Two Republicans are seeking the position of Leelanau County Register of Deeds.
Incumbent Jennifer Grant and Leland Township resident Renee Wyler will be on the Aug. 5 ballot.
Grant graduated from Suttons Bay High School and earned a degree from Northwestern Michigan College. She was a licensed title agent before serving in the Register of Deeds office.
Wyler is a former mortgage broker; creator of the “WylerOne MERS Mortgage Fraud Audit” and, Co-Chair of the “National Committee of Whistleblowers in Support of Resolution 6021” resolution6021. com.
We asked the candidates three questions to which they were asked to limit responses to 75 each.
Here’s what they had to say:
1. What pertinent experience and background would you bring to the position?
GRANT: I bring almost 15 years experience serving in the Register of Deeds office, currently in my first term as Register. Before serving in this capacity, I worked as a licensed title agent for Leelanau Title. With this experience, I bring a deep understanding of the unique state recording statutes for each of the documents that get recorded. I was a key leader in the implementation of the current software being used.
WYLER: As a former mortgage broker, and Co-Chair of the “National Committee of Whistleblowers in Support of “Resolution 6021”, already adopted by Miami, Florida Mayor Suarez, I will bring forth a remedy to address forgeries/fabricated loan documents recorded in Leelanau County. Our current “Fraud Alert” system cannot detect forgeries/fraud/clouds on title. Under “Resolution 6021”, the proceeds from sanctions against banks go to an affordable housing fund for the county. resoultion6021. com
2. Presently the fee schedule for recording documents varies from $1 per page for notices of liens to $20 for plats. Is the fee schedule too low, just right, or too high?
GRANT: The state changed to a predictable recording fee of $30 in 2016 for all documents, instead of a per page fee. This fee is currently set right where it needs to be and is examined by the state on a regular basis to make sure it is set correctly. This predictable fee has drastically reduced the need for rejecting documents for errors in fees, saving time and money for everyone.
WYLER: The fees are adequate, however, our “Image viewer” icon in our deeds program is “inoperable” online, currently. This feature MUST be enabled, immediately, to allow us to print “paper copies” of all records (from our home computers) already scanned into our deeds’ software. (Antrim County has this feature available without having to sign up for a third party vendor subscription.) This should be an “easy fix” and should NOT increase the cost of “fees”.
3. What security systems are now in place for Leelanau County’s land records, and are they adequate?
GRANT: The security systems in place are adequate. The IT Department keeps our systems current and provides ongoing training. Continuing to require wet ink signatures on all deeds and the fraud notification system utilized by the office are tools used for increased security for property owners. There are several different backups for the permanent land records, including, the cloud, in house and off site servers, film stored in house and in the gypsum mines downstate.
WYLER: On May 4, 2024, when searching the deed records in the Leelanau County Register of Deeds Office, I was kicked out of the deed software by the gaming program, “Call to Duty”, not once, but, twice on both computers. Deputy Wigton has this information. Our security is inadequate and “Safety Net” appears to have allowed a breach. I notified Michigan, Governor, Whitmer of these security threats.
