Limited Power of Attorney When Buying a Home
More than once I've had a buyer show up and make an offer when I had decided to sell my own home and then had to make a trip out of town. In other words, there was no real estate agent working for me and in order to show my home to the interested buyer I had to have a legal representative. I've found that a Limited Power of Attorney works well for me in the event someone else needs to handle some of the tasks involved in selling my home.
I am not an attorney or an expert in real estate law, but I can tell you that generally, in most states, if a person who is not the owner of a home gets involved in selling it, in working with a buyer before a buyer makes an offer on the home, that person is expected to have a real estate license or be a direct employee of the property owner. As I said, I'm not giving legal advice for any area of the country, but I'm explaining an alternative that works for me whenever I sell my own home.
I use a Limited Power of Attorney form drafted by an attorney who is licensed in Oklahoma or Florida, the states where I buy and sell real estate. Basically, a Limited Power of Attorney is my signed statement appointing a certain person, who is named on the form but who is not required to sign the form, to stand in my place to conduct and complete some of the tasks involved in the home sale process.
The person I appoint is called my "attorney in fact" but I assure you it has nothing to do with the legal status of an attorney. The only similarity is that both a real attorney and an attorney-in-fact are representing another person's interests in a specific matter. In this case it's to represent me when I sell my own home.
If my attorney-in-fact finds an interested buyer for my home, and prepares a Sales Agreement for the buyer to sign, then he or she can actually sign the Sales Agreement on my behalf so that it is technically signed by both parties immediately. What usually happens next is that both the original Sales Agreement and the original Limited Power of Attorney form are delivered to a title company to begin the title work required for a sale. Whenever a seller is represented by an attorney-in-fact, the original Power of Attorney form is very important to the title company, so be sure to keep it handy.
About the Author
Paulette kingston, along with her husband Leo, own and operate 18002sellhomes in Oklahoma City. They offer property owners in the area a way to sell a house for cash without needing to list with a realtor or using a bank. http://www.18002sellhomes.com/
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