The Daily Dirt: How to ID a mystery buyer

"One ridiculous thing about property records is that while signatures are required, legibly printed names of people who sign are not. Maybe this is something that only bothers reporters but pleases industry people who wish to remain anonymous. For me, it is a pet peeve that came up as I researched the tax lien sale that led to foreclosure for Filmore Brown's home at 227 East 89th Street in East Flatbush."

"I still don't understand why some transaction documents require a signature but not a typed or at least printed name identifying the signer. This transaction was of interest to me because the foreclosure became a case study in the inequity of the lien sale. To be clear, no one has accused the buyer of doing anything illegal."

"Malka Lax is a real estate investor and operator based in New York City, NY-NJ-CT, one obscure website reported. Recent mortgage relationships include Broadview Funding LLC. I knew I had the right person because property records showed Broadview Capital, aka Broadview Funding, had provided the $717,000 mortgage to the buyer of Filmore Brown's home at 227 East 89th Street."

Property records present a significant documentation gap: while signatures are mandatory, legibly printed names of signatories are not required. This inconsistency complicates efforts to identify parties involved in real estate transactions. When researching a tax lien sale and foreclosure affecting Filmore Brown's home at 227 East 89th Street in East Flatbush, the buyer's signature on the deed was illegible. Through cross-referencing with mortgage documents and online searches, the signer was identified as Malka Lax, a real estate investor. The mortgage document clearly printed Malka Lax's name, whereas the deed did not. This documentation gap raises questions about why transaction documents mandate signatures without requiring printed identification of signers, potentially enabling anonymity in real estate dealings.

Read at therealdeal.com