Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Pennsylvania
power of attorney for a sale of a house
i have a question from my aunt in pennsylvania. she NEEDS to sell her house but she can't be present. She already has an apartment that is waiting for her here in California.
To make a long story short she has hired an attorney that will sell her house but she is afraid of signing a ''power of attorney''. She would like to know the steps of doing so and any dangerous in signing the ''POA''.
She is afraid that the attorney might ''run'' off with the money that he got from selling her house. I tried to assure her that that wont happen. But she wants to be assured by a professional.
So i guess the question she wants answered is ''Is there any danger in siging a POA in order for a lawyer to sell her home''?
from my aunt and myself we thank you in advance for your time and any information provided
rick
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: power of attorney for a sale of a house
The danger is very slight.....the best advice is to inquire of the Pennsylvania Bar whether this attorney has a clear record of discipline. Note also that there are other ways to sell property as an absentee, such as listing it with a well-established real estate broker and requiring that the sale transaction be handled through escrow. The difference is that using an attorney-in-fact amounts to a delegation of some decision-making authority, while employing an agent/broker allows the seller to retain a lot of the decision-making.
There is no such thing as a risk-free real-estate transaction, even if you're there in person and supervise every detail. The risk can be held to acceptable proportions by carefully checking the credentials of everyone and every firm entrusted with any power or authority to participate in the deal. A few phone calls will go a long way.
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