I am working on a new listing which was previously listed with another Broker. When I recently met with the Seller to view the property, he mentioned that he owned the property with his 2 step-sons. I explained that I would need to obtain the step-sons signatures on all the listing documents. The Seller asked me why because the previous Realtor did not require him to do that......
In the State of Louisiana when any property is listed property disclosures must be completed and signed by any and ALL Seller(s). A helpful tip to remember when meeting with a property owner is to make sure ALL signatures are obtained on the listing documents.
- Husband and Wife must both sign
- Separated Spouses not yet divorced must both sign
- Divorced but property settlement not complete, both spouses must sign
- Heirs, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters ALL must sign.
Why is this important? Buyers and Sellers should not have to wait until a Purchase Agreement has been executed only to have the Attorney doing Title Search to discover and issue with the Seller regarding heir ownership or an Ex that still owns part of the property! There are some exceptions such as a married couple if either purchased the property as a single man or woman or under an LLC. The attorney reviewing title can properly advise on this subject.
Recently I wrote an offer for a Buyer and once the purchase agreement was accepted it was discovered that only the husband had signed the purchase agreement and title showed husband and wife owned the property. The Lender required Both husband and wife to sign the contract prior to issuing a clear to close. This slowed the closing process down. Had the property been listed correctly and disclosures indicating more than one seller, this could have been avoided!
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