Donovan McCarty, Michigan State University

Buying her first home on Detroit’s far east side in 2021 was the moment when a lifelong dream finally came within reach for Kim Page.

“I accomplished something that I always wanted to do,” said Page, who grew up in the city. “I always wanted to buy my own home since I was like 18. I never wanted to rent from anyone.”

Page said she had saved US$15,000 and used $3,800 in cash to buy the single-family brick house on Britain Street. The house, owned by a friend planning to move out of Detroit, was “damaged pretty bad,” Page recalls. But the house was hers to care for, and she was determined to fix what was broken.

For the next several years, Page poured her sweat and paychecks into the property. Working first as a welder at automotive supplier Fisher Dynamics, and later as a phlebotomist, she paid for a dumpster, windows, a door, ceiling repair and an awning above her front porch. Page invested $27,000 in needed repairs and, in 2022, happily moved in.

But in August 2023, a storm damaged her roof. By March 2024, mold had grown inside the property, which made Page struggle to breathe; she moved in with family. She returned to the home in April 2024 for an appointment with a representative from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. That’s when Page noticed the locks had been changed. Perplexed but undeterred, she broke down the back door to get inside and purchased new locks, which she installed.

Then on a hot, summer day in July 2024, Page came home to discover all her locks had been changed again.

Searching for answers, Page called the Wayne County Register of Deeds’ Mortgage and Deed Fraud Unit. The staff confirmed she was a victim of deed fraud – a crime where scammers forge signatures to record a phony transfer of property ownership. Once criminals hijack the title, they can sell the property, rent it out or drain its equity with mortgages, potentially leaving the rightful owner to face the legal and financial fallout.

“I just was in shock,” Page said. “I can’t believe somebody really did this to me.”

A nationwide problem that’s hard to nail down

Page reached out to me for help in March 2025. I’m a housing attorney, assistant professor at Michigan State University College of Law and director of the Housing Justice Clinic. I have represented dozens of victims of deed fraud.

I have also studied how property recording systems respond – or, more accurately, fail to respond – to fraud. My work examines how procedural gaps in title systems disproportionately harm elderly, low-income and minority homeowners.

Nationwide, deed fraud – also called quit claim deed fraud or home title theft – is a growing problem, including in New York, Boston, Miami and Philadelphia.

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Exactly how big a problem it is, is hard to know. The FBI does not track deed fraud specifically, instead grouping it into a larger category of real estate crimes.

From 2019 through 2023, 58,141 victims in the U.S. reported $1.3 billion in losses relating to real estate crime, the FBI says. However, that number is likely undercounted because many people don’t know where to report it, are embarrassed they were victims or don’t know yet they have been targeted.

In Detroit, deed fraud may be particularly prevalent because so many housing deals are made in cash and many properties owe back taxes. The Wayne County Mortgage and Deed Fraud Unit has tracked more than 13,000 inquiries regarding deed fraud and has opened over 2,300 cases throughout Wayne County since 2005.

Without oversight, the crime often goes undetected

Committing deed fraud is remarkably simple.

A deed is the legal document that transfers ownership of a home or other real property from one person to another. When a home is bought or sold, a deed is legally drawn up to reflect the transfer of ownership. That deed is then recorded with a county register of deeds, providing public notice of who legally owns the property.

A fraudster can forge the signature of the real owner – sometimes someone who is deceased. They can file a deed that appears valid on its face but isn’t.

They then record that false deed with a county register of deeds, the local government office that keeps public land records and other documents showing ownership, claiming title to property they do not actually own.

Fraudsters often target vulnerable people and properties, including elderly owners, families dealing with inherited homes, and houses that appear vacant or neglected, such as those behind on property taxes.

The incentive is clear: Once a fraudster appears to hold title, they can try to sell the property to an investor or an unsuspecting buyer looking for stable housing. I have seen fraudsters secure as much as $50,000 from one deal when they obtained a mortgage based on a fraudulent deed. One notable case of fraud targeted Elvis Presley’s former estate, Graceland.

In Michigan and most other states, recording offices do not have authority to substantively review a deed to determine whether it is fraudulent. If the document complies with technical formatting requirements, such as margin and font size, it must be recorded. Once stamped and indexed, the deed appears legitimate and can easily trick desperate buyers, investors, financial institutions and even police officers, lawyers and judges.

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In other words, the recording process is largely administrative, not investigative. The government office accepts and files the document without first verifying that the person signing it actually had the legal right to transfer the property.

That means a fraudulent deed can enter the public record, look valid to the outside world and remain undiscovered for months or even years.

Detroit is vulnerable

The housing market helps explain why Detroiters are more vulnerable to deed fraud.

Homes in Black neighborhoods nationwide are systematically undervalued compared with similar homes in white neighborhoods. Black borrowers are also more likely to be denied conventional mortgage loans. Detroit is about 73% Black, with a median household income of roughly $39,000 and a poverty rate exceeding 30%.

In a market where access to traditional financing is uneven and home prices are relatively low, cash sales accounted for 4 in 10 sales in February 2024.

Lenders, brokers and title companies act as informal gatekeepers when people purchase a home using a mortgage. In cash sales, those actors are absent, and there are fewer opportunities to detect irregularities in the documented history showing how title passed from one owner to the next over time.

Illegal tax practices led to thousands of foreclosed homes

Property tax distress attracts fraudsters. Fraudsters seem to rely on publicly available tax foreclosure lists to identify properties that appear abandoned. They then pay the past-due taxes to remove the property from foreclosure and attempt to sell or mortgage the property using their fraudulent deed.

The fraudsters may also assume that the owner lacks the resources to wage a prolonged legal fight to recover title if they do uncover their scheme. In many cases, that assumption proves correct.

Michigan’s Constitution caps assessments at 50% of market value, but researchers have found that from 2009 to 2015, a majority of Detroit homes were assessed above that limit. Once those inflated bills went unpaid, interest, penalties and fees accumulated, often ending in tax foreclosure.

More than 100,000 Detroit residents lost homes in that crisis, and homeowners were overtaxed by at least $600 million between 2010 and 2016.

In a city already destabilized by unlawful tax foreclosure, fraudsters found opportunity in homes burdened by vacancy and broken chains of ownership.

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The burdens that deed fraud victims face

My first encounter with deed fraud came in July 2023. I received a request for legal assistance from a man who said he had been evicted from a home he claimed to own. Honestly, I didn’t believe him.

But when I pulled the court records and deeds, I learned he was right.

A fraudulent deed had been filed on his property, stripping him of title. The fraudsters then filed an eviction case against him.

The owner had no phone and no internet access to attend the virtual hearings. The court entered a judgment to evict him. A bailiff came, broke down his door and threw his belongings into a dumpster.

It took six months and two separate court cases before he was finally able to return to his home. He never recovered his belongings – and we never found the fraudster.

There are many other hardships for a legitimate owner. A fraudulent deed can prevent homeowners from selling their property, refinancing or accessing financial assistance programs.

To clear title, owners must file a quiet title lawsuit – a court action used to resolve disputes over who legally owns a property.

But quiet title cases are complex legal proceedings.

They require multiple filings, hearings and strict compliance with procedural rules. Even when fraud is obvious – for example, when a deed was signed by someone who was already deceased – courts generally require formal litigation to remove the cloud from the title.

Likewise, the legal process of notifying the defendant can be especially burdensome. Fraudsters often use fictitious names and addresses, making them difficult or impossible to locate. Even uncontested cases typically take months. If a defendant appears and disputes ownership, litigation can stretch for years.

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Filing fees, service costs and other litigation expenses accumulate quickly. Hiring an attorney can cost several thousand dollars, and some victims have reported spending tens of thousands clearing title to their homes.

As for Kim Page, her case is still ongoing. After being locked out of her home, she had to move in with relatives for over a year, putting a strain on their relationship. She was eventually able to return to her home, but the legal dispute over ownership has not been resolved.

On top of that, she is facing a counter-lawsuit from the company that filed the fraudulent deed, requesting $50,000 for repairs the company made to the home while Page was locked out, along with property taxes and utility bills that the company says it paid to the county and utility companies on her behalf. The county opened an investigation, but it remains unresolved. As a result, she still has no idea who orchestrated the scheme.

While there are free legal services organizations to help, they have limited capacity, and income thresholds exclude some homeowners who still cannot afford private counsel.

Legal reforms likely won’t resolve systemic issues

Across the country, state legislatures have begun responding. Twenty-one have enacted deed fraud legislation, and 15 more have proposed it.

Another common intervention is fraud alert systems, which notify owners when any documents that impact the title of their property are recorded.

Other reforms increase notarial requirements or enhance criminal penalties.

These measures may deter some misconduct, but they do little to reduce the burden on victims once a fraudulent deed has been recorded.

In my assessment, meaningful reforms focus on empowering registers of deeds to substantively review suspicious documents before recording them; simplifying and expediting quiet title proceedings; and expanding civil remedies so victims can recover the costs associated with clearing their title.

Some jurisdictions like Texas and Florida have adopted streamlined procedures that allow victims to initiate quiet title actions using standardized forms with reduced fees. Others permit recorders, prosecutors or judges to act when fraud has already been established.

In Michigan, I am working with lawmakers and stakeholders to develop comprehensive legislation addressing these issues. Bills are expected to be introduced later this year.

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At the same time, my clinic has begun exploring how technology can help identify fraudulent deeds already in the record. We are working with computer scientists to evaluate whether artificial intelligence tools could flag suspicious filings and potentially prevent fraudulent documents from being accepted in the future.

No property system can eliminate fraud entirely. Preventive and punitive measures may limit fraud, but they cannot eliminate the incentive to commit it. For fraudsters, the payoff can be substantial.

Conversations about the issue often begin and end with the mechanics of the crime or the procedural burdens victims face afterward. Far less attention is paid to the housing market conditions that make some communities especially vulnerable in the first place.

Page, now 42 and working as a transporter for Sinai-Grace Hospital, has been coping with the stress of legal proceedings for the past two years and living with a heart condition so serious that she got a defibrillator.

The longtime Detroiter is fed up – with the lack of police help to find the fraudster, as well as the court system. All she wants is to be the rightful owner of the home.

“Give me my house back,” Page said.

Detroit editor Eleanore Catolico contributed reporting.

Donovan McCarty, Director, Housing Justice Clinic at Michigan State University College of Law, Michigan State University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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(Feature Impact) Weekend getaways and cross-country trips are supposed to offer a break from daily routines and financial stress. Yet for many travelers, the return home comes with an uncomfortable reality: the trip cost far more than expected. From luxurious dinners and spontaneous excursions to airport snacks and daily coffees, vacation spending is becoming increasingly difficult to control in an era of rising prices and experience-driven travel.

According to a survey conducted by TopCashback, a cash back site serving more than 20 million members worldwide to help people save as much money as possible on everyday spending, overspending while traveling is now the norm rather than the exception. Nearly 94% of respondents said they have spent more on vacation than originally planned, with more than 65% reporting they typically overspend by at least $250.

“Vacations should create memories, not money stress,” said Elisabella Ricca, personal finance and consumer analyst at TopCashback. “Giving yourself a spending plan before you travel can make it easier to enjoy the experience in the moment and avoid feeling guilty about the cost afterward.”

These findings reflect a growing disconnect between travel budgets and actual spending as vacationers navigate higher costs and pressure to make their trips feel worthwhile.

Inflation’s Impact On Travel Behaviors

Airfare, hotel rates, dining and entertainment costs are all climbing, forcing many households to rethink how often they take trips and what those trips look like. In fact, nearly 78% of respondents said rising travel costs have changed the way they vacation. Meanwhile, nearly 83% said they’re traveling less often altogether due to rising costs.

Travelers are Turning to Financing

These changing behaviors may also explain why financing vacations is becoming more common. The survey found 67% of respondents have used credit cards, financing plans or “buy now, pay later” services to pay for a vacation. While these tools can help make trips more accessible in the short term, they may also extend the financial impact of a vacation long after travelers return home.

Financial Stress After the Fun

For some travelers, that long-term effect is already being felt. More than 58% of survey respondents said they feel guilty at least sometimes about how much they spend on vacation, a feeling that often emerges after returning home and assessing purchases that seemed easier to justify while away from normal routines.

Small Purchases are Adding Up to Big Overspending

Vacation overspending rarely happens through one large purchase alone. Instead, smaller expenses accumulate steadily throughout the trip. For example, 53% of respondents said they’re most likely to spend more on coffee or drinks while traveling than they would at home, and another 53% said snacks are the common overspending culprit. These purchases may seem insignificant individually, but multiple small transactions each day can quickly add up.

Experiences Outweigh Luxury When Justifying Expenses

Even as travelers look for ways to cut costs, most remain willing to spend on experiences they view as meaningful. The survey found the top vacation splurges respondents are most likely to justify are fancy dinners (56%) and excursions or tours (48%). This suggests travelers are placing greater value on memorable moments rather than luxury, such as high-end accommodations.

Careful planning isn’t enough for most travelers to stay within a budget, as 59% of respondents said they set a vacation budget beforehand, signaling that overspending is often less about a lack of preparation and more about the realities of modern travel costs.

Nearly 90% of survey respondents said earning cash back or rewards on travel purchases would influence their spending decisions at least slightly. As people look for a better way to manage expenses and offset costs, many are turning to programs such as TopCashback, which offers travel-related cash back on airfare and last-minute flights, vacation packages, hotels and lodging, transportation and parking, car rentals, travel insurance, cruises, resorts and more.

To learn how cash back programs could help you stay within your next vacation budget, visit topcashback.com.

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SOURCE:
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Last Updated on July 12, 2026 by Daily News Staff

Embrace Liberation: Celebrating National Nude Day

In a world where societal norms often dictate how we present ourselves, National Nude Day offers a unique opportunity to break free from conventions and embrace our natural state of being. Observed on July 14th, this day encourages body positivity, self-acceptance, and the celebration of individuality. Join us as we explore the significance of National Nude Day and the empowering message it conveys.

What is Nude Day about?

1. Embracing Body Positivity:
   National Nude Day serves as a powerful reminder that our bodies are beautiful in their natural form. It challenges the unrealistic beauty standards perpetuated by media and encourages us to appreciate ourselves and others without judgment. It’s a day to celebrate the diversity of bodies and foster a culture of acceptance.
2. Empowerment and Self-Acceptance:
   Shedding our clothes on this day can be liberating, symbolizing the acceptance of our bodies and embracing our flaws as part of our unique identity. By embracing our natural state, we break free from the pressures of conformity, nurturing a positive relationship with ourselves and boosting our self-esteem.
3. Connection with Nature:
   National Nude Day also provides an opportunity to connect with nature in a profound way. By being in our natural state outdoors, we can experience a sense of freedom and harmony with the environment. It’s a chance to feel the sun’s warmth on our skin, the breeze caressing our bodies, and to appreciate the beauty of nature without barriers.
4. Breaking Taboos and Challenging Stigma:
   National Nude Day challenges societal taboos surrounding nudity and fosters a more open and inclusive conversation about body image. It encourages discussions about body positivity, consent, and the importance of respecting personal boundaries. By engaging in these conversations, we can challenge the stigma associated with nudity and promote a healthier mindset.

National Nude Day is not just about shedding our clothes; it’s about embracing our bodies, fostering self-acceptance, and challenging societal norms. It’s a day to celebrate diversity, promote body positivity, and encourage conversations that lead to greater understanding and acceptance. So, on this day, let us shed our inhibitions, embrace liberation, and celebrate the beauty of our natural selves. Happy National Nude Day! https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-nude-day-july-14/

What is Nude Recreation Week?

Read the article: https://stmdailynews.com/what-is-nude-recreation-week-2/

A Footnote

National Nude Day, celebrated each year in July, is an informal observance embraced primarily by nudist and naturist communities around the world. While the event’s lighthearted name may invite misconceptions, its core purpose is far removed from sexuality or eroticism. Instead, National Nude Day promotes body positivity, personal freedom, and the celebration of the human form in its natural state. For many participants, the day serves as a reminder of the importance of accepting one’s own body and appreciating the diversity of shapes, sizes, and appearances that define humanity.

The practice of social nudity has a long and varied history, with roots in cultural, philosophical, and recreational traditions. Naturism, in particular, emphasizes living in harmony with nature, fostering a sense of equality and community by removing clothing—a social equalizer that diminishes visible markers of status, fashion, and material wealth. National Nude Day aligns with these principles by encouraging people to embrace comfort with their own bodies and reduce the stigma and shame that society often imposes regarding nudity.

Participants in National Nude Day may engage in various activities depending on their comfort level and local regulations. Some may visit designated naturist resorts or beaches, where social norms and legal protections allow for clothing-free recreation. Others might observe the day privately, enjoying solitude at home, practicing mindfulness, or meditating in the nude to connect with their body and surroundings. The observance is often framed as an opportunity to cultivate self-confidence and challenge internalized body insecurities, promoting mental and emotional well-being.

Importantly, National Nude Day is about consent, respect, and the normalization of nudity in appropriate contexts. Advocates stress that the celebration is non-sexual and not an invitation for voyeurism or sexual behavior. Its aim is educational and philosophical, emphasizing that nudity is a natural human state rather than a moral or social transgression. By recognizing and participating in this day, individuals can explore freedom from societal pressures, experience heightened self-acceptance, and foster a broader cultural understanding of the human body.

In essence, National Nude Day is a celebration of liberation, self-expression, and respect for human diversity. It encourages people to rethink preconceived notions of the body, embrace naturalism, and promote inclusivity. While it remains a niche observance, its message of body positivity, acceptance, and personal freedom resonates across cultural boundaries, reminding participants that the human body, in all its forms, deserves acknowledgment and respect.

For more information and related resources:

• National Day Calendar – National Nude Day

• National Today – National Nude Day

• Days of the Year – National Nude Day

• The Guardian – History of Naturism

• LatestLY – National Nude Day 2025