Yuma County property owners can learn how to better protect their homes and records during Community Resource Day, a free event focused on recorded documents, assessment practices and property taxation. It will take place at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 4, in the Board of Supervisors Auditorium, 197 S. Main St. in Yuma.

The event is jointly hosted by Yuma County Recorder David Lara, Yuma County Assessor Stevie Seale and Yuma County Treasurer David Alexandre. It is designed to help residents better understand the services each office provides, ask questions directly to staff, and learn about common issues that can affect property ownership and tax records.

A key topic will be deed fraud and the steps property owners can take to reduce risk and respond quickly if they suspect a problem. The offices say they have encountered multiple cases of deed fraud since current leadership took office and have seen the impacts on homeowners, including financial hardship.

Another focus will be Recording Alert, a free notification system launched by the Recorder’s Office. The system has 2,587 registered users, compared with the 96,360 countywide property tax bills mailed by the Treasurer’s Office. Officials say that gap indicates that many property owners may still be unaware of the tool.

Under Arizona law, the Recorder’s Office must record documents that meet statutory requirements (A.R.S. § 11-480), and recorded documents become permanent public records of the county. The Assessor’s Office is required to determine property ownership (A.R.S. § 42-13051). When a fraudulent document is recorded, it can affect ownership records and may result in unintended tax consequences until a subsequent document is recorded that corrects or voids the fraudulent filing.

Additionally, the Assessor’s office will cover the annual Notice of Value and how that factors into property taxes.

Residents can sign up for Recording Alert through the Recorder’s page on the Yuma County website.

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