A form letter from an out-of-state company is causing confusion for some Iowa homeowners, according to Iowa county recorders.
    The letter comes from National Deed Service, Inc. of Northbrook , Illinois.  In the letter, the company says that homeowners “should have an official or certified copy of their deed,”  and offers to obtain a certified copy of the homeowner’s deed for $59.50, which includes “location, retrieval, postage and handling.”
    But according to Story County Recorder Sue Vande Kamp, homeowners can go to their county recorder’s office and get the same certified deed for a $5.00 certification fee plus copy costs. She said that in most cases it is not necessary for the homeowner to keep a certified copy at home since the official record resides in the county recorder’s office.
    The form letter from National Deed Service does acknowledge at the very bottom “many government records are available free or at nominal cost from government agencies.”
    “There is no reason to pay that kind of money for a deed,” said Vande Kamp.  “Your county recorder will provide the same service for you, and you can take the money you save and buy a tank of gas.” 
    “It is more important to know where your abstract is and keep it safe,” she added.
    It is unknown how many copies of the letter have been mailed out, or what parts of the state have been targeted.  A phone message left for the company was not returned.