For homeowners, a deed is more than paperwork filed at the courthouse. It represents a home, an investment and, for many families, years of work. That is why the Montgomery County Clerk’s Office is encouraging property owners to take advantage of a free tool designed to provide an early warning when certain documents appear in county records.

Residents of Chapel Run can enroll in GovOS Property Alerts, a free Montgomery County property fraud monitoring service that scans the county’s official public records and sends an email when a newly recorded document contains keywords selected by the account holder.

The service does not prevent a fraudulent filing from occurring, but it can help residents become aware of unexpected activity sooner — giving property owners an opportunity to review a document they do not recognize and determine whether additional action is needed.

Why Montgomery County Is Warning Residents About Property Fraud

The Montgomery County Clerk’s Office says fraudulent real estate documents are an increasing concern as criminals look for opportunities to steal property or create the appearance of ownership by preparing and filing fraudulent records.

Under Texas law, intentionally or knowingly filing a fraudulent document with a county clerk is a crime. The Clerk’s Office also notes that when a county clerk has a good-faith belief that potential fraud is involved, the office can seek assistance from the district attorney or county attorney to review the documents.

There is an important distinction for homeowners to understand, however: county clerks generally have a ministerial recording role. If a document meets the basic requirements established under Texas law, the Clerk’s Office may not be able to prevent it from being recorded simply because questions exist about its legitimacy.

And a document appearing in the county’s official records does not, by itself, establish that the document is legally valid.

That distinction is one reason monitoring property records can be useful for homeowners. A resident who quickly recognizes an unfamiliar deed, lien or other recorded document may be able to begin asking questions sooner.

Texas lawmakers also gave county clerks additional authority in 2023 to request photo identification from customers recording certain documents as another measure intended to help combat fraud.

How GovOS Property Alerts Work

The Montgomery County Clerk provides its Property Alert service in collaboration with database vendor GovOS.

After residents create an account, they select keywords for the system to monitor. The Clerk’s Office recommends using a property owner’s name and property description as key search terms.

The county database is scanned daily. Once newly recorded documents have gone through the indexing process, the system checks them against the keywords registered by users.

When a match is found, the account holder receives an email alert containing information including the matched data, document number, document type and recording date and time.

For Chapel Run homeowners, that means the service can function as an extra set of eyes on Montgomery County property records without requiring residents to repeatedly search the database themselves.

How to Sign Up for Montgomery County Property Alerts

Enrollment is free.

Residents can begin by visiting the Montgomery County Clerk’s public records database at montgomery.tx.publicsearch.us and selecting “Register” in the upper-right corner to create an account.

After registering, users should check their email for an account confirmation from Vanguard and activate the account. They can then return to the county database and select “Property Alert,” identified by a shield-and-star icon.

From there, users can manually enter the keywords they want monitored. The Clerk’s Office recommends using the owner’s name and property description.

Residents who want to use information directly from their deed can also search for the deed in the county database. While viewing the document, the Property Alert option can be used to pull relevant words from that record into the monitoring service.

Multiple keyword alerts can be created, allowing residents to monitor additional names, property information or terms from other county records.

What Property Alerts Can — and Cannot — Tell You

There are a few limitations homeowners should understand before signing up.

Property Alerts monitor only documents recorded in Montgomery County. The service does not search property filings elsewhere in Texas.

It also begins monitoring after the account is created. Residents will not receive alerts for older documents that were recorded before enrollment, although Montgomery County’s online records can be searched manually for previously filed documents.

Alerts continue until the user cancels the account.

Residents should also know that receiving an alert does not automatically mean fraud has occurred. Someone with the same or a similar name could legitimately record a document in Montgomery County and cause a keyword match.

If an alert identifies a document a property owner does not recognize, the Montgomery County Clerk recommends contacting its Recording Division for assistance understanding the filing.

What Residents Should Do if They Suspect Property Fraud

If a homeowner believes fraudulent documents are being used to steal their property or identity, the Montgomery County Clerk directs residents to contact the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office at 936-760-5871. 

Property Alert should be viewed as a notification tool rather than insurance against fraud or a determination about whether a recorded document is legally valid. Its value comes from helping residents spot unexpected records sooner.

For homeowners in Chapel Run, signing up takes only a few minutes and provides an additional way to keep watch over one of a household’s most significant assets.

As scams and identity-related crimes continue to evolve, simple monitoring tools can give residents useful information when something involving their property appears in the public record.

Stay tuned to My Neighborhood News for additional Montgomery County public safety alerts, homeowner resources and local updates that may affect families and property owners.

By Tiffany Krenek, My Neighborhood News 

Tiffany Krenek has been on the My Neighborhood News team since August 2021. She is passionate about curating and sharing content that enriches the lives of our readers in a personal, meaningful way. A loving mother and wife, Tiffany and her family live in the West Houston/Cypress region.