Corporations, Etal, Trustee, Power of Attorney, Executor, Formerly Known As...Can any real estate agent ever "assume" that the individual sitting across the desk for them is just who should sign the real estate documents?
There is no room in real estate transactions for "assuming", that is "assuming" you want to keep your license and sanity intact!
This will be a short and sweet post - do your research up front, get any uncomfortable questions out of the way early.
If when you pull the deed up prior to taking your listing, the property is held in names like "insert any person's name", a single woman, an unremarried widower, husband, wife - you know, common ordinary stuff and it doesn't matter - always, always, always ask if this property is in anyone else's name. An unremarried widower stands a good chance to remarry, husbands and wives do divorce, sadly - people pass away...things change and the one thing a lot of people will not remember to do is to correct their deeds.
If the person you are working with who claims to be an executor or trustee, if they claim to have a right to sign because they have power of attorney, or they throw my favorite "etal" in...tell them you need a copy of any court ordered instructions bestowing any of these authorizations to them. Sure, they might be a trustee but then so might their brother, sister, aunt, uncle, cousin! You don't want any part of that situation right before a hard earned closing. Or worse, at the closing table - talk about stress and awkwardness!
If the person claims to have signature rights enabling them to list, negotiate and sell property on behalf of a corporation - ask for the Corporate Resolution authorizing them to act in this matter. This situation can be particularly difficult and you might need to engage the closing attorney's assistance in tracking down the right signing people. But DO IT EARLY!!!
For member of the public reading this post - have this information with you when you list your property. If the agent you are working with does not have the curiosity to ask you for the documents - thank them for their time and interview another agent...fast! Your time, hopes, dreams are also valuable and you don't want the disappointment of losing a sale because you didn't know other people might need to sign along with you.
Everyone in a real estate transaction is harmed, upset and inconvenienced if the agent doesn't take care of their research upfront. It is imperative to know early on just who should sign the real estate documents!
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