Signing for yourself

I have blogged before about arranging for a power of attorney in case anything needs to be done on your transaction while you are away. Today, I wanted to talk about running the entire deal through a power of attorney – when you are the purchaser.

As a vendor, using a power of attorney is not a big deal. Your lawyer will need to see the document and confirm that it appears valid, and may also need to do some investigating to ensure that the person who gave the power intended to give it to you and either approves of the transaction or is incapacitated. If you are buying, however, you have to be very careful that your lender will approve of the power of attorney being used to sign the paperwork. Some banks will flat out say no; others will depend on how well they know you. Also, the power of attorney will have to be registered along with the purchase, so be aware of that too as it will become a public document.

As always, be sure to clear it with your lawyer before you take off – it is much better to sign documents early than to be left with a firm agreement and a bank that won’t let someone sign for you.

By Cesia

Cesia is a real estate lawyer at Wall-Armstrong and Green, a boutique law firm in Barrie focusing on real estate and estates. When she's not online, she can usually be found in her garden.

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