to have one mailed, please send us cash or check (made payable to Ionia County 4-H Council) in the amount of $40.00. If the document needs to be mailed, there will be an additional $10.00 for postage ($50.00 total). Please make postage payments payable to the Ionia County Register of Deeds.
Death of Spouse or Joint Owner
We are commonly asked how to get a deed “in my own name” upon the death of a spouse or joint owner. A certified copy of the death certificate must be recorded in every county where the decedent owned property. The surviving owner(s) will not get a new deed issued in their name. The original deed is still proof of ownership for the surviving owner(s).
Land Patents
In the early 1800’s, Ionia was a land patent office for a larger region than just Ionia County. We do not have land patents for properties in counties other than Ionia County. Obtain Copies Land Patents for Property in Other Counties
Notice to Purchasers of Property from Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac:
If you purchased your home in the years 2012 or 2013 from Federal National Mortgage Association or Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, you may be entitled to a refund of transfer taxes. To qualify for a refund, you must prove that you paid the transfer taxes. Your closing statement will show who paid the transfer tax and what the tax amount was. There are both State and County transfer taxes. Refunds for State tax must be obtained from the Michigan Treasury. The County portion can be obtained by contacting our office with proof of payment.
How do I find who owns a specific property?
The Register of Deeds records can be searched either by owner name or the legal description of the property. If you only have a property address, you can search the tax records to get the taxpayer’s name and tax description for the parcel. The name that appears on the tax roll may or may not be the owner. With this name or tax description, you can then search the Register of Deeds index for any recorded information.
