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Recorder announces public rollout of property fraud alerts and seeks fee modernization to cover services
Summary
The Linn County Recorder's Office said it has activated a public property-fraud alert (PFA) tool tied to its new real‑estate software, plans a public awareness push next month, and will propose legislation to raise recording fees to modernize services with an effective date targeted for Jan. 2026.
The Linn County Recorder's Office told the Board of Supervisors on Jan. 7 that it has been live with new real-estate recording software since Sept. 3 and plans a public outreach campaign next month to promote a free property-fraud alert (PFA) service that notifies registrants when a document is recorded under their name.
"This provides an opportunity to the person to immediately respond to an unrecognized recording such as a deed," the recorder's office said, noting fraudulent deed recordings are increasing elsewhere. The office said the PFA service is free, available online or by phone, and alerts users—typically within 24 hours—if a document is recorded under a registered person's name.
The recorder explained that users must sign up to receive alerts and that registrations can be made for a person on behalf of an elderly parent. The office cautioned that alerts are name-based and that common names or differing name formats (for example, use of a middle initial) can increase duplicate notifications.
In addition, the recorder said staff will present proposed legislation this month to modernize recording fees. The proposal would raise fees by an additional $5 per document/page to update fees that have not been changed since 1985; the office said it hopes the change would take effect Jan. 1, 2026 if approved. The recorder said the legislative package and supporting materials will be shared with supervisors and the urban county coalition as part of outreach.
Operational metrics provided to the board: the recorder reported recording more than 33,000 documents in the past year, roughly $3 million in real-estate-related revenue, more than 8,000 document D&R transactions, over 3,000 passport applications processed and about 4,000 passport photos taken, and assistance with more than 1,300 marriages and nearly 19,000 certified vital-records copies.
The recorder also noted an open position for a recording specialist (recruiting to close on the meeting day) and a plan to repurpose space previously occupied by old equipment to improve passport photo operations.
The board did not take any formal votes on the recorder's items during the update.
