get a copy of the POA and read it. make sure it empowers the AIF to sell property. make sure the property in question is titled precisely in the name of the person granting the POA. [POA’s fall into two general categories: general and limited. a LPOA will limit the power of th AIF to a specific act or acts. a GPOA is extremely broad. either one works.
if its a valid POA, it should be recorded at the same time the deed instrument is recorded. the AIF signs as follows: “X John Smith, as attorney-in-fact for Jane Doe” if the POA is valis, you do not need the principal to sign. or even be part of this deal. that’s what POA’s are for.
make sure they buy you a title policy. this protects you from a number of potential issues, like POA fraud.
Posted by Ben_WA on February 16, 2008 at 09:40:58:
I spoke to someone who has power of attorney to sell a house here in Washington State, but his ex-girlfriend is the actual owner. She has since moved back to California. I plan on buying the property sub2, so I have a couple questions:
(1) I believe that the contract should include the actual owner as the seller of the property. How should the person with power of attorney sign the contract? I read somewhere that “Attorney in Fact” should be included with the signature. Is this correct?
(2) Because I’m buying sub2, it seems like the actual owner will need to sign docs at some point, since the loan will be remaining in place. Any suggestions or thoughts on this?
I plan on meeting with an RE attorney early next week to seek further advice, but I’m scheduled to look at the property tomorrow (Sunday), so I at least need to have enough info to get the contract signed.