As of Friday, August 20, 2021, the County of Chester is recommending that all employees and visitors – regardless of vaccination status – wear masks while on County property and while the County is considered in the Substantial or High transmission levels of COVID-19 as defined by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). When the County has moved out of those levels, additional or revised guidance will be released. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.

As a friendly reminder, there are many third-party companies out there that charge exorbitant fees for document-related services that are already available directly and at little to no cost to you.

Our office occasionally experiences phone calls from confused customers regarding deceptive mailings or other promotions from companies offering or even "requiring" a copy of their property deed – some even look like a bill from a government agency. In the past, homeowners have been duped by these letters into unnecessarily spending significant cash, while you can acquire copies of such documents yourself remotely for $5.00 per page by mail, fax or by calling (610) 344-6330, or in person at our office for $0.50 per page.

It is important to remember that the Recorder of Deeds mails back an original copy of all recorded paper documents to the address listed on the return envelope provided by the filer(s). Secondly, if you ever do need a copy of the deed to property you own, this can be obtained using our online Records Search databases or stopping into our Search Library from Monday through Friday between 8:30 AM and 4:00 PM, depending on the type of copy you need (unofficial with watermark or official with no watermark or certified). When a third-party is involved, all they do is contact us for those copies, just as any resident could, and pay the same small per-page costs, thus making a hefty profit off of what the customer has paid them.

Similar companies even target Veterans. When we proceed to record military discharge documents, the request, by statute, must come from the Veteran, their agent, attorney or legal representative. This means that we are not legally authorized to record a DD-214 that a third-party company sends to our office via mail "on your behalf." In such case, we cannot properly verify that the Veteran has actually commissioned them to get their document recorded, nor confirm the Veteran's identity. Furthermore, military discharges are the only documents we maintain that are not made a part of the public record, so as a Veteran you may be providing sensitive personal information to a business that is not necessarily bound by law to keep it safe and secure. Most importantly, the Chester County Recorder of Deeds office will record your DD-214 for FREE. You are not required to pay a third-party company to file your discharge paperwork.

Always be diligent – look for fine print disclosures: i.e. "not affiliated with a government agency." If something looks suspicious or you have any questions or concerns, we are available by phone or email during the aforementioned operating hours. It never hurts to ask.

Did you know that Veterans of Chester County can securely record their discharge documents (i.e. DD-214s) with the Recorder of Deeds office for free? This is a way for them and their families to preserve their U.S. Veteran status and benefits without interruption in the event of loss, theft or damage to the original document(s). To incentivize this emergency preparedness, we offer these Veterans the opportunity to receive a Chester County Veteran ID card, which can be presented at local participating businesses to receive discounts and specials. There is no cost to participate in the program and our list of partners is posted on our website as well as printed in the office to accompany each Veterans' physical ID card.

The ROD is happy to give a shout-out to those business partners who have made our Veteran ID & Discount Program such a success. This month, we are spotlighting Brothers Pizza & Pasta.

Brothers Pizza & Pasta owners, Bill & Mike DelVescovo. Photo courtesy of WC Press (2018).

Brothers Pizza & Pasta joined our program in April 2021 and offers 10% off Dine-In or Take Out (excludes delivery) to our County Veterans from Saturday to Thursday.

We are both proud and honored to support our local Veterans by partnering with the Recorder of Deeds for this program. As a family-owned business, it’s incredibly important to us to help establish a regional sense of community for this group, and for all our customers, so we welcome those who have served our country to Brothers Pizza & Pasta with open arms.”

Do you own or manage a local business that would like to participate in our Chester County Veteran Discount Program? Read more here under "For Businesses" and apply at the link below.

More than six million people across the United States are now under the threat of eviction, with the estimated debt for back-rent averaging $3,800 per household. As of August 1st, 13.9% of Chester County renting households are behind in payments to their landlords, which is lower than the national statistics, but Chester County lessees are in arrears for a much higher average of $4,303.^*

In June, we briefly addressed the Chester County Emergency Rent and Utility Assistance Program in the Recorder Remarks section. With cases of the COVID-19 Delta Variant on the rise and the ongoing devastating effects the pandemic has had on our economy, Chester County recently received $34.5 million to support our neighbors in need of assistance with rent payments and utility bills. If this applies to you, please call 2-1-1, select 2 for Housing Resources, select 2 for Chester County and select 2 again for Emergency Rent and Utility Assistance to verify your eligibility and get a referral to the corresponding Chester County organization and/or department. You can also visit this webpage for more information prior to seeking assistance. As the Recorder of Deeds, it is important to consider those affected by all types of housing circumstances, and we are fortunate to have loyal readers of Good Deeds to help spread the word about this very important program.

*Source: VISTA Today, New York Times