When you’re involved with fraud investigations, asset recovery, judgment enforcement, settling property claims, or making sure a business is financially stable, you’ll need to check recorded documents, an important type of public record. While full of information about properties, owners, lenders, these records--which include deeds, mortgages, tax liens, and more--can be confusing and difficult to locate. They’re often scattered across multiple agencies, and each one has their own rules for access.

Learn from Marcy Phelps, professional investigator and Certified Fraud Examiner, about what recorded documents are; why they’re so valuable to researchers and investigators; challenges involved in working with these types of public records; and best practices for quickly finding the documents and information you need.

Course Key Concepts: Fraud investigations, Investigative research, Public records, Real estate records, Asset investigations, Due diligence, Vital records, Tax liens, Uniform Commercial Code filings, Property records.

Learning Objectives
  • Discover what a recorded document is, reasons for recording, and the different types of recorded documents.
  • Explore the value of recorded documents for investigators and researchers and what information they can find in them.
  • Recognize the challenges involved with finding and using recorded documents for research and investigations.
  • Identify the best sources for recorded documents and how to search for the different types of documents quickly and efficiently.
Last updated/reviewed: March 8, 2024
Prerequisites
Course Complexity: Foundational
No advanced preparation or prerequisites are required for this course.
Education Provider Information
Company: Illumeo, Inc., 75 East Santa Clara St., Suite 1215, San Jose, CA 95113
Contact: For more information regarding this course, including complaint and cancellation policies, please contact our offices at (408) 400- 3993 or send an e-mail to .
Instructor for this course
Course Syllabus
INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW
  Introduction to Mastering Online Public Records: Recorded Documents1:46
  What are Recorded Documents7:06
  Why Recorded Documents are Valuable4:00
  Recorded Documents Challenges13:14
  How to Search Recorded Documents14:10
  How to Search Recorded Documents Cont'd13:06
  Conclusion2:12
CONTINUOUS PLAY
  Mastering Online Public Records: Recorded Documents55:34
SUPPORTING MATERIAL
  Slides: Mastering Online Public Records: Recorded DocumentsPDF
  Mastering Online Public Records: Recorded Documents Glossary/IndexPDF
REVIEW AND TEST
  REVIEW QUESTIONSquiz
 FINAL EXAMexam